--- title: "21 American Christianity Quotes by 15 authors" description: "Browse 21 American Christianity quotes by 15 authors. Discover the best American Christianity sayings and thoughts." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/998/paul-washer-1468_christianity_american-christianity-is-based-more-on-a_2470697.png" --- > [American Christianity is based more on a godless culture than it is the word of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-washer/american-christianity-is-based-more-on-a-godless-culture-than-it-is/) [Paul Washer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-washer/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/998/paul-washer-1468_christianity_american-christianity-is-based-more-on-a_2470697.png) > [I grew up in a household that spent most of my childhood on a religious pilgrimage through American Christianity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/i-grew-up-in-a-household-that-spent-most-of-my-childhood-on-a/) [Ross Douthat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-douthat/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e96/ross-douthat-2949_american_i-grew-up-in-a-household-that-spent-most_1402450.png) > [“The cultural capital American Christianity has amassed simply cannot be leveraged where it matters most.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-davison-hunter/the-cultural-capital-american-christianity-has-amassed-simply-cannot/) [James Davison Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-davison-hunter/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/767/james-davison-hunter-19534_christianity_the-cultural-capital-american-christiani_2839933.png) > [ If \[following Jesus Christ\] doesn't cost you anything, it's because you've bought into 'American Christianity.' ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-washer/if-following-jesus-christ-doesn-t-cost-you-anything-it-s-because-you/) [Paul Washer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-washer/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a42/paul-washer-1468_christ_if-following-jesus-christ-doesn-t-cost-y_2196333.png) > [The time has come when the whole world must be concerned about me. From now on, American Christianity must follow me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-myung-moon/the-time-has-come-when-the-whole-world-must-be-concerned-about-me/) [Sun Myung Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-myung-moon/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc4/sun-myung-moon-10737_christianity_the-time-has-come-when-the-whole-world-m_4264.jpg) > [“Like the easy-listening Muzak that plays ubiquitously in the background in other shopping venues, the message of American Christianity has simply become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-s-horton/like-the-easy-listening-muzak-that-plays-ubiquitously-in-the/) [Michael S. Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-s-horton/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e6/michael-s-horton-7082_quote_like-the-easy-listening-muzak-that-plays_1878594.jpg) > [“American Christianity has come to show a blandness that offends no one, a gospel that is adaptable to fit every lifestyle, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-davis/american-christianity-has-come-to-show-a-blandness-that-offends-no/) [Patrick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-davis/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/011/patrick-davis-13750_christianity_american-christianity-has-come-to-show-a_343405.jpg) > [I look at American Christianity and I'm almost in despair. I don't want to be identified with it. The Christian vote in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/i-look-at-american-christianity-and-i-m-almost-in-despair-i-don-t/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a38/john-shelby-spong-1488_abortion_i-look-at-american-christianity-and-i-m_425324.png) > [This book is written for those who want more Jesus. It is for those who are bored with what American Christianity offers.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/this-book-is-written-for-those-who-want-more-jesus-it-is-for-those/) [Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/243/francis-chan-548_book_this-book-is-written-for-those-who-want_278736.png) > [“Her religion--perhaps, Alwyn thought, American Christianity as a whole--was a religion of ideal prose; all the beauty it had was the elegance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenway-wescott/her-religion-perhaps-alwyn-thought-american-christianity-as-a-whole/) [Glenway Wescott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenway-wescott/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50b/glenway-wescott-37305_programming_her-religion-perhaps-alwyn-thought-ameri_457133.jpg) > [I think what you see a lot of in American religion, even in areas of American Christianity that don't go all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/i-think-what-you-see-a-lot-of-in-american-religion-even-in-areas-of/) [Ross Douthat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-douthat/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6b/ross-douthat-2949_areas_i-think-what-you-see-a-lot-of-in-america_576636.jpg) > [It's clearly the case that there's not some moment in American history when every evangelical is holding hands with every Catholic who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/it-s-clearly-the-case-that-there-s-not-some-moment-in-american/) [Ross Douthat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-douthat/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a8/ross-douthat-2949_all-kinds_it-s-clearly-the-case-that-there-s-not-s_1340356.png) > [“American Christians have often allowed the world to determine their view of power and privilege, rather than Scripture. This has created an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-t-olson/american-christians-have-often-allowed-the-world-to-determine-their/) [David T. Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-t-olson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95e/david-t-olson-60141_bible_american-christians-have-often-allowed-t_2427504.jpg) > [“Part of the scandal of American Christianity is that statistically the U.S. is the most Christian country in the world, and yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-borg/part-of-the-scandal-of-american-christianity-is-that-statistically/) [Marcus Borg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-borg/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c71/marcus-borg-23822_christianity_part-of-the-scandal-of-american-christia_2120955.jpg) > [“American Christians may be fearful of the dramatic changes that have already occurred in the world and in American Christianity. Could that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soong-chan-rah/american-christians-may-be-fearful-of-the-dramatic-changes-that-have/) [Soong-Chan Rah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soong-chan-rah/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed3/soong-chan-rah-33108_change_american-christians-may-be-fearful-of-th_2904540.jpg) > [“A narrative of success propels white evangelicalism over and above other forms of American Christianity. Evangelicals often fail to embrace the important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soong-chan-rah/a-narrative-of-success-propels-white-evangelicalism-over-and-above/) [Soong-Chan Rah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soong-chan-rah/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa6/soong-chan-rah-33108_evangelicalism_a-narrative-of-success-propels-white-eva_3113786.jpg) > [Trump's blatant racism and demonization of Muslims, Mexicans, and immigrants also serves as a foil for white evangelicals. By othering these groups,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthea-butler/trump-s-blatant-racism-and-demonization-of-muslims-mexicans-and/) [Anthea Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthea-butler/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/803/anthea-butler-7679_america_trump-s-blatant-racism-and-demonization_2825882.jpg) > [“Because this is an urban church in a downtown neighborhood, it is not so easy to avoid the presence of the poor.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fleming-rutledge/because-this-is-an-urban-church-in-a-downtown-neighborhood-it-is-not/) [Fleming Rutledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fleming-rutledge/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84b/fleming-rutledge-28419_american-flag_because-this-is-an-urban-church-in-a-dow_1008414.jpg) > [ “\[M\]ost Americans are still drawing some water from the Christian well. But a growing number are inventing their own versions of what… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/m-ost-americans-are-still-drawing-some-water-from-the-christian-well/) [Ross Douthat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-douthat/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd7/ross-douthat-2949_american-life_m-ost-americans-are-still-drawing-some-w_743522.jpg) > [I quickly found that the American church is a difficult place to fit in if you want to live out New Testament…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/i-quickly-found-that-the-american-church-is-a-difficult-place-to-fit/) [Francis Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-chan/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f7/francis-chan-548_attendance_i-quickly-found-that-the-american-church_1352804.jpg) > [“American Christianity did not undergo the church-emptying declines of European Christianity. Its perspective was similar to that of Mother Teresa, who in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-r-higgs/american-christianity-did-not-undergo-the-church-emptying-declines-of/) [J.M.R. Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-r-higgs/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e05/j-m-r-higgs-43173_climate-change_american-christianity-did-not-undergo-th_2288515.jpg) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-christianity/#itemlist", "name": "American Christianity Quotes", "numberOfItems": 21, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "American Christianity is based more on a godless culture than it is the word of God.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paul Washer" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-washer/american-christianity-is-based-more-on-a-godless-culture-than-it-is/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/998/paul-washer-1468_christianity_american-christianity-is-based-more-on-a_2470697.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/998/paul-washer-1468_christianity_american-christianity-is-based-more-on-a_2470697.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/998/paul-washer-1468_christianity_american-christianity-is-based-more-on-a_2470697.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“American Christianity is based more on a godless culture than it is the word of God.” — Paul Washer", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I grew up in a household that spent most of my childhood on a religious pilgrimage through American Christianity.