Can America Survive Without Christianity?
Don’t be afraid - Be like Jesus - Forgiveness
I'm doing something new here. I'm about to begin listening to Bari Weiss, of The Free Press, interview Jonathan Rauch, Jewish, an atheist, gay man who says, “Christianity is a load-bearing wall of American civic life.” He is also is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, and he just published Cross Purposes: Christianity’s Broken Bargain with Democracy.
I’m inviting you to join me in listening to, or reading, the interview. I have no idea whether I’m going to be pleased or appalled by what I hear.
The interview begins with this exchange
Bari Weiss: The book isn’t just saying “religion is good.” It’s specifically about Christianity—addressed to Christians—and argues that its three central pillars, according to theologians and pastors, map directly onto the foundations of liberal democracy. First: Don’t be afraid—the most repeated command in the Bible. In politics, that means accept losses without panic, don’t lie or cheat, and resist fearmongering demagogues, as Hamilton and Lincoln warned. Second: Be like Jesus. Imitate him.
Jonathan Rauch: Jesus grounds his ministry on the poor, sick, and marginalized—a radical idea in history. That maps onto minority rights in modern liberalism, enshrined in the Bill of Rights. The Kantian principle—treat people as ends, not means—echoes Jesus’s radical egalitarianism and equal dignity for all. The third principle is forgiveness. In Christian doctrine, it means mercy; in politics, it means not trying to destroy your opponents when you win. You share the country. That’s the essence of Madisonian liberalism and essential to democratic virtue. So I find myself, as a secular person, reading the Gospels and thinking: Here are the three things America needs most right now.
Here’s the link - Can America Survive Without Christianity?
This abides,
Brother Robert, OA
From Bari’s interview with Jonathan Rauch (I think I captured the essence) "The church has been pretty good about how they disciple people, the spiritual formation that’s making people in the image of Jesus. They’re pretty good at that in church life, family life, community life. When hurricane Joleen comes in Asheville the churches are there. But what they have not done …is disciple people in how to be like Jesus in civic life. …a question of how do you approach politics? Do you do it in a spirit of generosity or spirit of fear? Do you do it in a spirit where you respect other people‘s fundamental rights and dignity or do you do it in a way that’s vicious, do you do it in a way that’s forgiving, that maybe doesn’t attribute the worst motives to people who take a different view or do you demand retribution. That’s where the church has really fallen down, that’s where I think it has the most to contribute." I'll note, in humility and truth, we Episcopalians need to apply that to ourselves. If we focus our attention on the evangelicals, we are avoiding the work of the Holy Spirit within our own life. First take the beam out of our own eye.