"I hope that you are as profoundly disturbed as I am by this new definition of 'successful' Christianity. Do you get the uncomfortable feeling that God is being used? The self-centeredness of our culture spawns a self-centered religion. The most common question in evangelism today is 'What can Jesus do for me?' Potential converts are told that Jesus can make them happier, better adjusted, and more prosperous. Jesus quickly becomes supreme product, attractive packaged and aggressively sold to the consuming public. Everywhere you turn there are billboards, and buttons and bumper stickers—'Honk if you love Jesus.' He's being advertised in a competitive market with every ingenious Madison Avenue sales technique. Even more than Coca-Cola, Jesus is 'the real thing.'" [My note: "Jesus is the Reason for the Season"]
"As Jim Wallis notes in his book, The call to Conversion, 'The gospel message is being molded to suit an increasingly narcissistic culture. Conversion is proclaimed as the road to self-realization... religion... as a way to help us uncover our human potential—our potential for personal, social, and business success, that is. Modern conversion brings Jesus into our lives rather than bringing us into his. We are told that Jesus is here to help us do better what we are already doing. Jesus doesn't change our lives, he improves them.'" [My note: A classic example along these teachings, is the popular book "The Purpose-Driven Life."]
"What a tragic distortion of the Gospel! Christianity is made compatible with the worship of other gods. Christ is used to serve the interests of wealth and power."
"In entering human history God shattered all previous conceptions of who God is and what man is meant to be. In the New Testament we are presented with a God who suffers crucifixion, a Supreme Being with spit on his face. What He went through in His passion and death is meant for me too; the invitation He issues is, 'Don't weep for Me! Join Me!'"
"American spirituality still seems to start with self, not with God. Personal responsibility replaces personal response. We seem engrossed in our own effort to grow in holiness. We talk about acquiring virtue, as if it were some kind of skill that can be acquired through personal effort, like good handwriting or a well-grooved golf swing. [My note: like reading "How To" books or going to seminars.] In seasons of penance, we focus on getting rid of our hangups and sweating through various spiritual exercises, as if they were a religious muscle-building program designed to produce that Christian Charles Atlas."
"The emphasis is always on what I do rather than on what God is doing in my life. In this macho approach God is reduced to a benign old spectator on the sidelines. The American mystique orients us to attribute any growth in the spiritual life to our own sturdy efforts and vigorous resolutions. We become convinced that we can do a pretty good job of following Jesus if we just once and for all, make up our minds and really buckle down to it. Well, if that is all there is to Christian discipleship, then in the words of singer Peggy Lee, 'Let's break out the booze.'"
Brennan Manning, Lion and Lamb