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ross Douthat" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/i-grew-up-in-a-household-that-spent-most-of-my-childhood-on-a/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e96/ross-douthat-2949_american_i-grew-up-in-a-household-that-spent-most_1402450.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e96/ross-douthat-2949_american_i-grew-up-in-a-household-that-spent-most_1402450.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e96/ross-douthat-2949_american_i-grew-up-in-a-household-that-spent-most_1402450.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I grew up in a household that spent most of my childhood on a religious pilgrimage through American…” — Ross Douthat", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The cultural capital American Christianity has amassed simply cannot be leveraged where it matters most.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James Davison Hunter" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-davison-hunter/the-cultural-capital-american-christianity-has-amassed-simply-cannot/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/767/james-davison-hunter-19534_christianity_the-cultural-capital-american-christiani_2839933.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/767/james-davison-hunter-19534_christianity_the-cultural-capital-american-christiani_2839933.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/767/james-davison-hunter-19534_christianity_the-cultural-capital-american-christiani_2839933.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The cultural capital American Christianity has amassed simply cannot be leveraged where it matters most.” — James Davison Hunter", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If [following Jesus Christ] doesn't cost you anything, it's because you've bought into 'American Christianity.'", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paul Washer" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-washer/if-following-jesus-christ-doesn-t-cost-you-anything-it-s-because-you/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a42/paul-washer-1468_christ_if-following-jesus-christ-doesn-t-cost-y_2196333.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a42/paul-washer-1468_christ_if-following-jesus-christ-doesn-t-cost-y_2196333.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a42/paul-washer-1468_christ_if-following-jesus-christ-doesn-t-cost-y_2196333.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If [following Jesus Christ] doesn't cost you anything, it's because you've bought into 'American…” — Paul Washer", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The time has come when the whole world must be concerned about me. From now on, American Christianity must follow me.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sun Myung Moon" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-myung-moon/the-time-has-come-when-the-whole-world-must-be-concerned-about-me/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc4/sun-myung-moon-10737_christianity_the-time-has-come-when-the-whole-world-m_4264.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc4/sun-myung-moon-10737_christianity_the-time-has-come-when-the-whole-world-m_4264.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc4/sun-myung-moon-10737_christianity_the-time-has-come-when-the-whole-world-m_4264.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The time has come when the whole world must be concerned about me. 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Horton" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-s-horton/like-the-easy-listening-muzak-that-plays-ubiquitously-in-the/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e6/michael-s-horton-7082_quote_like-the-easy-listening-muzak-that-plays_1878594.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e6/michael-s-horton-7082_quote_like-the-easy-listening-muzak-that-plays_1878594.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e6/michael-s-horton-7082_quote_like-the-easy-listening-muzak-that-plays_1878594.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Like the easy-listening Muzak that plays ubiquitously in the background in other shopping venues, the…” — Michael S. Horton", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 7, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“American Christianity has come to show a blandness that offends no one, a gospel that is adaptable to fit every lifestyle, and a message changed from a rock of stumbling to a pebble of no notice.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Patrick Davis" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-davis/american-christianity-has-come-to-show-a-blandness-that-offends-no/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/011/patrick-davis-13750_christianity_american-christianity-has-come-to-show-a_343405.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/011/patrick-davis-13750_christianity_american-christianity-has-come-to-show-a_343405.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/011/patrick-davis-13750_christianity_american-christianity-has-come-to-show-a_343405.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“American Christianity has come to show a blandness that offends no one, a gospel that is adaptable to fit…” — Patrick Davis", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I look at American Christianity and I'm almost in despair. I don't want to be identified with it. The Christian vote in America is an anti-abortion, anti-homosexual vote. I consider that to be anti-female and anti-gay, and I don't want to be identified with a God who is anti-anything.