Doesn't Christendom Get You Down?

Last week I was in Buxtehude, visiting some long lost relatives (our common ancestor lived in the 1770's). They were very nice people, and allowed me to stay with them. They took me around to many different sites in Hamburg, and around Hamburg.

Neither one of these people are regular church going people. The Husband is not baptized and is not a member of the state church. The wife is a member of the state church, and goes on Christmas and confirmation. The reason that the wife is a member is interesting: "It is part of our heritage and our history."

This is what Christendom (as opposed to Christianity) is devolving into. There is no real faith or conviction. It is the mentality, "We do it because our parents do it and we are expected to do it." This same mentality is creeping up on the American churches. This "cultural" Christianity chokes out faith, suppresses the pure proclamation of the Word, and turns the rites of the Church into a "religious" baby shower (Baptism), or into a coming of age milestone (confirmation).