Rabbit Trail 1: Made in America Pragmatic Christianity

These are more quotes from Made in America by Michael Horton. The 2nd chapter is titled "The "How-To" Gospel" and discusses the problem with pragmatic Christianity, which in my opinion is a slightly less noxious version of the prosperity gospel.

"If we seek to justify Christianity on pragmatic grounds, ours will continue to be just another self-help, self-improvement program. Among the array of wonder drugs and guaranteed formulas, Christianity may continue to be stocked, but only as long as it is not replaced by something that works better. Temporal salvation, however, is not the goal of the gospel. The Bible doesn't offer us simple solutions to our political, financial, or physical ills." pg. 51

"[T]he seed of civil religion (that is, a religion that worked best for society) was planted. Pragmatism is only a further more systematic exploitation of vague Christianity. The eminent British research group, Oxford Analytica, predicts, "As American religion is exploited for its functional usefulness, it will be vulnerable to deformation involving a subtler change than the virtual collapse of European religion."" (italics added by Horton) (pg. 52-53)

"The "quick-fix Deity" doesn't exist. He is a fictional character, a piece of Americana. In a conversation, James Boice made this statement: "Christianity is not a way of going around human problems, but a way of going through them in a way that really honors God. And this," he added, "is the faith that overcomes the world."" (pg. 55)

The full blown health and wealth gospel is heinous and preys on the poor and gullible, but it's also easier to spot. It's crass and in your face. But the pragmatic gospel is more subtle and yet has its own prey too. They also have the common formula - "Do x, and God will give you y. If you don't have y, you must not have enough x". And they have a common goal of circumventing the effects of the fall in this life.

Don't believe me? What does the purity culture offer? What do all those how-to family/marriage books promote? Don't they all but promise the modest Christian version of happily-ever-after if you do what the author says? But is that the goal and evidence of following Christ - how well one fits the template of the ideal American middle-class family? Is it conforming to cultural preference or being conformed to Christ across the range of all possible providential circumstances? If not, why are there boxes in the first place that we feel compelled to fit and sense when we don't from others? Is this why there may be less patience, empathy, and support when people fall outside the ideal, specifically mental illness, child abuse, and domestic violence, because their situations have failed the quick fix?

"Don't offer me another list of "Four Steps to Victorious Christian Living." I've tried them all and not only do they fail to answer the deeper questions, they don't even work for the superficial ones. "I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death and so somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead" (Phil. 3:10-11. italics added). That may not answer everybody's thirst for the practical, but it's a refreshing in an age of false claims and defective mail-order saviors." (pg. 57)