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Shelby Spong" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/i-look-at-american-christianity-and-i-m-almost-in-despair-i-don-t/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a38/john-shelby-spong-1488_abortion_i-look-at-american-christianity-and-i-m_425324.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a38/john-shelby-spong-1488_abortion_i-look-at-american-christianity-and-i-m_425324.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a38/john-shelby-spong-1488_abortion_i-look-at-american-christianity-and-i-m_425324.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I look at American Christianity and I'm almost in despair. I don't want to be identified with it. The…” — John Shelby Spong", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "This book is written for those who want more Jesus. It is for those who are bored with what American Christianity offers. It is for those who don't want to plateau, those who would rather die before their convictions do.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Francis Chan" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/this-book-is-written-for-those-who-want-more-jesus-it-is-for-those/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/243/francis-chan-548_book_this-book-is-written-for-those-who-want_278736.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/243/francis-chan-548_book_this-book-is-written-for-those-who-want_278736.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/243/francis-chan-548_book_this-book-is-written-for-those-who-want_278736.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“This book is written for those who want more Jesus. It is for those who are bored with what American…” — Francis Chan", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Her religion--perhaps, Alwyn thought, American Christianity as a whole--was a religion of ideal prose; all the beauty it had was the elegance of a perfect law, a Napoleonic code. It deified Jesus, but deified Him as a social leader and teacher martyred for His virtue, a compassionate attorney at the right hand of God the judge, and a fulfillment of the half-political prophecies of the Old Testament--whose jurisprudence of hygiene, family relations, patriotism, and commerce, its morality resembled.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Glenway Wescott" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenway-wescott/her-religion-perhaps-alwyn-thought-american-christianity-as-a-whole/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50b/glenway-wescott-37305_programming_her-religion-perhaps-alwyn-thought-ameri_457133.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50b/glenway-wescott-37305_programming_her-religion-perhaps-alwyn-thought-ameri_457133.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50b/glenway-wescott-37305_programming_her-religion-perhaps-alwyn-thought-ameri_457133.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Her religion--perhaps, Alwyn thought, American Christianity as a whole--was a religion of ideal prose; all…” — Glenway Wescott", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 11, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think what you see a lot of in American religion, even in areas of American Christianity that don't go all the way with Osteen to the idea that God wants you to have this big house and so on, the nature of American religion right now, the fact that it is so non-denominational and post-denominational, the most successful churches have to be run more like businesses than ever before. I think that just exposes Christians to a constant temptation to think about the ministry more as a business than they sometimes should.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ross Douthat" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/i-think-what-you-see-a-lot-of-in-american-religion-even-in-areas-of/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6b/ross-douthat-2949_areas_i-think-what-you-see-a-lot-of-in-america_576636.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6b/ross-douthat-2949_areas_i-think-what-you-see-a-lot-of-in-america_576636.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c6b/ross-douthat-2949_areas_i-think-what-you-see-a-lot-of-in-america_576636.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think what you see a lot of in American religion, even in areas of American Christianity that don't go all…” — Ross Douthat", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 12, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's clearly the case that there's not some moment in American history when every evangelical is holding hands with every Catholic who is holding hands with every mainline Methodist, or what have you. Obviously, American Christianity was deeply divided in all kinds of ways at mid-century too. But there was a kind of convergence going on. Even though Reinhold Niebuhr, the great mainline Protestant theologian, didn't think highly of Billy Graham, he and Graham still, clearly, had more in common, both theologically and in their attitudes toward religion in public life.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ross Douthat" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/it-s-clearly-the-case-that-there-s-not-some-moment-in-american/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a8/ross-douthat-2949_all-kinds_it-s-clearly-the-case-that-there-s-not-s_1340356.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a8/ross-douthat-2949_all-kinds_it-s-clearly-the-case-that-there-s-not-s_1340356.