Author’s Intent
Letter to the American Church was undertaken by Eric Metaxas in an effort to prick the conscience of a church which has slipped so far into personal piety that she practices almost a complete apathy to our neighbors beyond personal charity.
Repeatedly through the book, he uses the imagery of a church asleep. In the words of one of the reviews displayed on the cover, his goal is to throw a “bucket of cold water” upon the church that is slumbering.
What To Expect
Leaning heavily upon his previous experience writing Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy, he parallels the modern church’s indifferent attitude to our cultural crisis to that of 1930s Germany. He discusses the need for the church to be a guiding voice for the nations in which she finds herself and discusses the high cost exacted upon nations when the church remains silent.
I’m sure some readers are now concerned this is yet another political take which draws back to 1930s Germany. We live in a time when much of political discourse could be summarized as trying to convince people that your opponent is a Nazi when 2024 America is very different from 1930s Germany. However, this is largely because it is the only way that most people raised in post-WW2 America think about politics beyond tax breaks and welfare programs.
In this, he has been very effective. Any effort to reach the sleeping church will need to be something Americans who’s historical understanding doesn’t reach much beyond a single human lifespan and he has delivered a work which leans into that reality. He doesn’t waste time trying to draw parallels between the policies of the parties of then and now. Instead, his effort is spent drawing a parallel to the culture of indifference and cowardice that dominated the church of then and now.
It is a fairly light read. Not only is it a short book (being only about 140 pages) but it is written conversationally rather than as a work of deep academia.
Topics Discussed
As I said earlier, this work leans heavily on his research done for his previous book on Bonhoeffer. He spends a good deal of time explaining how the silence of today’s church mirrors the silence of the church during Bonhoeffer’s time. His focus is largely on the growth (or lack thereof) of the “Confessing Church”. His main drive is that cowardice (and boldness) are contagious and that the unwillingness of believers to speak up boldly in the face of apparent wrongs encourages still more silence.
He then discusses what he sees as the major factors leading to the silence of the church in our time. These factors are: “easy believism”, the “idol of evangelism”, the false commandment of “Be Ye Not Political”, and the idea that Christian life has a negative definition (“do not sin”) rather than a positive definition (“serve Christ”) and therefore leads to burying the talent (to borrow the same parable he does).
My Objection
This book delivers upon it’s primary intent very well, in my opinion. It seems like a very incomplete work in itself, however, as it encourages the church to action but doesn’t seem to put in any effort into defining what that effort would be. It is a battle call without a battle plan.
He speaks about how he sees Bonhoeffer’s decision to attempt an assassination as driven by a rightly ordered necessity to act combined with the reality that his options were so restricted by a lack of a broader movement.
Many Christians today may relate with the feeling that something must be done but also with the feeling of inadequacy to do anything sufficient. I suspect Metaxas isn’t suggesting we should plot assassinations! However, he doesn’t give a whole lot of time to a vision of what actions should be taken.
In one section, he also discusses that Christians who do feel called to take action ought not to wait for leaders to direct them, since so many church leaders are indifferent to the evils of our time. While I acknowledge the reality of leadership overwhelmingly serving institutional interests rather than God in the many calls to inaction, I don’t believe a bunch of people acting out individually should be the aim either.
Instead, this wake up call should be aimed at leaders in particular. Since his thesis is “silence in the face of evil is evil itself”, it seems odd that he doesn’t seem to see a problem with the church being led by silent men so long as someone speaks up. However, we have been commanded to raise up for ourselves leaders who are more mature. If silence at this time is evil, than it is extremely revealing that we find so many leaders of the church silent in particular. This, itself, is likely something that needs addressing if things are going to change.
My Praise
In my review for The Case for Christian Nationalism I mentioned that the greatest drawback of the book is that it was so deep it was likely unapproachable for many in the church who, in this work, would be described as still sleeping.
Metaxas delivers an antidote to that apathy. Letter to the American Church is a book that can be easily read and just as easily passed on to any believer who you think needs it. It is very approachable and can be read largely without any background beyond what anyone would get if they regularly grace a pew in any church in America that isn’t flying a Pride Flag out front.
It appeals to the shallow political understanding most in America hold without falling into the “everyone I disagree with is a Nazi” trap and both the brevity and the way it is written will have a typical reader getting through it in no time.
Those who are more well read in political theory may find it a bit lacking but I’m certain after reading this book they will at least have a few people in mind who would benefit from being lent it next. If you feel alone in wanting to act and don’t know where to start, passing this book around would be a good start.
