America’s Christian Heritagernby Harold O.J. BrownrnThe phrase “America’s Christian Heritage” might irritaternany hearers who do not want to be classed as members ofrnthe tribe that first received its name in Antioch (Acts 11:26).rnBut wait: we recognize that one does not have to be a memberrnof the family to be remembered in a will, nor be of the samernname, or even of the same race, as one’s predecessors in orderrnto receive an inheritance from them.rnOne need not be a professing Christian, or even merely arngeneric or nominal Christian, to have received and benefitedrnfrom what we call America’s Christian heritage. Of course, 1rnshould be less than candid if 1 did not say to each of you, as Paulrndid to Agrippa, when that King told him, “Almost thou persuadestrnme to be a Christian,” “1 would to God that not onlyrnthou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost andrnaltogether such as I am, except these bonds” (Acts 26:29). Atrnthe time, Agrippa would have had to convert and declare himselfrna Christian in order to enjoy the benefits that Paul promisedrnbelievers: there was no Christian heritage. Today the situationrnis different. Our largely Christian predecessors in thisrncountry have left us quite a heritage, one that we need not bernChristian to enjoy, provided we do not as biblical Esau did andrndisdain our birthright for a mess of politically correct secularrnpottage. To dispense with allegory and speak directly, let mernsay that the Christianity of the past, whatever its failings, hasrnleft for us in late second-millennium America a valuable heritage,rnwhich we would be very unwise to squander.rnIn the United States at the present time, we arc experiencingrna kind of war of attrition against the Christian inheritance.rnThere is a rather direct war being waged against certain Christianrnbodies and institutions, specifically those belonging or accusedrnof belonging to the religious right. This war will be dam-rnHarold O.j. Brown is the director of The Rockford InstituternCenter on ReUgion and Society. This article was given as arnspeech at the 1994 meeting of the John Randolph Club.rnaging to the United States, but the damage will be suffered primarilyrnby those bodies and institutions directly attacked. Thernwar of attrition, which is wearing down the social structures andrninstitutions that derive, more or less directly, from Christianityrnwithout themselves being “church,” will ultimately damagerneveryone—except those who prefer the guidance of tyranny tornthe responsibilities of freedom.rnAttacks on the Christian heritage may be made in temperaternlanguage and come from well-respected quarters, such as thernNew York Times. For less temperate attacks, one does not havernto look or listen far, no farther than one’s radio, where the proliferatingrntalk show hosts seem also to intensify their hostilityrnand vituperation day by day. In Chicago, one of the least temperaternis a certain Jay Marvin. In one recent program, he aggressivelyrnresponded to a hearer who mumbled somethingrnabout the importance of preserving Christian values. “Why dornyou think the first settlers came to America?” Mr. Marvin demanded.rn”Why? Why? To escape religious persecution, that’srnwhy.” By implication—not such a subtle implication—Marvinrnaccused anyone speaking out in favor of the Christian traditionrnor Christian values of an inclination to religious persecution.rnIndeed, implicit in the argument is a silent equation, religionrnequals religious persecution. Proclaiming himself Jewish, Mr.rnMarvin evidently wanted to wrap himself in the mantle of arnpersecuted minority. This tactic is effective (and safe), however,rnonly when the minority really is not all that persecuted. It isrnnatural enough for Jews to be displeased with evangelism orrnproselytization that attempts to persuade them to accept Jesus,rnthe Christians’ Messiah, as their own. However, when this sensitivityrnto anything resembling persecution goes too far, in otherrnwords, so far that it would deny to all of society anything andrneverything that bears a Christian tinge, it begins to eat away atrnthe ground on which the objector himself stands, for the freedomrnand liberty he enjoys is partly based on the biblical understandingsrnthat have become part of our national ethos throughrnJULY 1995/21rnrnrn