Appreciate the response. Having witnessed cultural warfare since the sixties, I am a little less concerned than others that Christian traditions might be under attack. It seems to me that they are being subjected to the same criticism and scrutiny to which Christians subject the traditions of others. I still recall a debate in my high school when the Jewish valedictorian was expected to lead the assembly in Christian prayer (people couldn’t believe she might be upset with such a simple request).

I was raised in a family filled with Baptist ministers (and one Dutch Presbyterian, which is equally conservative), and they had no problem calling out the sins of others, but bristled when anyone questioned whether their behavior was Christian.

America has always struggled to mediate the line between the proper role of the secular and sacred in America. To me Christians shouldn’t expect society and the government to preserve and promote (or financially support) their values. This isn’t the role of either. In fact we should expect the world to be hostile.

It is when the government forbids your right to pray with likeminded believers, or to espouse a particular theology in our churches (except perhaps the right to oppress and curtail the practice of other faiths) that we should raise alarm. If, however, we encourage the government to promote and support one faith, we run the risk of the government picking a different faith which we don’t espouse in the future when our political fortunes change.

Christians should remember their position of privilege is bestowed in God’s realm, and not in the secular world. The scripture makes it clear that he reserved the secular world for his judgment and not ours.