“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
“I do think that evangelicals in general need to think seriously about how you pass on your faith across generations and over the long haul.” ThinkingNeedsLongGenerationsHaulLong Haul Author:Ross Douthat
“It's clearly the case that there's not some moment in American history when every evangelical is holding hands with every Catholic who is holding hands with every mainline Methodist, or what have you. Obviously, American Christianity was deeply divided in all kinds of ways at mid-century too. But there was a kind of convergence going on. Even though Reinhold Niebuhr, the great mainline Protestant theologian, didn't think highly of Billy Graham, he and Graham still, clearly, had more in common, both theologically and in their attitudes toward religion in public life.” ThinkingWayKindStillsMomentsHandsCommonAttitudeChristianityCasesCenturyCatholicAll KindsDividedAmerican HistoryTheologianPublic LifeProtestantsEvangelicalHolding HandsMethodistsConvergence 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
“I do think you can see, throughout American history, this temptation, and it's both a liberal and a conservative temptation, to take a healthy patriotism a little too far. For liberals the temptation is to say the purpose of politics is to straightforwardly bring the kingdom of God to Earth. For conservatives, I talk about Glenn Beck, the temptation is more apocalyptic and messianic, it's the temptation to say we did have a covenant with God, a literal covenant beginning with the Founding, and we are, like Israel in the Old Testament, falling away from it.” ThinkingLittlesEarthPurposeFallHealthyConservativeIsraelKingdomsTemptationAmerican HistoryTestamentFoundingKingdom Of GodCovenantLiteralOld TestamentApocalypticCovenant With God 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
“Independent of the critique I'm making, I'm just trying to paint a more comprehensive portrait of American religion than you get from a right versus left, religious conservatives versus secular liberal, believer versus atheist, binary. Too often, we just look at religion in America through that kind of either/or lens. I think it's much more complicated than that.” ThinkingTryingLooksKindAmericaLeftReligiousIndependentPaintAtheistComplicatedBelieverSecularPortraitsVersusLensesComprehensiveCritiqueBinaryEither Or Author:Ross Douthat
“I think it is fair, in a way, to describe certain forms of Marxism, for instance, as the secular equivalent of a religion. But, I think the same is true, to a certain extent, of secular liberalism as well.” ThinkingWayWellsFormCertainFairsInstanceLiberalismSecularMarxism Author:Ross Douthat
“I think that secular liberals need to recognize that they are still, often, hanging their worldview on what are metaphysical ideas.” ThinkingNeedsStillsIdeasSecularMetaphysicalWorldview Author:Ross Douthat
“The thinking person's case for Romney, murmured by many of his backers, amounts to this: Vote for Mitt, you know he doesn't believe a word he says.” ThinkingKnowsBelievePersonsCasesAmountVoteRomneyThinking Person Author:Ross Douthat
