Cultural Christianity and the Demise of the West
The American Corporate Church has failed
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”
And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.—Matthew 7:21-29
Recently, Ayaan Hirsi Ali wrote a piece declaring that she has become a Christian. What made that news, for those outlets that picked it up, is that she was raised Muslim and turned atheist for many years before now declaring herself Christian.
Is Ali really saved? Well, I hope so. But her piece offered no evidence that she is.
“So, what changed? Why do I call myself a Christian now?
Part of the answer is global. Western civilization is under threat from three different but related forces: the resurgence of great-power authoritarianism and expansionism in the forms of the Chinese Communist Party and Vladimir Putin’s Russia; the rise of global Islamism, which threatens to mobilize a vast population against the West; and the viral spread of woke ideology, which is eating into the moral fiber of the next generation.”
Ali goes on to state that “atheism is too weak and divisive a doctrine to fortify us against our menacing foes.” She added that the only way to beat these “formidable forces” is “our desire to uphold the legacy of the Judeo-Christian tradition…. There is a better way to manage the challenges of existence than either Islam or unbelief had to offer.”
Now, there’s statements there that I agree with, some I don’t. I’ll get to some of that later, but read Ali’s piece and you won’t see Jesus referenced at all. You won’t see Ali describe her need for the Savior, her recognition that she is a sinner.
The entire piece paints Christianity as a utilitarian choice. It’s the best system to protect the West and “Judeo-Christian values.” Ali points the finger at others and says they need to be defeated.
Ali offers no indication that she believes the Bible is true or that Islam and atheism is false. She just states that there are others who need to be defeated.
Similarly, I saw a transcript from an interview from Glenn Beck of comedian Rob Schneider who declared he had recently converted. Beck, a Mormon (not a Christian), set up the interview by stating that Schneider explained “how seeing evil spread around the world helped bring him to Christianity,” and “why he’s willing to speak out for Israel and against the woke gender movement.”
Again, the finger is pointed at the others and their evil. No inward looking at himself. And by the way, when the entire mainstream is pimping for war, covering up for genocide, and censoring and censuring those who share just the mildest of sympathy for Palestinians, can someone explain how it is courageous to be “willing to speak out for Israel”?
Schneider did, in contrast to Ali, reference Jesus. But it wasn’t to declare Him the Savior but rather to explain his choice of Catholicism. Schneider said:
“And some people are having a question about Christianity. Is -- in Jesus. Whatever form it is. Just for me, Catholicism works. Because it’s the closest to the word. Closest to the actual word of Jesus. Through -- to the Greek and the Latin.”
This is the fruit of cultural Christianity. It’s not about the truth of the Bible. It’s not about reality. It’s about worldly endeavors.
Of course, I hope both Ali and Schneider come to faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior. I hope that for everyone. But presently, I see no evidence that either are. If all you can see is evil in others and not recognize your own sins, you’ve clearly missed the point of the Bible and the teachings of Jesus.
As I’ve written before, Americans have no desire to take responsibility. Neither Ali or Schneider take any responsibility. It’s all the others.
The Death of the West has Come from Within
“‘Cultural Christian’ is an empty idea: When non-believers take the cross they are really talking about in-groups and out-groups”
That’s the headline from a piece by Mary Harrington. To be honest, I didn’t particularly agree with much from the piece. But I liked the headline. That headline explains the ideas from Ali and Schneider. They are now part of the “in-groups” and the others are the “out-groups.”
They view themselves as the good guys, the West as the good guys. The others, they’re the bad guys.
Are things really that simple? Of course, there is good and evil. But reality is far more complex than what Ali and Schneider are spreading.
First off, someone who has been saved does not view themselves as good. There’s “none who does good, no, not one” (Romans 3:12). “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Romans 3:23) and the “wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
Second off, someone who has been saved does not follow the Bible for worldly gain, like treasure. We follow the Bible because we want to please God, and we understand the Bible is true. Wisdom is far greater than gold and any worldly gain (Proverbs 16:1-8).
Let’s look at some of those statements from Ali and Schneider. First, Ali suggests a “desire to uphold the legacy of the Judeo-Christian tradition.”
Judeo-Christian values are an oxymoron. There’s “nothing Judeo about Christianity,” and there’s “nothing Christian about the value system of Judaism,” according to Radio Christianity. Gary North wrote:
“The Judeo-Christian tradition is in fact a humanist construct without a single volume’s worth of primary source documentation. There is a reason for this ‘gap on the book shelf’, a gap in history.”
