I never used to worry about being a lukewarm Christian -- because the worrying itself seemed manufactured piety. But these days I have been studying heroes and anti-heroes...and talking about them with high school students who observe and elucidate every inconsistency. In earliest tales, heroes favored by the gods had supernatural assistance to bend the winds and help or hinder. As literature progressed, heroes became more limited by human traits. They were able to accomplish the task or quest, but ultimately failed to achieve happiness because of a fatal flaw.
Today's protagonists are often equally capable of heroism and villainy, with circumstances influencing their exhibits of valor. Evil is colloquially termed "bad", and there is no unadulterated goodness.
If that is the prevailing tone of the culture, what aspects have I absorbed into my own heart?
Is God really holy, holy, holy --- or merely benevolent?
Are my good works filthy rags ---or are they shortcomings?
Is Christ the Son of God ---or a moral teacher?
It is more comfortable to minimize my sin, the attributes of God, and the enormity of Christ's atonement. That is a much more reasonable approach in this day and age. But if evil is diminished then the hero need only be marginally stronger. What that leaves is a tepid religion...worth spitting out.
"The people who hanged Christ never, to do them justice, accused him of
being a bore - on the contrary, they thought him too dynamic to be safe.
It has been left for later generations to muffle up that shattering
personality and surround him with an atmosphere of tedium. We have
efficiently pared the claws of the Lion of Judah, certified him 'meek
and mild' and recommended him as a fitting household pet for pale
curates and pious old ladies." Dorothy Sayers
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