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a8/ross-douthat-2949_all-kinds_it-s-clearly-the-case-that-there-s-not-s_1340356.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It's clearly the case that there's not some moment in American history when every evangelical is holding…” — Ross Douthat", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 13, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“American Christians have often allowed the world to determine their view of power and privilege, rather than Scripture. This has created an Anglo Christianity that is increasingly affluent, suburban, and educated, yet functionally disconnected from non-Anglo populations. A multiethnic church will bring to American Christianity a new awareness of these issues from a biblical perspective so that the new people of God, the church, may truly reflect the diversity and equality inherent in the gospel.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David T. Olson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-t-olson/american-christians-have-often-allowed-the-world-to-determine-their/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95e/david-t-olson-60141_bible_american-christians-have-often-allowed-t_2427504.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95e/david-t-olson-60141_bible_american-christians-have-often-allowed-t_2427504.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95e/david-t-olson-60141_bible_american-christians-have-often-allowed-t_2427504.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“American Christians have often allowed the world to determine their view of power and privilege, rather than…” — David T. Olson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 14, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Part of the scandal of American Christianity is that statistically the U.S. is the most Christian country in the world, and yet as a country we have the greatest income inequality in the world. And as a country we are uncritically committed, not simply to being the most powerful nation in the world militarily, but to being as militarily powerful as the rest of the world combined. We Christians live in a tradition that is passionate about issues of economic justice and peace and yet at least half of American Christians, probably even more, think it’s really important that we be as powerful as the rest of the world put together.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Marcus Borg" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-borg/part-of-the-scandal-of-american-christianity-is-that-statistically/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c71/marcus-borg-23822_christianity_part-of-the-scandal-of-american-christia_2120955.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c71/marcus-borg-23822_christianity_part-of-the-scandal-of-american-christia_2120955.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c71/marcus-borg-23822_christianity_part-of-the-scandal-of-american-christia_2120955.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Part of the scandal of American Christianity is that statistically the U.S. is the most Christian country in…” — Marcus Borg", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 15, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“American Christians may be fearful of the dramatic changes that have already occurred in the world and in American Christianity. Could that fear be rooted in a loss of power as the demographics of world Christianity begin to favor non-Western nations? But these changes in Christianity may be exactly what God intended, requiring American Christians to relinquish a historical dominance and embrace a greater mutuality, equality and reciprocity in twenty-first-century world Christianity.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Soong-Chan Rah" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soong-chan-rah/american-christians-may-be-fearful-of-the-dramatic-changes-that-have/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed3/soong-chan-rah-33108_change_american-christians-may-be-fearful-of-th_2904540.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed3/soong-chan-rah-33108_change_american-christians-may-be-fearful-of-th_2904540.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed3/soong-chan-rah-33108_change_american-christians-may-be-fearful-of-th_2904540.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“American Christians may be fearful of the dramatic changes that have already occurred in the world and in…” — Soong-Chan Rah", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 16, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A narrative of success propels white evangelicalism over and above other forms of American Christianity. Evangelicals often fail to embrace the important examples of the Spanish-speaking store-front church because they are considered too small, even though the faithful spirituality in the midst of suffering would blow away all of our purpose-driven lives. Korean”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Soong-Chan Rah" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soong-chan-rah/a-narrative-of-success-propels-white-evangelicalism-over-and-above/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa6/soong-chan-rah-33108_evangelicalism_a-narrative-of-success-propels-white-eva_3113786.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa6/soong-chan-rah-33108_evangelicalism_a-narrative-of-success-propels-white-eva_3113786.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa6/soong-chan-rah-33108_evangelicalism_a-narrative-of-success-propels-white-eva_3113786.