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What Is Bill Mckibben The Christian Paradox

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Bill McKibben in his essay “The Christian Paradox. How a faithful nation gets Jesus wrong.” unmasks the paradox underlying Americans' Christianity. The ambiguity lies in the fact that the US is the most allegedly Christian among all developed nations and yet Americans remain the least Christian in their behavior. The author exposes American Christians for who they genuinely are providing numerous examples to validate his thesis, which states that the notion of being a good and dutiful Christian perceived by most Americans has in fact little to do with Jesus' teachings. McKibben manages to avoid harsh judgment or criticism, choosing to simply discuss the degradation of faith, allowing himself to be at times slightly sarcastic or ironic. The fact is that somewhere around 85% of Americans proclaim to be Christian and what the author does in the beginning is show the readers who that is. In the simplest way put being a Christian means helping those in need – “feed the hungry, slake the thirsty, clothe the naked, welcome the …show more content…

Due to his personal beliefs, the author emphasizes an environmental factor, how those countries cut back on carbon emissions because their community understands how important it is to care for nature, give aid to the poor and make sure everyone is provided with health care. To recapitulate, McKibben addresses the issue of the character of Christianity in America with a certain distance, the text captures the reader from its first sentence until the very end. The author's observations are sharp, adequate and true, validated by just the right amount of data. It is clear that McKibben has great knowledge of the field he writes about, making the text both scholarly and accessible, providing an impartial insight to American

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