Americans, like few other peoples, have known two hundred years of massive cultural idolatry. We think that our country, our form of government, our way of doing things fell straight from heaven, as if it were God’s plan for the world. If everyone would live like Americans the world would be happy, we think. Maybe people don’t say it that way, but believe me, I know as a preacher the shock on people’s faces when I dare to question it! That tells me they believe it. It is a cultural myth, which means it is unquestioned: It’s a way of thinking, written between the lines and in the margins.
