I got to start with a disclaimer here: I am not American. But a lot of the blogs I read are, and most all of the Christian mp3 teachings I hear. This is, at best, a secondhand observation. Observations from this distance won’t fall into the ditch of missing the forest for the trees, but it may fall into the opposite ditch. Test for yourself if this is true, and accept it only to that degree. (1 Th 5:20-21)
The American church is, as far as I can see, too focused on the culture. This can either be American culture which should be restored, or getting the church to function as some church people think ancient Jewish culture did. (Ancient Jewish culture was not Christianity and is not a model of what a Christian culture should be like.) “They say things like (bold mine):
“Revival is the only way for our nation to move forward. – Allan Hood, from a teaching “Joel: Standing at the critical juncture.
“We should win the culture war for Christ.” – Many American believers
“The only way our nation could hope to last this decade, is we put God in America again.” – Carman, in “America again”, two decades ago.
Although organizations like Vision Forum are certainly among the culprits, this is not limited at all to patriarchalists, and including someone in the above quote list implies nothing on his views on gender hierarchy.
They see America as the patient, cultural decline and crime rates as the disease, and Christianity as the medicine. The problem with that view is that patients are more important than medicine. When medicine X don’t cure the patient, you move to medicine Y. Nobody say that medicine X is so important that everyone must use it, whether good for them or not.
Reconciling with God is not the means to a great nation as end result. Some nations does very well with few Christians. Reconciling with God is an end result in itself, the great things this does in society is a bonus.
Biblical Personhood 
Comments on: "The greatest flaw of the American church?" (4)
This is true in many ways. But I also see where many American Christians try to push cultural preferences as “biblical” mandates and get very angry when you tell them that is what they are doing. They claim that people who don’t agree with their cultural ideals, “don’t know their Bible,” when it has nothing to do with the Bible.
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People are afraid to go against church culture, because it gets sold as “redeemed” culture, or something of the sort. Especially for new Christians, who are learning to give up their personal preferences, it’s harder to give them up for something unknown or undefined, than for something concrete.
Once I realized that Christian culture is a product of this world, and “redeemed” as a descriptor is at best a goal, then I felt free to question it. But I wasn’t ready until I trusted God to be faithful, even if every person were a liar.
This is why I find it so hard to dialogue with new Christians who act like a dog with a bone over some point of doctrine. They are defending man-made teachings; yet I also sense they are defending their faith *to themselves* still. I so do not want to tear down their faith. So I tend to err on the side of not correcting enough misconceptions. I pray that God (and they, one day) will forgive me.
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I think this is definitely a huge problem. I hadn’t even thought of it in those terms- either focusing too hard on NOT participating in the culture, or striving to be big in it. Churches do tend to obsess over that.
Great observation, all the way from where ever you are. =)
http://www.justamysblog.blogspot.com
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Amy, sorry your comment took days to appear. Somehow wordpress sent it to my spam box?
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