American Christianity vs European Christianity — What Does the Bible Really Say?
This is a very important question, as many people in each country believe that their version of Christianity is the correct one — yet the Bible is one and does not change. Can the Bible change to fit one’s personal local society? Or is the Bible universal for every person on earth? We find the answer when we ask: what is the difference between American Christianity and European Christianity?
Many people I meet are far more concerned with their local society’s standards than with following the Bible. What they consider right and wrong depends much more on local cultural norms than on what the Bible actually says. Let us examine this question carefully. Is the Bible able to fit every society?
American Christianity vs European Christianity — The Bible Never Changes
I have observed that many people, even those who claim to be Christians, do not truly follow the Bible but instead follow local society standards. What they feel is right and wrong is not determined by what the Bible says, but by what their local society tells them is right and wrong.
There are many sins that most Christians in the United States do not recognise as wrong, because they are led by society rather than by the Bible — sins such as pride, selfishness, control, cruelty, and being unloving and unkind. Because society never rebukes these sins, many lukewarm Christians do not see them as wrong, even when they read about them in the Bible. The people I have interacted with can read the relevant verses and feel no conviction or remorse for being proud, selfish, unloving, unkind, or dishonest — because society does not view these things as wrong, they only recognise as sinful what their local culture condemns.
The Bible never changes. We need to follow God rather than men. We are called to follow the laws of the land, but as Jesus said:
MT 5:20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Some people follow all the earthly rules and believe this will bring them to heaven. This is a great deception. We must obey earthly rules, but this has nothing to do with being a truly good person. Many people are proud, selfish, unloving, and rude — and such people cannot enter heaven. We need to be like Jesus: meek and lowly. Unless we become like Him, we will not enter heaven.
The Bible is the ultimate guide for knowing what is right and what is wrong. Paul says that by the law comes the knowledge of sin, and that he would not have known sin unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.” Coveting is another thing people do frequently, and it is not condemned by society — yet it is a serious sin in the eyes of God. When someone covets what belongs to someone else, they in effect hate that person and love themselves excessively. Somewhere in their mind they have decided that they are more important than the other person and deserve to have what belongs to them. This is a serious offence before God. That person is not being led by Christ but by Satan — they are proud, selfish, and dishonest.
Proverbs 6:31 But if he is caught, he will pay sevenfold; he will give all the goods of his house.
Ezekiel 33:15 If the wicked restores the pledge, gives back what he has taken by robbery, and walks in the statutes of life, not doing injustice, he shall surely live; he shall not die.
LK 6:35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.
American Christianity vs European Christianity — USA Legalism and Control
I have observed that American Christianity has changed a great deal — and not for the better. A country so loving and blessed by God, a country that God Himself established for the building of His kingdom throughout the world, is now on a downward path. The Bible says in Revelation 13 that the beast that begins like a Lamb — gentle and kind like Jesus — will end up speaking like a dragon. That is very sad, but the Bible is clear.
RE 13:11 Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon.
I observe that different countries carry different spiritual strongholds. In the United States, the spirit of legalism and control is very strong — and this can only come from Satan. Some Christians are deeply convinced that their obedience alone is sufficient to make them good persons. The Bible says that legalism is from Satan, yet the entire country is filled with many people who are legalists. This is a Satanic stronghold from which people have a very hard time breaking free — and an even harder time recognising as an evil condition.
The Bible says we are saved by faith only. If we are saved by works, then it is no longer by faith. It must be one or the other. If we are saved by works, then why did Jesus need to die on the cross? There would have been no need for Jesus to suffer and die if we could save ourselves through our own actions. There is nothing good in us. We are like dirty rags — our best actions cannot bring anything of value before God that would merit salvation. This extreme legalism is a particularly hard stronghold to break, especially within certain church communities.
A legalist truly believes, deep down, that they are a good person. This is a serious problem, because it is rooted in pride. Deep down, that person does not want to relinquish the belief that they are good. They cannot accept the thought that they are, in fact, fallen and sinful. This they cannot fathom and will not accept.
What is the difference between American Christianity and European Christianity? The United States tends toward legalism and control. Europeans tend toward leniency and insufficient Bible study. In fact, one thing I always appreciated about the United States was that people believed in absolutes. In Europe, everything tends to be relative — truth is seen as depending on one’s perspective and personal opinion. The sad reality is that the United States has changed, and many Christians there now believe that truth is relative, while simultaneously claiming to believe in the Bible. This is a very strange contradiction.
If God gives us truth and Jesus is the truth, how can human beings now claim the authority to create truth and decide what is true? What an abomination. Where does truth come from? Can human beings create truth? No — yet many people all over the world have come to believe that they can decide what truth is, that they can manufacture truth, and that they can interpret the Bible without the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Human beings today think themselves to be God. If humans could interpret the Bible without the Holy Spirit, there would be no need for the Holy Spirit at all. If men could decide and invent truth, there would be no need for the Bible. Why read the Bible when one could simply use one’s own reasoning powers to create and determine what truth is?
The United States also carries a spirit of control, which is evil. Only there have I consistently seen people bossing others around and commanding them what to do. This is so unlike Jesus — and yet it thrives within what claims to be a Christian nation. We need to speak to others as Jesus did — with kindness and love. Commanding and controlling others is not Christlike. Jesus never gave harsh commands to people. This is the spirit of control. We cannot truly love someone while seeking to control them. Something is deeply wrong when this evil spirit operates in our lives, and if we continue to practise it, it will keep us from entering heaven. Only God can release us from this evil stronghold.
American Christianity vs European Christianity — The European Lenient Spirit
In Europe, on the other hand, people are not very biblical, as we have seen. Many believe that their own reasoning power determines what is true and what is false — a mindset that traces its roots to the French Revolution and has since spread across the world as a spiritual snare.
American Christians came largely from Europe, but Europe has lost much of its faith in God. There are very few Christians left in Europe, and in a sense many could be considered less culpable, because almost no one in Europe has ever opened a Bible or knows any Bible story.
Yet there is one area where European Christianity has an advantage over much of American Christianity — there are far fewer legalists. People in Europe tend not to judge others as harshly, and Christianity is expressed with considerably more freedom in that regard.
The problem is that without a strong biblical foundation, there is very little Bible knowledge in Europe, and this is a serious lack that needs to be addressed. Many missionaries have attempted to evangelise Europe and have struggled. But we understand that the goal in the final days of earth’s history is not necessarily for everyone to believe, but for everyone to make a decision — for or against Jesus. When that has been accomplished, the end will come.
Another significant problem is that most Christians in the world are clustered together in the same geographic areas — almost all of them on the American continent. When early Adventists were concentrated in Michigan, Ellen G. White counselled them to spread out, recognising that the truth cannot reach all nations unless God’s people disperse to take it there. It is easy and comfortable to stay among other Christians, surrounded by churches and fellow believers on every street. It feels reassuring to have so many others sharing your faith. But the gospel is not reaching the whole world through this approach.
Spread out, Christians. Ask God in prayer whether it is His will for you to carry the truth to nations where there are almost no Christians — such as the 10/40 window. But do not go without a clear plan and without God confirming that this is His will for you.