A Review of Letter to the American Church by Nick
Olszyk
Distribution: Epoch Times, See Website for Screenings
MPAA Rating, Not Rated at the Time of this Review
USCCB Rating: Not Rated at the Time of this Review
Reel Rating, Four Reels
Letter to an
American Church was a hit book last year by historian Eric Metaxas that
made rounds in online conservative media. Yet for those who like their media
bite sized, Turning Point has made a crisp, one-hour documentary summarizing
Metaxas’s arguments, hosted by the author himself. It’s not a feature length
presentation but more of a YouTube video on steroids. Nevertheless, it is an
effective primer on the need to wake the sleeping giant of America’s Christians
to a stop an Orwellian future.
Prior to writing his treatise,
Metaxas was an expert on German Christianity, having written books on Martin
Luther and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. When studying the latter, he became concerned
about similarities between 21st century American Christianity and
the Christian church in Germany during the rise of Hitler. As the Furer
consolidated his power, he instructed every aspect of German life to submit to
his command, including the churches. In resistance, Bonhoeffer and his
Protestant allies formed the Confessing Church, which opposed the interference
of the state in affairs of faith. Metaxas estimates about one-sixth of German
pastors supported the Confessing Church, one-sixth actively advocated Nazism,
but most (two-thirds) did not commit to either viewpoint, staying largely
silent. This failure to unite against fascism allowed Hitler to quickly take
over society and eventually led to Bonhoeffer’s execution. Metaxas sees in this
event a prophetic warning to the church in America. He cites examples where
pastors needed to turn in sermons for review by politicians, the government
raiding the homes of Christian journalists, and the FBI monitoring
traditionalist Catholic groups. He also points to the sudden advent of radical
moral changes including the LGBT movement, identity politics, abortion, and the
disillusion of the family. Christian pastors must unite against these
destructive elements lest we befall the same fate as Germany.
Metaxas’ basic
argument is sound and not without ample evidence. It is true that recently the
FBI has targeted
Catholics for surveillance. However, the government has always had a long
track record of spying on its own people including left wing groups in the 50s
and 60s. While one can point to individual cases of persecution, Christians are
not being rounded up and thrown into prison wholesale. They even occupy the
highest echelons of power among all political persuasions. What is more
troubling, however, is the far left faithful have gotten much more aggressive
and cult minded in their insistence on immoral behavior. Even as I write this
review, group pro-life activists are facing
a decade in prison just for praying outside an abortion clinic while
elementary teachers opening spout the most extreme LGBT propaganda in the
classroom. The documentary might come off a little alarmist, but there is real reason for concern.
The founders of the
United States were deeply religious men who understood the need for a theistic
moral order. Yet they were also Enlightenment thinkers and children of those
who came escaping religious persecution. They imagined a society where “the
government would not put its stamp on religious belief” in the words of
Professor Stephen Prothero. This independence of the church from the state
works for the benefit of both. Faith must be involved in the social order but
in a way that comes from the people, not mandated by the government. This is a
unique experiment in the history of the world and has been largely successful
but could be in terrible danger. In recent years, the law has allowed secularism
to become a de facto state religion where any kind of traditional belief must
be erased from the public square, which in turn allows almost any kind of
immoral behavior. The Church must reclaim her place as the soul of the nation
if liberty is to continue.
Letter to the
American Church is short and direct, a good call to another religious
awakening. It does tend to meander a bit and lose focus but never wavers in its
preacher-esque patriotic drive. Hopefully, our Church will listen and take her
duty to heart.
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