Freedom from Religion

24/7 Wall St reported that in 2014 the average American spent $137.46 on Easter. It was down, they said, from 2013. So Easter infused the American economy with "only" $15.9 billion. In 2013 Americans injected almost $7 billion (with a "b") into the economy for Halloween celebrations. Candy, costumes, decorations, parties ... it all adds up. Last year the U.S. News & World Report said that "Americans will spend the GDP of Sri Lanka on Thanksgiving weekend." That, in case you were wondering, was around $579 billion. And then there's Christmas. All by itself Christmas creates jobs, boosts the economy, puts businesses that were unprofitable for 10 months finally in the black, and ripples through nearly every nook and cranny to make our economy a cheerier place at the most wonderful time of the year. From manufacturing to transportation to sales, from sales taxes and charity increases and nearly every single product type available, the impact is huge. Statista.com reports that in 2013 the U.S. retail industry sales were $3.12 trillion (yes, that's a "t") for Christmas. There were over 720,000 people employed to handle the Christmas rush. Christmas trees alone accounted for more than $1 billion. Oh, yeah, if Halloween is large and Thanksgiving is larger, Christmas is the mother of all economic boons to the American economy.

Have you ever wondered what would happen if America got what so many loud mouths are calling for and suing for? "Freedom from religion" is the aim, the hue and cry. "Get religion out of the public square!" From the courtrooms to the media, from the sitcoms to the celebrities, from the "thinkers" to the stinkers, we are hearing loud and clear, "We don't want Christianity in our faces." (Odd. There is an almost equally loud defense of Islam.) So, what would happen if they got what they wanted?

Well, on a purely economic basis, we would likely see the collapse of the national economy. Oh, perhaps that's too dire. The truth is, however, a large number of small businesses depend on Christmas to make them profitable for the year. Not profitable, not in business. How many nations have an economy capable of a $3 trillion crash? Yank out Thanksgiving and it only gets worse. Remove Halloween and Easter and the numbers are staggering. But if they were to be consistent with their demands, all of these would have to go. No more Thanksgiving holidays or Christmas holidays. Indeed, the entire word "holiday" -- short for "holy day" -- would need to be banned.

But Christianity has had much more of an impact on our modern world than most people realize. And not merely economic.

Christianity held that true progress and fulfillment is found only in community. The "lone wolf" mentality of many in America today is a product of the departure from religion, not from religion itself.

Christianity taught that we are made in the image of God. We are, as such, of intrinsic value. This value is not reducible. It is not dependent on actions, activities, skills, talents, contributions to society, income ... anything else. As part of this "image of God" concept we have derived "inalienable rights endowed by the Creator". And in this intrinsic value due to the image of God, we have intrinsic equality; no one person is worth more than another. That crosses gender lines as well as class and economics and anything else you might name.

This is a value equality; it does not mean a sameness. The Bible specifies differences, uniqueness, and interrelated connections. Eve was designed by God as a "helpmeet" (Gen 2:18), a complement to Adam, filling up the deficiencies in the male. Paul describes Christians as a body so that, like a body, 1) all components are important and, therefore, valuable, and 2) all components are different, with varied functionality and visibility (1 Cor 12:14-25). So we see value, equal value, intrinsic value, and, on the other hand, individuality and uniqueness.

The Bible indicates that in the Garden of Eden God assigned Adam work, "and it was good." Christianity puts a premium on work. Paul wrote, "If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat." (2 Thess 3:10). (How does that play with the "social justice" crowd that demands that enforced charity is a "Christian value"?)

The singular identifier noted by Christ of a Christian is "if you have love for one another" (John 13:35). The singular Christian value, then, is love. Love for God. Love for fellow believers. Love for your neighbor (which seems to be so broadly defined as to include anyone with whom you come in contact). Out of this key ingredient, then, it is obvious that compassion would produce charities, care facilities, medical help, anything that will serve our fellow man.

Jesus said, "I am the Truth." (John 14:6). Thus, truth is a critical component of Christianity. Jesus promised to send His Holy Spirit who "will teach you all things" (John 14:26). So Christians for the past 2,000 years have made the pursuit of truth a basic aim. By pursuing truth, Christians believed they could "think God's thoughts after Him." It was a Christian duty discovering, as they believed, ways in which nature spoke of God (Psa 19:1; Rom 1:19-20). As such, modern science owes its origins to Christianity.

Years ago I met a young man from China. Actually, he stayed with us for several months, an opportunity offered through my work. He learned of Christ through us. One day he told me, "China needs God." I asked him why. "Without God," he said, "there is no justice, no conscience, no established morality." A quote attributed to Alexis de Tocqueville says, "Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great." It is, in fact, Christian morality that tends to make a nation great. It regulates crime, protects families, stigmatizes wrong. A 2009 study out of Harvard indicated that one of the most measurable effects on a nation's economy is how strongly people believe in Hell (and Heaven). Yes, that's right. If you believe that there is a God and He is watching and there are consequences, it changes how you act. And it changes how you interact. So we have the "Protestant work ethic" and the concept of a "vocation" as a calling from God rather than a mere job. Christian morality has a major impact on society.

Now, imagine all of that removed. They get what they demand. Religion is banned from the public square. At least, Christianity. Remove any basis for human rights endowed by a Creator. Take away intrinsic value. Eliminate equality, an illusion we enjoy today on the back of a Christian value system. Cancel "concern for others" as a fundamental virtue. Delete Christian charities and care facilities. Banish any sense of absolute truth, making all pursuit of truth random and individual. And having removed the ground for rights, the value of the individual, the equality of each person, and the care for fellow man, now tear down Christian morality with its core concept of justice to bear it up. Oh, and you might as well factor in the economic impact I outlined above. What do you have? We've seen hints of this in the news. Children killing children. American-made terrorists. Ponzi schemes predicated on "I have the right to satisfy my own desires and you're no better than I am." But given a complete removal of Christianity from public, the effect would be magnified. The economic breakdown coupled with the moral relativism and the end of intrinsic human rights would be staggering. The mechanisms to help people in such wretched times--charities and hospitals and the like--would be absent, lacking both religious motivation and philosophical basis. The result would be catastrophic.

But, hey, who am I to tell them "No"? Freedom from religion? Easy stuff. Like the disasters of 20th century Soviet communism or Mao's regime. Surely it's a bit of paradise, right? Of course not. Nor would all this happen. Because, you see, society would continue to steal from the religion they banned. They would irrationally cling to rights endowed by a Creator they ejected and hold to morality rooted in the religion they freed themselves from. They would prop themselves up on the system they reject and ignore the consequences. "Just a little more control or a few higher taxes or ..."

You will hear it said that religion is the worse thing to happen to Man. You will hear it argued that religion is the cause of a host of woes. When you do, think again.

Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus.