Seven Deadly Sins in America
Why America is not a Christian Country
4. Wrath
American society on the whole cannot be characterized as particularly violent per se. However, it is the most violent among developed countries. A ranking of countries by the number of murders per person places the US high among industrialized nations. According to the most recent data, the US has more murders on this measure than Armenia, India and Romania, as well as almost all other rich countries. For example, the US has 0.043 murders per 1000 people, while Italy has 0.013 and Switzerland has 0.009. Total crimes per capita also rank highly relative to the rest of the world, and especially (and most importantly) relative to other rich countries, as do assaults per capita.
The American justice system is characterized by greater emphasis on punishment and revenge than other rich countries. Accordingly, the New York Times reported in 2008 that 1% of the adult population was incarcerated. On the world ranking, it is clear that the US has one of the highest numbers of prisoners. (Reasonable questions can be raised on the number of Chinese prisoners, but the US clearly remains high internationally.) In addition, the US continues to execute certain criminals—an extraordinarily unChristian practice, and highly unusual in the rich world. All of this ignores the significant amount of violence in American culture and media, again relative to other industrialized countries.
Seven Deadly Sins in America
Why America is not a Christian Country
3. Pride
No one in the developed world is more proud of their country than Americans. This is not just a rhetorical twist of the word “pride.” Given the nature of the economic and social system, in a Darwinian fashion, we can expect that those who are more self-confident and aggressively self-interested will enjoy more success, on average, than those who are not. Just as confidence breeds success, success breeds confidence. An interesting take on the interplay between the two is written in Business Week here.
Much of this is subjective, of course. But will anyone honestly argue against the notion that confidence, pride, vanity, even narcissism are celebrated and rewarded in American society? A quick look at reality TV and its idolization of otherwise unimpressive personalities will dispel that idea. A glance at ESPN shows the kinds of personalities that succeed, and that are loved, in professional sports. A quick tour through YouTube will demonstrate that many people think themselves “experts” in this matter or that, rightly or wrongly. Personally, I think I am an intelligent person who has opinions that others may find interesting (hence this blog). I would not call myself vain or narcissistic, but obviously I am partaking of this overall phenomenon.
The spirit of individualism and independence inherent in the American social, cultural and economic character will almost inevitably lead to excess pride and vanity. How much pride is too much? Perhaps that can be answered with a question: how successful would Jesus be if he lived in the US today?
Seven Deadly Sins in America Why America is not a Christian Country
2. Envy
The strong individualism (which is itself un-Christian) and consumerism that lie at the heart of American society inevitably give way to envy, jealousy and coveting. Hence the tradition of “keeping up with the Joneses.” Indeed, an economy where 65 to 70% of the GDP is consumption almost by definition requires a significant feeling of want and a desire for more and better stuff. Consumption can even be estimated to be in the 80s or 90s percentage range.
The largely self-interested character of economic activity can be explained by greed. But only envy can adequately explain the huge rates of consumer debt ($2.5 trillion in 2009), the economic staple that credit cards have become, the entire phenomenon of the Christmas shopping season (very apropos) and the vast entitlements and services along with the low taxes that Americans demand from their government. This is envy not only of others who have more stuff than you, but also of what you could potentially be, and the kind of stuff you could have.
From a Christian perspective it can be tough to understand why their religion is laughed at by many. The best way for a Christian to understand why it is often viewed with levity and humor is by analogy. This is not addressing the truth or falsity of actual Christian beliefs, but rather clarifies a certain perspective. Consider three major beliefs unique to the Christian religion:
Christianity claims that a man was born to a virgin woman. Humans cannot be born to virgins. This violates laws of biology and physiology.
Christianity claims that a man converted water into wine. This is impossible, and violates a number of laws of physics and chemistry.
Christianity claims that a man died, and came back to life. This is also impossible. No living thing can die and come back to life, so this violates basic physical and biological laws.
There’s more where that came from, but that’s enough for now.
The Christian should imagine someone openly and loudly declared they had found the “truth.” You would ask, what is this truth? And they reply: 10,000 years ago, a man got pregnant and gave birth to a child. That child grew up, transformed a chicken into an elephant (among other things), and when he died, instead of falling over dead, he melted and became a puddle of mud.
The Christian can see how this story violates the same kinds of physical and biological laws, in the same ways, as the Jesus story. The Christian would be forgiven for bursting out laughing when this person with the “truth” told this story with a straight face. Whatever else the 10,000 year old man said, did, his message, his example, etc, will never make up for the ridiculous claims made about his life.
Christianity is, at the end of the day, a joke. Oftentimes a bad joke.
God and sex often have a relationship of mutual suspicion. To succeed with one, one must often fail with the other. Religion in general is typically a force for restraining the passions and modifying human desires. Major religions emphasize forsaking the things of the material world for the purpose of success in the supernatural world–receiving God’s favor, achieving eternal life beyond the grave, or whatever the goal may be. The conformity, rigidity and moral discipline of religion results in an overall attitude of suspicion toward many simple pleasures in life, including sex or alcohol. In more extreme circumstances, the restrictions extend to music, dancing, mixing between the sexes, or even just laughing.
It comes as no surprise that atheists are reported to have the best sex lives. Although the report is incomplete and limited in various ways, it is thought-provoking. With fewer inhibitions, fewer hang-ups and a more carefree and accepting attitude toward the body and toward fun and happiness, atheists and nonbelievers are able to explore and experiment more than their religious counterparts. The effect is documented among atheists who are former followers of various religious traditions. These people have been able to shed the guilt and shame of their former lives, and this has been a powerful force for sexual satisfaction.
Nevertheless, God can sometimes use sex for his own purposes, or at least his followers can. A group of young Germans created a 2006 calendar featuring nudity and titillating imagery, Biblically-based, in an attempt to entice more people to church. This yet another demonstration of God and religion being molded to the norms and standards of modern culture, rather than the other way around. Religion, lacking any kind of explanatory legitimacy unto itself, has always had to change and refine itself in order to be appealing to people. In a vibrant religious marketplace like the United States, this tendency is seen in spades as religious groups and faith communities, like companies competing for customers, adapt themselves to the desires and expectations of potential consumers. In Europe, where religion has traditionally enjoyed a close relationship with the state and thus a monopoly on perceived spiritual legitimacy, this tendency is far less pronounced, and accordingly, Europe is the most thoroughly secularized continent on earth (barring Australia, perhaps).
Some of the most interesting (and hilarious) developments occur when religion fails to adapt to modern circumstances, and subsequently clashes with the changing environment around it. To wit, the young Christine O’Donnell. Christine O’Donnell, although somewhat more reasonable in recent years, was staunchly against masturbation and, indeed, sex in general in her youth. Offering a throwback to the more restrictive interpretations of godliness, O’Donnell (ironically, given her political leanings) put herself on par with the fundamentalist types of Saudi Arabia and Iran. The science indicates that masturbation is actually healthy and beneficial, but religion and modern secular science do not have the best of relationships.
Going forward, we can expect God to continue to change and adapt to a more sexualized and sexually open culture. At bottom, sex is simply a far more powerful, direct and immediate force in human experience than God will ever be.
