"as it is completely indifferent toward what it has to offer the world..."

Indeed, just look at singer Amy Grant's career. She started out as one of those Christian-bubble artists, but unlike many, her art was quite good. When she crossed over and released "non-Christian" albums that became very popular, the conservative Christian world went after her like wolves, impugning her character, boycotting her music, and symbolically ejecting her from their ranks.

I was reminded of this last weekend as I re-read the memoir "Rapture Practice," written by a man who grew up in the U.S. conservative Christian world. His Bible-college-professor father once discovered Amy Grant tapes hidden under his bed and made him smash them with a hammer.

This impulse to strictly enforce the borders of the bubble may seem like a smart move to Christians who feel threatened by the loss of cultural hegemony, but the memoirist is far from alone in having rejected a Christianity identity in response.

Amy Grant went on to enjoy a career making beautiful, touching music for people indifferent to the Christian cultural bubble. Had she stayed inside it, her artistic career would have been severely limited.

She chose to become a full member of society instead.

I don't know if that's bad or good for Christianity as an American enterprise, but it's a choice many Christians in conservative bubbles find themselves faced with.