Christianity is not dying. What is dying is Christianity that serves Empire. Constantinian Christianity. That is what is dying, at long last, and that NEEDS to die. The Crusades, The Inquisition, The Puritans, The Witch Hunts, the Self-Serving Sanctimonious “Religious Right” – all that gives Christianity a bad name and which is antithetical to the teachings of Jesus – all these which are not religious movements at all but political tools – these are dying, and rightfully so.
It all began with Constantine’s vision of the cross in the
clouds – “In hoc signo vinces.” Jesus
NEVER SAID THAT. Seriously I often doubt whether Constantine ever really saw
it. This was the first occurrence of someone consciously or unconsciously appropriating
the cross for their own selfish ends – twisting the meaning of the cross on
which Jesus of Nazareth GAVE HIS LIFE FOR OTHERS into a justification for
TAKING THE LIVES OF OTHERS. A symbol of
humility and sacrifice became a symbol of arrogance and conquest. It has been
well documented by Stanley Hauerwas and others that this is where counterfeit
Christianity – Imperial, militant Christianity that seeks to dominate rather
than to serve – was born.
These various forms of counterfeit Christianity have endured
for nearly 2,000 years, for power is the headiest of wines. When religious
faith is conscripted into the service of political and military power – note
the rise of Islamist militancy – the core faith is so obscured, so distorted
that it is unrecognizable.
Even the most secular, non-religious persons are now
recognizing all these as counterintuitive to the Spirit of Christ. This is why
so many of them have no use for the present form of the Christian church. They
have called us “hypocrites” and to some extent they are correct.
The famous “Serenity Prayer” goes, “God, grant me the serenity to accept the
things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom
to know the difference.” It is good therapy to learn to accept the things I
cannot change, but there are times when I must change the things I cannot
accept. This is one of those times.