Ali goes onto to blame the “expansionism in the forms of the Chinese Communist Party and Vladimir Putin’s Russia; the rise of global Islamism, which threatens to mobilize a vast population against the West.”
Seriously? The death of the West is because of Chinese expansion or Putin’s expansion?
I’ll refer back to my pieces about taking responsibility when it comes to the covid lie:
https://sethhancock.substack.com/p/taking-responsibility-covid-19-made-02f
https://sethhancock.substack.com/p/taking-responsibility-covid-19-made-6e8
https://sethhancock.substack.com/p/taking-responsibility-covid-19-made
It’s not the “China virus.” It’s the Fauci flu. It’s an American creation.
Would I like to live in China? Of course not. But China’s government is not a threat to us. It’s a threat to Chinese people. Our government is the greatest threat to us. Our government locked us down, called us “nonessential.”
By the way, Putin is actually promoting family values. Do I trust him? No, but at least he’s promoting them. What do we get from American politicians? What do we get from the “Christian party,” the so-called GOP?
Ted Cruz called Uganda’s law against “aggravated homosexuality” an “abomination.” The law doesn’t criminalize identifying as LGBT but offers the death penalty for those who rape “minors and other categories of vulnerable people.”
So, homosexuality is an “abomination” (Leviticus 18:22), according to the Bible. But Cruz calls laws against homosexuality, specifically homosexual rapists, an “abomination.”
https://sethhancock.substack.com/p/santa-putin-video-shows-russian-president
https://sethhancock.substack.com/p/pride-month-part-iii-america-exporting
Speaking of expansionism, The Soldier Project reports:
“There are roughly 750 US foreign military bases; they are spread across 80 nations! After the U.S is the UK, but they only have 145 bases. Russia has about 3 dozen bases, and China just five. This implies that the U.S has three times as many bases as all other countries combined. Quite astonishing if you ask us.”
Who are the expansionists? Who’s building empires, enforcing a depraved culture? It’s the West.
“And so it went with the treasury of virtue, which morphed linguistically into ‘American exceptionalism.’ This is what paved the way for the never-ending military interventionism of the twentieth century and beyond, up to the present day. The ‘treasury of virtue’ has always been the moral cover for all of this greed, racism, barbarianism, and worse. The good news today is that it is hard to think of anyone with a sound mind who would sincerely believe this any longer. Of course, it is human nature to deny that one has been duped and lied to for one’s entire life, so there with always be the Boobus americanus class, so named by H.L. Mencken, that will chant USA! USA! for every bomb dropped on civilian populations anywhere in the world. But the gig is up. The party in power as of this writing is run by a man described by Naomi Wolf as “a senile puppet of the Chinese Communist party” whose main mission as president has been to align himself—and his country—with what is generally acknowledged as the most corrupt society on earth, Ukraine. The ‘uniparty’ in Washington is finally crumbling, David Stockman has recently declared. If he is right, it is because Boobus americanus is finally outnumbered and the false treasury of virtue has been proven beyond doubt to have been the mother of all government lies. There is no longer any moral authority to use “sanctions” to destroy a country’s economy for failing to ‘do as we say.’ The decline of the dollar will inevitably speed up this process, which is good news for the world.”
As for Schneider, he discussed the genital mutilation of children calling it “criminal” and “sad.” Can’t disagree with him.
But he went on to say “wait until they're 18, until they make a decision.” He even suggested that if his children wanted to go through gender transition (which is not possible), once they’re an adult it’s just fine to him.
What? The attempts to transition to the opposite sex is wrong, period, whether child or adult. It’s also antithetical to the Hippocratic Oath which states that first, a doctor “will take care that they (patient) suffer no hurt or damage.” Mutilating genitals causes harm and suffering no matter the age. I am for not only banning such surgeries for children but for everyone.
By the way, that oath states to not “administer poison to anyone” and “give no sort of medicine to any pregnant woman, with a view to destroy the child.” Think experimental gene therapy covid bioweapons (or vaccines in general) and abortion which are celebrated in our culture.
Look, the death of the West has come from within. We are to blame for our own demise. Stop pointing the fingers at the others. And cultural Christianity is the leading culprit for our demise as it promotes a dumbed down, pathetic, weak message devoid of the Gospel.
