Third Way: The American Experiment
In 1630 several hundred souls climbed aboard a ship in England to sail to the New World. Arriving ten years after the Pilgrims, these intrepid travelers—we know them as the Puritans—established a legacy that has lasted to our day. They came to America to fulfill what they called an “errand in the wilderness.”
They arrived with a vision. They wanted to show the world what a Christian society could and should become by God’s grace and according to God’s design. They wanted to be a “city on a hill.”
In a sermon on board ship John Winthrop, the governor of the new colony, cited the blessings and curses of the book of Deuteronomy to underscore the high stakes of this errand. The sermon illustrates the seriousness of their endeavor. Winthrop proclaimed that if they obeyed God’s commands they would succeed, but if they disobeyed God’s commands they would fail, eventually becoming a “byword” to the nations.
They remained faithful for a generation or so. They were disciplined, devout, and true to their promise. They succeeded beyond all imagination.
But then signs of “declension” began to appear: fewer professions of faith, commercial success that led to worldliness, heretical ideas that captivated the faithful, dissent that damaged unity, abuse of power, and vulnerability to “demonic” influence (so they believed), which culminated in the Salem Witchcraft trials. They had failed, and the watching world witnessed it.
But did they really fail? History would reply, ‘No’. They were in fact very successful. They laid the foundation for the America of today.
The idea and ideal of a special destiny has taken deep root in the American psyche. We call it “American exceptionalism.” Most American presidents have run for office on it, trying to outdo their opponents in affirming the unique mission America. Abraham Lincoln called Americans “the almost chosen people,” and G.K. Chesterton claimed America was a nation “with the soul of a church.” Even the phrase, “Make America Great Again,” implies the unique identity of the nation, for “again” means the nation was once great and needs to recover its former glory.
Nearly every president in living memory has ended their inaugural speeches and State of the Union addresses with “God bless America.” When America faces problems we see it as the judgment of God because the nation has failed to live up to its divine mission. When America succeeds we read it as a sign of divine favor. We accuse opponents of disloyalty to America if they speak a word of criticism, even if the criticism is legitimate, which is often is.
I am not being cynical. I have a deep affection for America. I have devoted my adult life to teaching American religious history, which in many ways is American history.
The Puritan vision of America—this errand in the wilderness, this city on a hill—has endured, only in a more secularized way. It is how we view our history. It is part of our essential identity as a nation. There is nothing inherently wrong with this sentiment. It all depends upon what we mean by it and what we do with it.
Will America’s exceptionalism hijack us, turning us into idolatrous, blind, fanatical patriots? Or will we as Christians and citizens shape the exceptionalism, making our society just, true, kind, and peaceful?
America is still majority Christian. Alarmists warn of a massive secular takeover of America, making us ever more degenerate. Their claims are partly true but also highly exaggerated, intended to stir fear and pick a fight. The right-wing authoritarianism they advocate is no better than left-wing secularism. They want to cultivate a persecution complex and behave as if Christians are victims, often to justify their victimization of others.
Christians still have numbers, very large numbers. Christians control massive resources. Christians enjoy freedom and have lots of room to maneuver. Christians across America are well placed in positions of influence, including politics, health care, business, university teaching, scientific research, and so much more. We are NOT a minority, at least not across the board.
The greater risk we face is abusing our power as a majority, not suffering abuse as a minority, which would be far better, putting us in the company of the global church.
We have our own errand, which runs parallel to America’s but is not the same. It is not to create a city on a hill. It is not to uphold American exceptionalism.
We have a different errand. It is to be exceptional Christians, live an exceptional faith, and serve in exceptional—that is, just, true, godly, courageous—ways. That is the only kind of exceptionalism worth striving for.