Born-Again Christians

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 630.

Perhaps the most dramatic example of the idea of self-improvement in American Protestantism is the experience of being “born again”. Some individuals who have had this experience say that before it occurred they were hopelessly lost in their own wickedness. Then they opened their hearts to god and to His Son, Jesus Christ, and their lives were completely changed. The experience is sometimes very emotional. Afterwards, individuals say that their lives are so completely changed that they describe the experience as being “born again”.

Millions of Americans describe themselves as born-again Christians, including two recent American presidents, Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter. Born-again Christians are sometimes criticized for being too emotional and placing too little value on the importance of using one's reasoning powers. It is also said that once they are born again, many people insist on pressuring others to have the same experience, whether they wish to have it or not. Even though it has been criticized, the experience of being born again is an important expression of American Protestantism and its tendency to make people feel a need to change for the better.