OPINION:
The Christian church is once again at a historic crossroads.
What has emerged in the past few years is a society antithetical not only to traditional Christian beliefs but also to plain old human decency and good old-fashioned science. The Christian connection to common decency and objective science is incontestable. And the current negation of reasonable decorum (children must not be exposed to cross-dressing exhibitionists) and basic science (trans-sex does not equal biological reality) is unmistakable.
How did the emergence of extraordinary confusion and evil arise, and how can it be extricated? Enter “Religionless Christianity: God’s Answer to Evil” by Eric Metaxas. The book is an urgent follow-up to the author’s “Letter to the American Church.”
Mr. Metaxas asserts that, before today, America has faced two make-or-break threats in its history. The first was at its founding with the War of Independence from Britain, and the second was the Civil War.
Now, America is facing a third existential threat to its existence, with myriad nefarious forces arrayed against it. In America, we face “forces from within and without that are devotedly dedicated to eradicating all Washington and Lincoln and every patriot in our history held dear and fought for.”
The proffered solution is “religionless Christianity.”
The concept of “religionless Christianity” derives from Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s coining of the term in stark opposition to Christian practice that is merely superficial piety and playing church. Bonhoeffer is the pastor-theologian who warned the German church in the 1930s of Hitler’s malevolence.
Although the German church of the 1930s was sadly unreceptive, Mr. Metaxas believes that Bonhoeffer “knew that if we would embrace a ‘religionless Christianity,’ we really would defeat the evil that is otherwise impossible to defeat and see God’s glory in our generation.” Furthermore, “‘religionless Christianity’ has always been a dramatic and revolutionary force for good. This is an undeniable historical fact, but do we in the church know it well enough not to be cowed into silence on it?”
With 14 engaging and lucid chapters, “Religionless Christianity” covers the gamut from the origin of today’s predicament through the church’s culpability to the possibility of an imminent Last Days. Throughout, Bonhoeffer is referred to in “Religionless Christianity” as an example of the extreme challenges of living out a committed faith during the Third Reich and the disasters that follow Christian noncommittal and aloofness.
The final chapter in “Religionless Christianity,” aptly titled “Be Greatly Encouraged,” concludes with a truly hopeful solution solidly based on biblical references.
An overall theme of “Religionless Christianity” is this: “True Christianity knows no real boundaries because it is allied with Truth itself, which has no boundaries.”
Those grounded in the truth are encouraged to stay strong in their faith and not be discouraged or bullied by the seemingly insurmountable events of the day.
In 1967, the book “How to Be a Christian Without Being Religious” by Fritz Ridenour was originally published for teens and young adults by Gospel Light Publications. The book was based on the teachings found in the book of Romans and guided readers on a path akin to religionless Christianity. Reading “How to Be a Christian Without Being Religious” many years ago changed my commitment to Christian practice, and today, Religionless Christianity has certainly enriched that change.
Finally, a word of caution: Scripture warns that “unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain.” So, readers of “Religionless Christianity” are advised to make sure the Holy Spirit is leading any actions they take.
And with the Lord’s leadership at this critical time in history, let the church continue to follow the road of the cross and practice religionless Christianity for the church’s own sake, the sake of the nation, and indeed the sake of the world.
• Anthony J. Sadar is an adjunct associate professor of science at Geneva College in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, and co-author of “Environmental Risk Communication: Principles and Practices for Industry” (CRC Press).
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Religionless Christianity: God’s Answer to Evil
By Eric Metaxas
Regnery Faith, April 23, 2024
140 pages, $25.99
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