A warning for the church

In Letter to the American Church (2022), Eric Metaxas draws parallels between the American church today and the German church of the 1930s. And as the biographer of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Metaxas knows something about the German church during the rise of Hitler.

What the two churches, 90 years apart, have in common, he says, is the fear to speak the truth, a desire to stay on the sidelines and a belief that in time everything will right itself without pastors and congregations having to do anything. This strategy didn't work for the German church, most of which chose to ignore the persecution of Jews, the undemocratic power grab by the Nazis and the militarization of their country.

Nor, says Metaxas, will it work for the American churches choosing to turn their back on the killing of babies in the womb, on the expansion of government power, on the loss of freedoms, on the lie that men can become women and women can become men simply by wishing it so, on the acceptance of promiscuous sex, even among children. Most churches, my own included, have nothing to say on issues that threaten America and, in fact, the church itself.

Metaxas devotes much of his book to challenging the idea that the church should stay out of politics. On the contrary, he argues that the Bible tells believers that they must be separate from the world around them, yet an active part of it at the same time. "Believers have always been called to speak the truth and to fight against injustice of any kind," he writes. "As we have said, we are obliged courageously to bring our faith to bear on all issues."

Bonhoeffer's warning to the German church was largely ignored, and perhaps this warning given by Eric Metaxas will be ignored as well. And perhaps 90 years from now, someone will find this book and feel inspired to give remnants of the Christian church much the same warning.