Is Christianity Dying?

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.