Insightful premises leading to illogical conclusions

If you know Metaxas’s other works, this will be familiar territory. He preaches against secular Christianity and to an evangelical American audience but he doesn’t follow his hero Dietrich Bonhoffer’s lead and he feeds his crowd exactly what they want to hear. His premises, such as that Jesus biggest criticisms were reserved for
the most religious folks in his community, hardly lead to his illogical conclusions: that the church in the USA was too soft in accepting the results of the 2000 election and that there are parallels between the rainbow flag and swastika.

He somehow ignores Bonhoeffer as a great example of someone who questions the “miracle” of the resurrection and yet gave up his life standing up for his faith. He concludes that the people who deny such supernatural interpretations cannot be bearers of the truth. And amazingly puts out a strawman argument that we Christians were enjoined to accept unquestioningly the experimental vaccines during COVID-19.

His reading is slow and stifled, just like his logic.

But the premises are amazing. I just wish he’d use them to attack the lack of discernment in himself and others. If anything, all the examples he gives from World War II should enjoin Christians to a lot more humility and introspection. I could just as easily quote Deut. 30:15-20 to attack Donald Trump followers, especially since he’s about as untrustworthy and ungodly a character as American politics has ever seen. And that religious leaders can endorse him despite the Johnson reduction, that he reviles so much, undermines all of his own reasoning.

We will see if Christ shines through the next four years of Republican rule in the USA, or if they finally see the destruction they are wreaking on future generations and the church in the USA, but if I were Metaxas I would not be so sure that he has a direct line on God’s will for the USA. In fact, his criticism of Constantine might be apropos here.

Let me end by praising this book and this man. He obviously knows his Bible. His heart is in the right place. I only hope he has Bonhoffer’s guts when the time comes for him to stand up for the truth. It will be tough. My prayers are with him.

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