Eric Metaxas: American Church Lacks Faith That Only Comes From Being Persecuted
"Well, the church in the bush, the church in the jungle, the persecuted church, they know this stuff," Metaxas added. "They know this stuff but the American church doesn't know it and the German church didn't know it. We have forgotten that these things are true that people are living their lives in faith everyday and under persecution you have to decide, 'Do I actually believe this stuff or don't I?' I really think the irony is that it is the American church and Western church that needs this. We don't have this and we wonder why we have a lot of problems is because we don't have this faith. It is a bit of a catch 22 — If you get persecuted, you kind of find this kind of faith."
As far as Christians in America, Metaxas says they face a "conundrum of success."
"In America, we forget that we have brothers and sisters in Christ around the world. We have kind of bought into an American version of Christianity and we can't even imagine that there are people around the world that have never heard of Republican or Democrat," he said. "They have heard of Jesus but they don't know anything of our politics. They kind of live life in the faith of Jesus. They have completely different categories. That doesn't mean that those categories that we have are not important, but you have to take it into perspective but when someone calls on the name of Jesus, that is my brother or sister in Christ."
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As Christians are being killed for their faith in many different corners of the world, Metaxas says that the church in the West has an "obligation" to do something.
"Now, what is our obligation, that is the big question," Metaxas said. "There is a theme in Scripture that we are 'blessed to be a blessing.'"
In fighting for freedoms around the world, Metaxas argued that American Christians must also fight to protect their rights at home.
As secularism in society rises and governments are trying to force conservative Christians to accept secular views on marriage, abortion and gender, Metaxas says Christians must not let their voices be censored and must stand up for "what is right"
"We have been blessed in this nation and we need to fight for our freedoms in this country because it is a sin against the Lord when a people in a country like this do not stand up for what is right," Metaxas said. "What we are talking about is right. We are not talking about protecting our rights as Christians, we are talking about what is right."
Furthermore, Metaxas said that any imposition that Christians must defy their biblical beliefs — even if they are florists or pharmacists — is a violation of the First Amendment's Establishment Clause.
"The government has to step back and let the people be free and decide. Once the government starts saying that they have this view of sexuality, they have this view of the human person and say 'We are going to go with this view and your view is a parochial, religious, backward idea and we are going to push against that and we are going to promote this and we are going to fine you for living that idea out.' That is the establishment of a religion," he explained. "That is the unconstitutional establishment of a religion by the state."
