It often takes the wind out of someone's argumentative sails when you agree with them...
I had a soldier explaining to me the list of social ills caused by Christianity (and I appreciate his honesty): marginalization of others, theocratic political quests, etc.
I agreed, with a caviat.
Those ills are derived from a cultural Christianity that redefines its core beliefs away from the Savior of sin to cultural and political objectives. For some, Christianity is synonymous with being a "good person," and those who aren't good people aren't Christians. For some, it is about the restoration of morals to society. For others, it might be the pursuit of health and wealth.
In whatever cases, these worldviews are not Christianity. They are a this-worldly culture created in its place. They are counterfeits. They are heresies.
Orthodox Christianity primarily concerns itself with the biblical account of God and man and the salvation accomplished by Christ by faith in His name in order to bridge the two.
While orthodox Christians are still most certainly sinners, they recognize that they are sinners saved by grace, and this breeds gratitude. Self-righteousness and hypocrisy (which is endemic to all of us) is not a fruit of Christianity, but an expression of its replacement in thought and/or deed.
We need to stop adopting earthly utopias as the primary mission of Christianity, accomplished through politics, cultural movements, etc.
Paraphrasing Machen, in order to move the world you must first have a place outside of the world to stand. That place is in biblical Christianity, and causes no offense but in the cross of Christ.
