First let me say that I am a Christian and I am embarrassed by the misuse of my faith by the Hutaree militia and other extremists. Their words and actions are giving Christians a bad name across a country that is already suspicious of the religious.
That said, groups like the Hutaree are not the problem with Christianity’s decline in America.
Christianity has been in decline for a few years. Ten percent fewer Americans identified themselves as Christian between 1990 and 2008 according to the 2008 American Religious Identification Survey. Though the ARIS reported more than 77 million Christians, only 21 million of those reported identified with a mainline Christian denomination. All told, only 34 percent of the American adult population identifies itself as Christian at all.
I believe this is largely because people say they believe in God, but their actions and beliefs don’t reflect that commitment. Don’t take my word for it—that’s according to The Barna Group, a research organization that has tracked American Christian attitudes since 1984. Their 2009 year-in-review said non-believers are accepting of Christ but don’t become Christians because they don’t want “the institutional framework and limitations of the Christian world.”
Not only that, but Christians often don’t know the scripture that founds their beliefs, if there is one. In fact, the Barna Group says most people don’t care to learn, preferring to accept or reject scripture based on whether it supports previously held beliefs.
Pastors are partly responsible for this problem. The Barna Group reported that a majority of Protestant senior pastors believe immaturity is a problem for Christians, but not in their church. Any spiritual growth is often measured in attendance or participation, not in spiritual understanding or “transformational fruit.”
In short: Christians are preventing others from accepting Christ because of their own ignorance and lax commitment toward their faith.
Jesus himself said, “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.” (Matthew 5:13)
This wasn’t some random comment to a struggling follower; this was part of the Sermon on the Mount, one of Jesus’ most famous teachings. Jesus isn’t preaching to random passers-by; he’s talking to his disciples (Matthew 5:1-2). For better or worse, that translates to Jesus telling every Christian if they fail to have a positive effect on the world, what good are they?
Forgive me for being preachy, but I have stood by and watched my faith go to the dogs on more than one occasion because ignorant followers like the Hutaree don’t know the Jesus I follow but claim his name anyway. In a time like this, I can’t keep quiet and risk being thrown in the same ideological boat as extremists who misuse their faith. What I can do is encourage Christians to really know their faith and beg others to realize that extremists and the ignorant don’t represent my Christ.