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A narrative of success propels white evangelicalism over and above other forms of American Christianity…” — Soong-Chan Rah", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 17, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Trump's blatant racism and demonization of Muslims, Mexicans, and immigrants also serves as a foil for white evangelicals. By othering these groups, Trump allows evangelicals to persist in their belief that white Anglo-saxon Protestantism is the default for true American Christianity and is best suited to lead America as a 'Christian Nation.'", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anthea Butler" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthea-butler/trump-s-blatant-racism-and-demonization-of-muslims-mexicans-and/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/803/anthea-butler-7679_america_trump-s-blatant-racism-and-demonization_2825882.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/803/anthea-butler-7679_america_trump-s-blatant-racism-and-demonization_2825882.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/803/anthea-butler-7679_america_trump-s-blatant-racism-and-demonization_2825882.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Trump's blatant racism and demonization of Muslims, Mexicans, and immigrants also serves as a foil for white…” — Anthea Butler", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 18, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Because this is an urban church in a downtown neighborhood, it is not so easy to avoid the presence of the poor. We see them. I wonder if that is not part of our vocation, to see the poor, to be the Lord's eyes - because the Lord sees the poor, and he loves the poor, and he sends his people to serve the poor. That is a message that pervades the Scriptures from end to end. There is something seriously out of balance in American Christianity. I am personally opposed to abortion, but there is nothing explicit in the Bible about abortion. There is nothing explicit in the Bible about prayer in the public schools; there is nothing explicit in the Bible about the American flag or the right to have a gun. There are, however, thousands of explicit words in the Bible about justice and compassion for the poor. There are thousands of words in the Bible about defending those who are defenseless.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Fleming Rutledge" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fleming-rutledge/because-this-is-an-urban-church-in-a-downtown-neighborhood-it-is-not/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84b/fleming-rutledge-28419_american-flag_because-this-is-an-urban-church-in-a-dow_1008414.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84b/fleming-rutledge-28419_american-flag_because-this-is-an-urban-church-in-a-dow_1008414.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84b/fleming-rutledge-28419_american-flag_because-this-is-an-urban-church-in-a-dow_1008414.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Because this is an urban church in a downtown neighborhood, it is not so easy to avoid the presence of the…” — Fleming Rutledge", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 19, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“[M]ost Americans are still drawing some water from the Christian well. But a growing number are inventing their own versions of what Christianity means, abandoning the nuances of traditional theology in favor of religions that stroke their egos and indulge or even celebrate their worst impulses. . . . Both doubters and believers stand to lose if religion in the age of heresy turns out to be complicit in our fragmented communities, our collapsing families, our political polarization, and our weakened social ties. Both doubters and believers will inevitably suffer from a religious culture that supplies more moral license than moral correction, more self-satisfaction than self-examination, more comfort than chastisement. . . . Many of the overlapping crises in American life . . . can be traced to the impulse to emphasize one particular element of traditional Christianity—one insight, one doctrine, one teaching or tradition—at the expense of all the others. The goal is always progress: a belief system that’s simpler or more reasonable, more authentic or more up-to-date. Yet the results often vindicate the older Christian synthesis. Heresy sets out to be simpler and more appealing and more rational, but it often ends up being more extreme. . . . The boast of Christian orthodoxy . . . has always been its fidelity to the whole of Jesus. Its dogmas and definitions seek to encompass the seeming contradictions in the gospel narratives rather than evading them. . . . These [heretical] simplifications have usually required telling a somewhat different story about Jesus than the one told across the books of the New Testament. Sometimes this retelling has involved thinning out the Christian canon, eliminating tensions by subtracting them. . . . More often, though, it’s been achieved by straightforwardly rewriting or even inventing crucial portions of the New Testament account. . . . “Religious man was born to be saved,” [Philip Rieff] wrote, but “psychological man is born to be pleased.” . . . In 2005, . . . . Smith and Denton found no evidence of real secularization among their subjects: 97 percent of teenagers professed some sort of belief in the divine, 71 percent reported feeling either “very” or “somewhat” close to God, and the vast majority self-identified as Christian. There was no sign of deep alienation from their parents’ churches, no evidence