Page 11 - Cedarville Magazine Spring 2013 Volume 1 Issue 1
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Jesus and the American Dream
Cedarville Magazine
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11
The conference discussions made it clear that the idea of the American Dream is not
directly a biblical teaching. Indirectly, the Dream reflects biblical principles relating to the
dignity of each person, personal accountability and reward, and the redemptive work of
Christ that erases social, economic, and ethnic divides. More directly, the American Dream
finds life in the Declaration of Independence where the founding principles include “all men
are created equal” and “endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights,” which
include “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
However, as Christians we know that God’s perspective runs counter to the prevailing
culture. The price tags have all been changed. What is eternally valuable is considered
irrelevant and even a barrier to achieving the good life promised in the American Dream.
So the first response by Christians must be to provide a biblical perspective for
understanding and assessing the dominant values in society. Beyond our shores, the reality
that 2.5 billion people subsist on less than $2 a day is a reminder that our consumer-obsessed
society is not the real world. It is a reality that we have a responsibility to address.
C.S. Lewis reminded us that Christians believe “a great many things have gone wrong
with the world that God made and that God insists, and insists very loudly, on our putting
them right again.”
The second response, therefore, is intricately bound up with the first: Christians must
authentically follow Christ who taught us the true value of life itself and to give ourselves
away in the service of others (Phil. 2:1–4).
Throughout history, Christians have always been the first to step in and provide aid to
those who need it most. In the earliest centuries, they rocked the world. Tim Keller points
out, “In pre-Christian Europe ... all of the elites thought that loving your enemies and taking
care of the poor was crazy. They said society would fall apart, because that’s not how the
world works ... But the teachings of Christianity revolutionized pagan Europe by stressing
the dignity of the person, the primacy of love including toward enemies, and the care of
the poor and orphans.”
William Jennings Bryan said, “A person’s life is not measured by its income but by its
outflow.” For Christians, the American Dream is not a goal. It is the means to a greater goal,
in fact, the greatest goal of all. The Dream provides the freedom and opportunity to serve
Christ and share the life-changing message of the Gospel around the world.
Dr. Bill Brown
has served as President of Cedarville University
since 2003. He received his
B.A. in mathematics from the University of South Florida and his Th.M. in theology and
Ph.D. in biblical studies from Dallas Theological Seminary. He has written three books on
worldview. You may contact Dr. Brown at
.
Top Picks
Book
The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill:
Defender of the Realm
1940–1965
by William Manchester and Paul Reid
The long-awaited third volume of the
incredible series begun by Manchester
30 years ago. An amazing story of an
amazing man —many Christian leaders
consider it to be one of the most
influential books they have ever read.
Website
CyndisList.com
An incredible genealogy site that links
to more than 300,000 websites to help
you trace family histories. You can find
everything from immigration and military
records to official documents and
certificates (birth, wills, etc.).
App
WebMD or iTriage
Feeling under the weather? Have a strange
pain? On a trip and need a doctor? These
apps can help you narrow a diagnosis or
locate the nearest urgent care; both work
with iPhone, iPad, and Android.
Movie
Les Miserables
The recent release is a film version of
the stage musical. It does not always
transition well to the big screen, but
the music is moving, and the message
of grace and forgiveness is still dead
center. Anne Hathaway is superb. For a
better experience of Victor Hugo’s classic
story (and my favorite), see the 1998
nonmusical film version starring Liam
Neeson and Geoffrey Rush.
the
Dream
