In the academic mecca of Athens, the Apostle Paul sat down one day to discuss with pagan philosophers the nature of the Unknown God to whom the town had built a monument. This is what he said: “The God who made the world and everything in it, this Master of sky and land, doesn’t live in custom-made shrines or need the human race to run errands for him. He makes the creatures, the creatures don’t make him. Starting from scratch, he made the entire human race and he made the earth hospitable with plenty of time and space for living, so we could seek after God, and not just grope around in the dark, but actually find him. He doesn’t play hide and seek with us. He is not remote; he is near. For in him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17, The Message).

It has been said that Americans…