1.21 blog

We spent most of last week looking at Christendom: what it is, the fact that it no longer describes us, and how (I think) this came to be. In this final post, we’ll look at why I actually think that this is a good thing.

It’s true, many evangelical Christians (especially those tied to the Constantinian project of imposing Christianity through the state) lament the loss of “Christian” morality in our culture. In their eyes the world has gone from bad to worse over the last 50 years (often this is tied to the removal of school prayer). The problem, though, is that their appraisal of “good” and “bad” is based on the assumptions of Christendom, that certain moral codes comprise the essence of goodness in general and Christianity in particular.

But if my analysis in the last posts has been correct, then we can’t view it that way. If we’ve been living in Christendom, where people adopt the moral teachings of Christianity without the gospel, then the spiritual landscape is remarkably similar to how it was in the “good old days.” There are lots of people out there who do not believe in Jesus’ gospel, and who are, therefore, alienated from God. That’s how it was back in Christendom too. Only back then, the people were well behaved, and this good behavior was interpreted as making them okay. In the 1950s, when mom, apple pie, the American flag, school prayer, and true love waiting were all still held in high esteem, thousands upon thousands of people were sent off–clean cut, comfortable, and well behaved–to hell.

They thought they were Christians because they kept the rules. When in reality those rules may have been the thing keeping them from Christ.

Now, at least, the “bad people,” who don’t adhere to Christianity’s moral code know that they aren’t Christians. If the church will move past its Christendom mindset and focus on Jesus rather than public morality, we may find ourselves in a uniquely fruitful point in history.

The world today, now more than ever, resembles the world into which Christianity was first birthed. The first centuries of the church were characterized by explosive growth. Perhaps we’re poised for such. I don’t know. God does.

But I do know that we won’t see this growth if we wring our hands, gaze longingly to the past of Christendom, and throw stones at the surrounding culture. This will only happen when Christ, rather than Christendom becomes the focus of Christians once more.

Posted by: Gene Schlesinger