Fifteen propositions for changing Christianity in America
Christian identity is in moral and political crisis. Lee Camp writes "that one major reason Christianity in America has been made into a bad public joke is our failure to rightly understand what Christianity is." Scandalous Witness provides a way forward. Although refusing to reduce Christianity to any partisan agenda, he reminds us that the gospel is inherently political and that we are called to be political witnesses.
Camp's provocative diagnosis is that "American hope" is a bastardized form of Christian hope. The United States is not the hope of the world nor is it a Christian nation. Rather, "American Christian values" corrupts Christianity, and partisanship mocks the true scandal of the gospel. Camp reminds us that all empires fall.
By conceiving Christianity as a politic instead of a religion, we may begin to take seriously the true scandal of the gospel. We may envision new possibilities by which our gospel practices make a new world possible. Offering a robust vision of a Christian politic that exposes modern parodies of faith, Camp mixes wit, charm, and logic, challenging Christians to rethink who they are and how they participate in the modern world.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Proposition 1: History Is Not One Damn Thing after Another
Proposition 2: The End of History Has Already Begun
Proposition 3: American Hope Is A Bastard
Proposition 4: Christianity Is Neither A Prostitute Nor A Chaplain
Proposition 5: The United States Is Not the Hope of the World
Proposition 6: The United States Was Not, Is Not, and Will Not Be a Christian Nation
Proposition 7: How Christian Values, and the Bible, Corrupt Christianity
Proposition 8: Every Empire Falls
Proposition 9: Christian Partisanship is Like a Fist-Fight on the Titanic
Proposition 10: Hostile Forces Have a Role in the Unfolding of History
Proposition 11. Christianity Is Not a Religion; Christianity Is a Politic
Proposition 12: Liberal Political Puissance Is Not the Goal
Proposition 13: Exemplary Political Witness Is the Goal
Proposition 14: Christianity Is Not Counter-Cultural
Propositions 15: Christian Engagement Must Always Be Ad Hoc
