The Christian Paradox Bill Mckibben Analysis

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The Disguised Truth About American Christianity In “The Christian Paradox: How a Faithful Nation Gets Jesus Wrong,” Bill Mckibben argues that the way Americans view the messages and teachings Christianity displays are far from what the Gospels of the Bible actually say and teach. McKibben points out how our nation is the most outspoken when it comes to Christianity. However, he later goes on to claim that as the most outspoken of the Christian nations our actions and decisions do not reflect what we preach. It is this contradiction that McKibben insists is the paradox of our Christianity in America. According to a statistic laid out by McKibben, seventy-five percent of the American population is under the belief that “God helps those who…show more content…
Their effectiveness is due to how the examples display our, America’s, usage of Christian beliefs compared to what the actual beliefs say. His most effective example would have to be when he describes how America breaks one of the Ten Commandments themselves. It is true we are a nation that still permits the death penalty. However, the irony he displays sets it apart from the others because the sixth commandment itself says “Thou Shall Not Kill.” Not only that, his perspective of how we say we are Christian is also good for his argument. One negative aspect to his essay would have to be his bias toward conservatives and the rich. He deliberately labels out the rich in many of his examples by pointing out how they claim to be Christian but do not wish to help aid the poor. As for conservatives, he not only points out George W. Bush but refers at times to religion as “conservative religion.” This clearly shows his bias toward them and could be a way for him to associate them with the American Christianity problem. I believe McKibben has a great point on this issue. As American Christians, we always believe that if we do good deeds or help ourselves we go to heaven. This however is completely inaccurate. The Bible clearly states that we must accept God is above all else and repent. It is then that through Jesus Christ we will be made anew by walking the path with him. We do not need to do anything. For that reason, I agree with McKibben view because American Christianity is completely contradictory to real

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