“I think what you see a lot of in American religion, even in areas of American Christianity that don't go all the way with Osteen to the idea that God wants you to have this big house and so on, the nature of American religion right now, the fact that it is so non-denominational and post-denominational, the most successful churches have to be run more like businesses than ever before. I think that just exposes Christians to a constant temptation to think about the ministry more as a business than they sometimes should.” ThinkingWayWantShouldIdeasSometimesFactsBigsRunningChristianHouseChurchChristianitySuccessfulRight NowAreasConstantTemptationPostsMinistryBig Houses Author:Ross Douthat
“Every Christian in every time and place is going to be tempted by certain forms of heresy. I'm sure I'm tempted by my own.” ChristianFormCertainMy OwnTemptedHeresy Author:Ross Douthat
“I think it is very clear that, though great difference remained, evangelicals moved closer to Catholics, mainline Protestants and evangelical Protestants moved closer together, and this convergence coincided with greater institutional strength for all the Christian churches than, for the most part, you see today.” ThinkingTodayChristianTogetherDifferencesChurchClearGreaterCatholicMovedProtestantsEvangelicalChristian ChurchConvergence Author:Ross Douthat
“Americans are an "almost chosen people," which is meant to suggest that there are clear parallels, literal, theological and everything else, between the American story and the Old Testament story of Israel and then the broader story of the Christian church. It's OK to recognize the parallels. It's OK to invoke them. But, you have to keep that "almost" in front of the "chosen." You can't go all the way and say, "America is Israel, America is the Church." That's where I think patriotism shades into, what I call, the heresy of nationalism.” PeopleThinkingWayStoriesChristianAmericaChurchClearFrontsIsraelChosenNationalismShadeTestamentParallelsHeresyLiteralTheologicalOld TestamentInvokeChristian Church Author:Ross Douthat