that the teenagers in the survey were poised to convert outright to Buddhism or Islam, and no sign that real atheism was making deep inroads among the young. But neither was there any evidence of a recognizably orthodox Christian faith. “American Christianity,” Smith and Denton suggested, is “either degenerating into a pathetic version of itself,” or else is “actively being colonized and displaced by a quite different religious faith.” They continued: “Most religious teenagers either do not really comprehend what their own religious traditions say they are supposed to believe, or they do understand it and simply do not care to believe it.” . . . An ego that’s never wounded, never trammeled or traduced—and that’s taught to regard its deepest impulses as the promptings of the divine spirit—can easily turn out to be an ego that never learns sympathy, compassion, or real wisdom. And when contentment becomes an end unto itself, the way that human contents express themselves can look an awful lot like vanity and decadence. . . . For all their claims to ancient wisdom, there’s nothing remotely countercultural about the Tolles and Winfreys and Chopras. They’re telling an affluent, appetitive society exactly what it wants to hear: that all of its deepest desires are really God’s desires, and that He wouldn’t dream of judging. This message encourages us to justify our sins by spiritualizing them. . . . Our vaunted religiosity is real enough, but our ostensible Christian piety doesn’t have the consequences a casual observer might expect. . . . We nod to God, and then we do as we please.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ross Douthat" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/m-ost-americans-are-still-drawing-some-water-from-the-christian-well/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd7/ross-douthat-2949_american-life_m-ost-americans-are-still-drawing-some-w_743522.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd7/ross-douthat-2949_american-life_m-ost-americans-are-still-drawing-some-w_743522.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd7/ross-douthat-2949_american-life_m-ost-americans-are-still-drawing-some-w_743522.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“[M]ost Americans are still drawing some water from the Christian well. But a growing number are inventing…” — Ross Douthat", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 20, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I quickly found that the American church is a difficult place to fit in if you want to live out New Testament Christianity. The goals of American Christianity are often a nice marriage, children who don't swear, and good church attendance. Taking the words of Christ literally, and seriously, is rarely considered. That's for the 'radicals' who are 'unbalanced' and who go 'overboard.' Most of us want a balanced life we can control, that is safe, and that does not involve suffering.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Francis Chan" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-chan/i-quickly-found-that-the-american-church-is-a-difficult-place-to-fit/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f7/francis-chan-548_attendance_i-quickly-found-that-the-american-church_1352804.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f7/francis-chan-548_attendance_i-quickly-found-that-the-american-church_1352804.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f7/francis-chan-548_attendance_i-quickly-found-that-the-american-church_1352804.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I quickly found that the American church is a difficult place to fit in if you want to live out New…” — Francis Chan", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 21, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“American Christianity did not undergo the church-emptying declines of European Christianity. Its perspective was similar to that of Mother Teresa, who in 1988 said, “Why should we care about the Earth when our duty is to the poor and the sick among us? God will take care of the Earth.” Here God is the “big man” of the tribe who offers protection in return for service. Accepting that the climate could spiral into chaos is accepting that such protection does not exist. This makes working to prevent climate change ideologically problematic.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "J.M.R. Higgs" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-r-higgs/american-christianity-did-not-undergo-the-church-emptying-declines-of/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e05/j-m-r-higgs-43173_climate-change_american-christianity-did-not-undergo-th_2288515.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e05/j-m-r-higgs-43173_climate-change_american-christianity-did-not-undergo-th_2288515.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e05/j-m-r-higgs-43173_climate-change_american-christianity-did-not-undergo-th_2288515.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“American Christianity did not undergo the church-emptying declines of European Christianity. Its perspective…” — J.M.R. Higgs", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-christianity/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-christianity/", "name": "American Christianity Quotes", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-christianity/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/998/paul-washer-1468_christianity_american-christianity-is-based-more-on-a_2470697.png" }, "description": "Browse 21 American Christianity quotes by 15 authors. 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