The Fruit of Cultural Christianity
All ye beasts of the field, come to devour, yea, all ye beasts in the forest. His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter.—Isaiah 56:9-11
That is the passage that Matt Trewhella, pastor at Mercy Seat Christian Church, used to describe the American Corporate Church. He said:
“That’s American Christianity, that’s America right there on the pages of Isaiah. And we must weep, we must weep.”
https://sethhancock.substack.com/p/update-no-word-yet-on-christians
What’s the fruit of cultural Christianity? Well, 70% of American claim to be Christian. Their beliefs suggest otherwise.
https://sethhancock.substack.com/p/the-government-we-deserve-part-i
https://sethhancock.substack.com/p/the-government-we-deserve-part-ii
https://sethhancock.substack.com/p/the-government-we-deserve-part-iii
https://sethhancock.substack.com/p/the-government-we-deserve-part-iv
Arizona Christian University reported:
“According to the latest report from the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University, a full 69% of U.S. adults self-identify as Christian. Yet, a closer look at this large swath of the American population reveals their professed ‘Christian’ faith is built on disturbingly shaky theological foundations.
For example, the study found that although self-identified Christians in the study embrace many basic tenets of the faith, at the same time they hold many views in conflict with traditional teachings—among these, believing people are basically good and rejecting the existence of objective truth rooted in Scripture. Many don’t even acknowledge Jesus Christ as savior among their theological beliefs.
They also look more to feelings, experiences, and family and friends than the Bible for moral guidance. A full 58% contend the Holy Spirit is not a real, living being and 57% embrace the concept of Karma And only 9% of this large population of self-identified Christians actually possess a biblical worldview, according to new research from George Barna, CRC Director of Research.
As Barna explained, “‘Christian’ has become somewhat of a generic term rather than a name that reflects a deep commitment to passionately pursuing and being like Jesus Christ.”
“Nearly 70% of born-again Christians disagree with the biblical position that Jesus is the only way to God, according to a new survey from Probe Ministries, a nonprofit that seeks to help the Church in renewing the minds of believers with a Christian worldview.
The survey also found that among the top reasons given by born-again Christians for not telling others about their faith is the acceptance of pluralism. When asked why they don’t share their beliefs with others, born-again respondents chose ‘They can get to Heaven through their different religious belief,’ ‘We shouldn’t impose our ideas on others,’ and ‘The Bible tells us not to judge others’ as their top three responses, respectively.”
From the murder of their unborn neighbors (abortion) to evolution to gay mirage (marriage), professing American Christians side with the world instead of the Bible:
https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/fact-sheet/public-opinion-on-abortion/
https://news.gallup.com/poll/393197/same-sex-marriage-support-inches-new-high.aspx
America is full of apostate, heretical churches. They’re all around. And don’t point your fingers at the ones we can clearly see are from the “left.” Of course, a church that promotes gay mirage, killing babies, etc. is heretical and apostate. But it comes from the “right” as well. Often, that’s in the form of the false prosperity gospel. On that front, we have AI Jesus promoting prosperity. I wonder why that happened? Maybe it’s because AI Jesus has been programmed by the message of cultural Christianity, not Biblical Christianity.
On the “right,” we have this strong ecumenical push that promotes that as long as you fall on the right side of politics, you’re alright with God. This is why you can get an open sodomite, Ali Alexander, who organized the so-called “Jericho March,” prior to Jan. 6, claiming to bring Christians to Washington, D.C. to pray that their savior, Donald Trump, be returned to the White House and the election results be overturned.
Question, if your “Christian” march is organized by a sodomite, who’s been credibly accused of grooming minors and basically admitted to it, did God really hear their prayers?
Alyssa Roat gave five key differences between Biblical and cultural Christianity. Anyone can say they’re a cultural Christian, which is what prominent atheist Richard Dawkins calls himself. The big differences are that cultural Christianity is comfortable and requires little sacrifice.
Roat wrote:
“Biblical Christianity requires something of believers. God is not a genie who grants wishes when needed and spends the rest of his time happily in the lamp. He is an immense, powerful God intimately involved in the minutiae of the world who places demands on His people.
He is not ‘okay with whatever’ as long as people get along. He condemns sin and enacts justice. He’s more interested in a person’s eternal well-being than their temporal happiness. This God requires commitment, repentance from sins, and a relationship with His followers….
Jesus demanded radical sacrifice. To the rich man he said, ‘You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me’ (Luke 18:22).
Eleven out of twelve of the apostles died martyrs. Even John, the only apostle believed to have died peacefully, faced persecution and exile on the Isle of Patmos before his death….
Being a Biblical Christian is more than believing; it means giving up everything to God. Though God may require different things from different people, He will never accept being an afterthought. God demands to be the center of our lives. All actions and thoughts are to be informed by allegiance to Him; He is to be our greatest joy and fulfillment.
However, a history of cultural Christianity still has a grip on today’s Christians. As the public popularity of Christianity dwindles, a nominal, cultural Christianity will not be able to stand in the face of advancing secularism. Only a biblical Christianity based on the Bible and a relationship with Jesus Christ will be able to offer hope to the world.”
