Yes, I’m still reading Total Truth by Nancy Pearcey. No, I’m not an incredibly slow reader. I haven’t had much time to read consistently, and it’s an incredibly rich book with much to stop and consider. One such section has been chapter 10, entitled When America Met Christianity, Guess Who Won?

Many of the thoughts Pearcey examines dovetail amazingly well with a book that I read some time ago and have pulled out again to think on. That book, The Transformation of American Religion by Alan Wolfe actually fleshes out some of the points Pearcey introduces, even though Wolfe’s book was written a full year prior.

Wolfe, sounding some of the same themes as Pearcey, makes the assertion that (a quote I’ve used in several sermons): in every aspect of the religious life, American faith has met American culture - and American culture has triumphed. Though we will look at Wolfe’s claims a bit more another day, we cannot escape the fact that at least two prominent writers (Pearcey a believer, Wolfe is not) have come to the same conclusion: American culture has tended to wreak havoc with the Christian faith.

Yet, what is particularly interesting in Pearcey’s chapter is a conclusion that she seems to imply without explicitly stating. Pearcey does an excellent job tracing the relationship between evangelicalism and the budding political philosophy of early America. From an early point, America has been infused with a radical individualism. The very idea of the autonomous and self-made nation would still be fresh in post-Revolutionary America. The very nation in which these believers found themselves came with a philosophy of autonomy and “breaking free.”

Though I am not here setting out to defend it, I openly profess the theological system that many refer to as Reformed Theology, to Doctrines of Grace to some, Calvinism to others. Whatever you choose to call it, I have become more and more convinced that, though not perfect, it is the system which most adequately deals with Scripture and puts forth the most comprehensive view of God, man, salvation and God’s purposes. It is a significant part of my spiritual life, and as such, I have often wondered why it is that this theological system seems to be the minority where it was once considered the norm.

Prior to the Revolutionary War, most historians agree that Reformed Doctrine was the norm, if not the majority. Yet, the tides have turned to say the least. What happened? Can the shift in thought be connected to the political and social thought that provided the very impetus for us to live in a “free” country?

Pearcey reminds us that we often filter thought through our personal experience. Though not the final arbitrator, experience plays an important role in our acceptance or rejection of thought patterns. Understanding this, Pearcey notes that it is the Arminian message that would have resonated with early Americans. The idea that “their salvation hung upon their own decision,” would have (and continues to) fit well with the everyday experience of a country increasingly encouraging its citizens to shape their own destinies.

On the other hand, the Calvinist minister would have preached to the congregation that they were morally corrupt and that their “free will” was bound within the constraints of their sin, preventing them from wanting to choose salvation for themselves. This would not have fit well with the congregation’s actual experience. They were no longer born into a static society, but rather, many of them were facing the opportunity of social advancement for the first time in their lives. It seemed that new possibilities were simply theirs for the taking; all that lacked was the exercise of their wills.

Everywhere we turn, it seems that, as Americans, we are faced with the notion that we are able to choose our own destinies. We celebrate the ’self-made’ man who has pulled himself up by the bootstraps against the odds. Isn’t the very notion behind the “American Dream” that anyone at anytime is able to fight the odds and gain the life they’ve always wanted? It seems that such ideas really began to flourish in post-Revolutionary America.

In the end, is it possible that we find ourselves in a religious climate that leans to Arminianism more for social and political concerns than theological ones? We would do well to at least consider that this is a possible and thus, examine what influences in our own lives affect our interpretations of Scripture.

Read 1776 by David McCullough.
Read Total Truth by Nancy Pearcey.
Read The Transformation of American Religion by Alan Wolfe.
Read The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination by Loraine Boettner.
Read Debating Calvinism by James White and Dave Hunt.