At a recent question and answer session in the American South Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean was asked what his favorite book in the New Testament was. Mr. Dean answered "Job". It is likely that the inquirer was an Evangelical. One might further posit that this person’s intention was to prove how biblically illiterate Dean is; as if that would cause some kind of a scandal. Predictably the news media reported it in passing. For them it was not exactly the news story of the year.

Proving that the average Democratic politician is not a Christian isn’t much of a challenge. Most American Evangelicals who are awake and occasionally listen to the news are aware that the modern Democratic Party is almost universally pro-abortion, pro-gay rights, pro-Secular Humanism, etc., etc. That’s why the Democratic candidates aren’t even bothering to court Evangelical voters. We just aren’t their kind of people. This brings us back to the incident with Dean. Why do some Evangelicals ask these kind of unnecessary questions?

The answer may lie in our propensity to try to appeal to a "Christian Nation" that is not much of a "Christian Nation" these days. The majority of Americans are not orthodox Christians anymore, yet we who are act as if our concerns are theirs. Richard Nixon spoke of the "Silent Majority" in 1968. He was referring to Americans who do not support radical left political initiatives. That majority may indeed still exist but, if it does, it doesn’t consist of "Card-Carrying Evangelicals". Sometimes we act as if most Americans are believers and that has caused a lot of wasted time and effort trying to appeal to a constituency that does not share our beliefs, no matter how much we want it to.

Orthodox Christians are a minority in the United States today and barring a huge revival or "awakening" it would appear that this reality is not going to change in the immediate future. The problem is we presume on support we simply do not have. Today there are even atheists in the conservative camp. This is not the America of 200 years ago and to avoid belaboring the obvious, and missing a chance to truly impact our culture, some Evangelicals have got to let the past go.

If we want to really make a difference for Christ in 21^st Century America we need to stop pretending that a great hue and cry is going to be heard upon the brilliant unmasking of Howard Dean’s ignorance of the Bible. Instead Christians need to prepare to compete in a profound way with all the conflicting philosophical and religious cross-currents in our pluralistic, Post-modern culture. The way we do this is through living out the Gospel in ways that attract Americans by example. Real Christianity has always had the greatest impact on a society when the love and truth of Jesus is authentically made manifest by His people. Today is no exception. Giving, forgiving, suffering redemptively, living with integrity…these are the actions that will contribute to the cause of Christ in this country in the present day. Believers here need to accept the reality of the age we live in while embracing the real opportunities it offers for us to be a bright "City on a Hill". Bright light contrasts attractively with darkness. Striving to be such a light is the best thing we can do in the midst of a nation that continues to sink deeper into that darkness.