Cultural Christianity tries to appease the world for comfort and personal gain. Biblical Christianity seeks to follow God’s will out of gratitude for the gifts He has given us and to be reconciled to Him (2 Corinthians 5:12-20). And in following Him, we are promised persecution which we should find joy in (Matthew 5:10-12/2 Timothy 3:12/ James 1:2-4).
“Anyone who tells you that committing your life to Christ makes your life easier is not telling the truth. Fulfilling, yes. More joyful, absolutely. But easier? No. In some ways, life gets more difficult after we come to Christ. The struggle against sin is more pronounced, for one thing. Laziness, gluttony, swearing, anger, envy, self-centeredness, materialism, covetousness, intimacy issues—the temptations seem never-ending. The world, the flesh, and the devil don’t go away because we have stepped into a relationship with Christ.”
And recognize that this moral bankruptcy in America, this has been a longtime trend. In 2005, Albert Mohler, Jr. wrote:
“We now face the challenge of evangelizing a nation that largely considers itself Christian, overwhelmingly believes in some deity, considers itself fervently religious, but has virtually no connection to historic Christianity. Christian Smith and his colleagues have performed an enormous service for the church of the Lord Jesus Christ in identifying Moralistic Therapeutic Deism as the dominant religion of this American age. Our responsibility is to prepare the church to respond to this new religion, understanding that it represents the greatest competitor to biblical Christianity. More urgently, this study should warn us all that our failure to teach this generation of teenagers the realities and convictions of biblical Christianity will mean that their children will know even less and will be even more readily seduced by this new form of paganism. This study offers irrefutable evidence of the challenge we now face. As the motto reminds us, ‘Knowledge is power.’”
Examine Yourself
“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”—John 14:6
For those of you raised in cultural Christianity who think you’re saved because you go to church and you vote for the “good guys,” you need to examine yourselves. Why do you call yourself Christian? Is it truly out of believe in God and Jesus as your Savior? Do you desire to please God, or are you hoping God pleases you with worldly gain?
I don’t write this in any way saying I’m any different or better. I am a sinner saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus. I have to repent and examine myself as well.
Is it, as that so-called Christian Super Bowl ad stated, “He gets us.” Or is it about us getting Him. Is God on our side? Or are we supposed to be on God’s side?
David Lynn, a street preacher, stated:
“If you’re not seeing the fruit in your life you got to ask yourself where is your heart. Are you tending to that seed? Are you watering the seed? Are you giving light to the seed? Because God is going to come for a harvest. He’s going to send a sickle, and He’s going to reap up His people. And those who are not producing fruit, Jesus said they’re going to be cut down and thrown into the fire.
This is the message that the churches aren’t teaching today. You know why? Because it’s not comfortable. It’s not comfortable. Everybody wants to ascribe to a religion that everybody’s accepted, and it’s easy. And, of course, if you start teaching that, there’s more money coming in. The more watered down the message, the easier it is to get money.
But the moment you preach the truth, holiness, getting right with the Lord, it’s not a popular message. You get called a legalist, called a works-based salvationist. You get called every kind of name in the book. But I’m here to tell you today, I’m not a works-based salvationist. I’m a person that believes in the work of Jesus Christ.
And His work is so amazing that He puts a fire in your life. He puts substance in your life that causes you to pursue the things of God until you’re perfected, causes you to chase after His sanctification, causes you to love His presence, causes you to want to be with Him someday because listen, the world of faith is tricky. A lot of people say they’re living by faith, but they’re not living by faith. Are they in the faith?
The Bible says work out your faith, work out your salvation with fear and trembling. You got to work it out. You got to figure out what is your faith really, what is really in your heart, what has
really been planted in your system. Is it the born again experience? Then why isn’t it growing? Is it God inside of you, then how come I don’t see it? Is it Jesus Christ? Then why don’t you look Christian?”
Previous Related Pieces:
https://sethhancock.substack.com/p/ohio-gop-congressman-calls-christian
https://sethhancock.substack.com/p/indias-anti-christian-pm-given-red
https://sethhancock.substack.com/p/jesus-died-so-that-we-might-live
https://sethhancock.substack.com/p/neutered-christianity-on-display
https://sethhancock.substack.com/p/gary-barnett-the-asinine-insanity
https://sethhancock.substack.com/p/christmas-and-the-need-for-humility
https://sethhancock.substack.com/p/satire-becoming-reality-israeli-soldier
https://sethhancock.substack.com/p/palestinian-christians-call-for-ceasefire