cosmicquestion

America is portrayed and portrays itself as a Christian nation - maybe even THE Christian nation - in today’s world. I have no idea why this is the case. Sure, they won’t elect a president unless he has provided proof of his Christianity; just 40 years ago even being Catholic was pushing it, and earlier this month, the rumor of Obama’s supposed secret Islamic proclivities was passed around in shocked whispers as if it were some kind of perversion. It is because of this that the US is generally thought to be dominated by ‘conservative’ Christianity.
However, this is an incredibly misleading idea. The average US Christian will happily define himself as ‘conservative’ because he has one or more of the following:
1. Passed down traditions of belief (as if religion could be inherited)
2. Particular political and social views (Despite what people insist, Jesus wasn’t a Republican)
3. An internal moral code based loosely on the New Testament (most of the world’s morality is in fact either based on or very similar to NT values, so that’s not saying much).
I came to America just about three months ago, and I have already been startled by the vast chasm between American and Asian Christianity. And no, this is not the Asia which consists of Korea, Japan, China and some other vague countries on the extreme right of a world map, as so many Americans mistakenly refer to it as; this is REAL Asia, Asia in its entirety. There may be less Christians in the rest of the world than in the USA, but those who exist are passionately devoted to the gospel. The values that many American Christians call conservative, Asians call liberal. What many Americans see as adapting the church to modern life, Asians see as compromising. American emphasis is on being loved by God despite sin; Asian emphasis lies on disciplining oneself to purge sin. Americans reserve the right to pick and choose what they like out of religion and leave the rest; Asians will take it all, or leave it all. Yes, there is an American majority against homosexuality and abortion - but at the same time so very many feel it is fine to attend Church on Sunday morning and get wasted Sunday night; to use profanity; to neglect tithes; to be sexually active before marriage; to be unequally yoked; to divorce; to cheat at school; to be lazy at work; to show hatred towards those who do not share their views. Apparently then, America has reduced the religion to a political affiliation rather than a lifestyle of love, virtue and faith.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS