On Christian America

This piece in Harper's caught my attention. Only 40 percent of Americans can name more than four of the Ten Commandments, and a scant half can cite any of the four authors of the Gospels. ... Three quarters of Americans believe the Bible teaches that "God helps those who help themselves." That is, three out of four Americans believe that this uber-American idea, a notion at the core of our current individualist politics and culture, which was in fact uttered by Ben Franklin, actually appears in Holy Scripture. The thing is, not only is Franklin's wisdom not biblical; it's counter-biblical. Few ideas could be further from the gospel message, with its radical summons to love of neighbor. On this essential matter, most Americans -- most American Christians -- are simply wrong, as if 75 percent of American scientists believed that Newton proved gravity causes apples to fly up. I've been thinking about this a lot: the particular brand of Christianity we're seeing in America. Especially the dogmatic and political strains. Why is it that, in an age when the Christian world-view has such prominence, so much of what we hear is sourced from the Old Testament and Revelations? If our time were witnessing an ascendancy of the teaching of the Gospels, I might feel differently about the new influence of Christianity on American life. Yet, even with so many "Christian" voices in the media, today, few resonate with the voice of Christ we hear in the Gospels. The example Christ sets in the Gospels is compelling for the very reason that it is hard to follow. But I simply don't hear the loud voices on the "Christian" right exhorting even the attempt. You might be forgiven for thinking that those "What Would Jesus Do?" bumper stickers are so popular because no-one actually knows. If the insinuation of the Harper's article is right, most Americans don't --- in fact, can't --- distinguish the Gospels from any other books in the Bible. And, so, the example of Christ's life is lost in the noise. As it is, I'm glad to be in a place where a mine-strewn no-man's-land separates church and state. France --- and most of Europe, for that matter --- had a plenty blended church/state relationship for centuries. Almost universally, it's seen as a condition to which only fools would return.