McChurch: 300 Million Served and Still Hungry Print E-mail
By Stan Moody
May. 22, 07 15:09

I am alarmed. 

 

After serving two terms in the Maine House of Representatives, I see the political system adrift with secular humanists running out of ideas and the Christian Right abandoning its faith for a moral code it is itself incapable of following.

 

My book, McChurched: 300 Million Served and Still Hungry (Just Write Books, Topsham, Maine), is my appeal to millions of American Christians who have been pushed out of an evangelical church that has lost its bearings in its worship of the American Dream of health, wealth, financial success and nationalism.

 

Calling the evangelical church a "Christian Ghetto," I seek to dismantle the foundation on which the Christian Right has built its power base -- the illusion of America as a Christian nation and its own moral superiority:

 

It comes down to a simple formula.  Those (Christians) making the racket in the public square want to restore in America what they consider to be its former Christian roots...Their approach is hardly distinguishable from any other political movement, and they are not averse to condemning others with biblical pronouncements that are familiar only to those in the Christian ghetto that passes as church.

 

A case in point is the perennial debate in Washington for a Constitutional amendment codifying marriage as between two people of the opposite sex. 

 

With Evangelicals enjoying the same divorce rate as the rest of our society, this is another denigration of the faith.  Marriage is a sacrament of the church and ought to be reinforced there first.  Instead, we are attempting to make it a sacrament of the State.  Evangelicals have sacrificed their trust in a sovereign God for the appearance of morality rather than its inner reality. 

"They no longer believe that the God they profess to worship is capable of reforming America through the church.  As a result, we as a nation are faced with two opposing humanist agendas (liberal and conservative) that have factored God out of the business of governing.

 

That, in my opinion, spells disaster for America.

 

This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it " target\u003d\"_blank\" onclick\u003d\"return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)\"\>",1] ); //-->If religion, taken as part of a larger social context, is no longer operative, then we are left with the conclusion that cultural problems can be solved only through political or military means.

 The world is in dire need of a message of hope from a church gone mad.

 

Despite the current condition of the church, I believe that there is and has always been a remnant of believers that he calls the Church in Exile.  It is to them that I appeal.

 

McChurched is for concerned, thoughtful believers who are confused by the seemingly inconsistent actions of those claiming to speak for God.  Failing to follow the teaching and example of Christ is a deadly prescription for the church and for American life.  I refer to that phenomenon as "Christian Atheism." 

 

I am now devoting my time and energy to trying to raise a voice for thoughtful believers of the Church in Exile.  Through my organization, the Christian Policy Institute, I intend to continue publishing policy papers on social and economic issues and be an advocate for change.


LIST OF COMMENTS

1/1. McChurched
Written by kushisaac  | May. 24, 07 16:52

Hi Jesse,

 

I am a little confused, are you suggesting that because Christians have become politically active that they no longer believe in the sanctifying work of God and how He works through His body to effect change?  By your postings here on this website I would think that you are somewhat politically active, and yet I am sure you still believe that the church can make a change in the world.

 

But let's test your theory.  You support a political party that is into using taxpayer money to give support to those who are economically less fortunate than most.  Where is the working out of a belief that the church can bring about change here?  You mention the Christian Policy Institute where you intend to continue publishing policy papers on social and economic issues and be an advocate for change., where is the belief that God can change the world through the church?  That Christians on the right have fought to ensure marriage in this country remains in the tradition that it has enjoyed in every culture across the globe since Adam and Eve, is no different in principal than the policy papers that you are writing.  Both seek to move government in a more godly direction.  God uses secondary causes to bring about change in both the church and in the political realm, and they can work hand in hand, and a Christian worldview should have the same access as any other worldview does in our political process.

I don't think in method that you are all that different from the Christians you are talking about in your post.  The message is different,  but I think it is unfair to say about right wing Christians that They no longer believe that the God they profess to worship is capable of reforming America through the church, just because the divorce rate is high and because they fought to get an amendment about traditional marriage politically.  I think you'll find the divorce rate the same among both liberal and conservative church members.  If we had to keep our hands over our mouths until we got it right, we'd never be in a position to say anything.

 

 
Last Updated ( Nov. 16, 07 14:51 )
 
Next >