Ross Douthat: To the catacombs!
No, not really. This is a thoughtful piece that deserves your time, though.
But both books come around to a similar argument: this month’s ubiquitous carols and crèches notwithstanding, believing Christians are no longer what they once were — an overwhelming majority in a self-consciously Christian nation. The question is whether they can become a creative and attractive minority in a different sort of culture, where they’re competing not only with rival faiths but with a host of pseudo-Christian spiritualities, and where the idea of a single religious truth seems increasingly passé.
Or to put it another way, Christians need to find a way to thrive in a society that looks less and less like any sort of Christendom — and more and more like the diverse and complicated Roman Empire where their religion had its beginning, 2,000 years ago this week.
Benedict XVI has said something very similar. It‘s a sobering possibility to ponder this Advent…
Don’t ask impertinent questions like that jackass Adept Lu.