Kerby Anderson

What if Christians and Christian institutions that provide so many social services went on strike? That is a question Addison Del Mastro asks in The American Conservative. He reminds us of the book by Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged. She poses the question of what would happen if entrepreneurs in America decided to go on strike because of an increasingly overbearing regulatory state. The book documents the dystopia the country falls into.

While I doubt that Christians and Christian groups would ever go on strike, it is a great thought experiment. Addison Del Mastro explains that, “Many of the services Americans take for granted are provided by churches and Christian organizations.”

One example is health care. John Stonestreet, in his Breakpoint commentary, wrote, “No Christianity, No Hospitals: Don’t Take Christian Contributions for Granted.” Catholic, Baptist, Methodist hospitals can be found all over this country. He documented that in at least 30 communities, the Catholic hospital is the ONLY hospital within a 35-mile radius.

Education is another area where Christian involvement has been key. Christians run thousands of private schools that usually meet or exceed the quality of the public schools. The Catholic Church or various Protestant denominations or churches run more than seven in ten of the private schools in America.

Churches also minister to the needy and marginalized in society. There are soup kitchens and outreaches to the poor and homeless. Churches also provide meals for the home bound. They provide marriage counseling as well as psychological counseling. Christian organizations place children in foster care and adoption. Christian groups run pregnancy resource centers.

Christians aren’t going on strike. But if they did, America would be a very different place indeed.