Towards A Respected Christianity

Wednesday, October 15, 2025

That Christianity does not stand on the same pedestal it once did is obvious to even the most casual observer. But the depths of the disrespect, particularly on a global scale, can be under appreciated.  In Rome, a man recently urinated on the high altar at St Peter’s Basilica.  (Turns out this is the third act of desecration at the altar in the last 24 months.)  But that seems minor disrespect when you consider that Christians are being slaughtered en masse in Nigeria.  Sure America’s so-called intelligentsia dismiss those of us of faith with a derisive hand wave, but that seems almost insignificant compared to these sorts of acts.  How did we get here?

Now, of course, a scholarly and thorough answer to that question would look at globalization, changes in Islam that have turned branches of it far more militant, the rise of the internet, and a hundred other “worldly” factors. But when I stop and think about it, even I don’t automatically respect a person or organization claiming to be Christian as I once did.  When I hear such claims I am immediately skeptical as to their genuineness.  That means there is something wrong with Christianity itself, apart from all those other factors and that is where I want to focus.

Let’s be honest – there is a lot of fraud in the name of Christ.  From Elmer Gantry-like situations to the abuse scandals of the Roman Catholic Church, Christianity does not always work well.  That alone fosters a lot of disrespect.  Given the ever increasing diversity of Christian expression, keeping Christianity inside the rails of respectability is ever increasingly difficult.  No longer is there a single church to hold authority, or even the handful of churches that settled in America at its founding.  We are in the age of “spiritual, but not religious” where each individual is a church unto themselves.  Who holds the authority to say what is and what is not respectable Christianity?  Solving this problem seems impossible to me, nor am I sure we want to.  “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely,” which explains why churches started splitting off to begin with.

There is a huge phenomena these days of “come as you are” church.  This is meant to be evangelical – to invite people to church regardless of their circumstances and lifestyle.  And admirable as that is, I wonder if such is the message the church should send.  Yes, we want people to come as they are, but we do not want them to stay that way lest church become enabling rather than life-improving.  Having recently moved thousands of miles, finding a church that does not merely call me, but calls me to be better is difficult.

And so, back to Nigeria – which is atrocious.  If your church is not praying for the situation, make it do so.  Secondly, Christ does not always call us to martyrdom.  While I am wondering, I wonder what more concrete steps can be taken.  Can they be armed and trained to fight back or are they far too outnumbered for that to do anything but increase the genocidal pace?  Does a refugee pipeline need to be established?  Maybe your church needs to host a Nigerian Christian family?

The time has come for our faith to matter more than in our house.

ADDENDUM (just a bit later): Amid The Genocide Of Nigerian Christians, Congress Must Act