Category: Culture

Pluralization is the process by which the number of options in the private sphere of modern society gives the appearance of rapid multipication at all levels, especially at the level of Worldviews, faiths and ideologies.

Now apart from considering pluralization as it pertains to Worldviews, faiths and ideologies no one can doubt for a second the vast plethora of choices that we are confronted with daily. A trip down any grocery store aisle will give you so many types of toothpastes or deodorants to choose from that there can be no doubt that pluralization succeeds at the most fundamental of levels.

Or to extend the illustration one can look at the Television set. When I grew up there was ABC, CBS, NBC and that was it. Now the stations and programming runs into the hundreds if not thousands. We have pluralization in entertainment.

But what is exciting at the level of the kind of soap you put in your mouth or the kind of chemical you put under your arms becomes dangerous when applied to Worldviews, faiths or religions.

Nothing dangerous is going to happen to you if you use Colgate one week and Aquafresh the next week and Crest the next week and the Amway brand the following week. But when this approach to what we believe ends up being applied to Worldviews or faith systems it becomes a little dicier.

The fact that has indeed happened to some degree can be seen in the way that people do Church in various seasons or phases of their lives. I have met many people who tell me they grew up Reformed and now they are Wesleyan or Church of Christ or something else and when they vacation in Florida they attend a Lutheran Church. When I ask them what happened that they would have such a change they look at me with what I call the ‘dumb cow’ look.

The question doesn’t even make sense to them because all of these different Churches are just like so many different tubes of toothpaste to them. They, and the Churches they attend, have been smitten by the idea of pluralization. In the thinking of those I have spoken with who have made what I would have considered drastic changes in their Church homes all they have done is to switch brand names. They have gone from using Crest to using Colgate.

The Churches they attend are part of this equation also because the Churches they attend, in order to compete for a shrinking number of consumers have standardized so that even though you have different brand names out there all of them are pretty much the same.

Here we find the irony of pluralization as it pertains to the realm of Worldviews, faiths or religions. Because pluralization in a consumer setting must respond to consumer desire what ends up happening is that the real differences that you would expect to find among different worldviews gets washed out so that the competing Worldviews, and distinctives can be competitive. The differences that exist are reduced to the way the Church markets itself.

Let’s take for example the issue of denominations. In Charlotte alone we have 23 different Churches last time I counted.

That is quite a choice for such a little city. Indeed we would contend that pluralization is alive and well in Charlotte.

But is it really?

If it was real pluralization then you could go to each of those 23 Churches and it wouldn’t take you long to realize what the distinctives were. You would learn that Nazarenes have a doctrine of perfect love or entire sanctification that teaches a person can reach a point where they never sin. You would learn that the Church of Christ doesn’t think you’re saved unless you were baptized as an adult. You would learn that the Assembly of God Church believes that unless you speak in tongues you are not saved, you would learn that in a Reformed Church we teach a kind of thing called predestination and on and on it would go.

Real pluralization in the area of Worldviews, faiths and ideologies would bring these matters to the forefront just as the differences of food are brought to the forefront when one goes to various ethnic restaurants.

The fact that doesn’t happen and that the real distinctives among these putatively competing faith systems is not accentuated is perhaps indicative that pluralization in the area of Worldviews, Faiths, and beliefs systems is just a smokescreen created to hide the reality that pluralization itself is our monolithic belief system.

Pluralization thus is the sacred canopy or global umbrella for Americans. Pluralization is our common faith that unites us into one whole. Ironically, our unity is provided by the myth of diversity.

It is the kind of unity of ancient Rome where all the gods were welcomed into the pantheon.

In this essay we want to take some time looking at the relationship between culture and cultus. So as to be clear about the words we are using we are defining cultus as, ‘a zealous devotion to a god(s) or god concept by a group of people.’ Further we are insisting that the consequence of this zealous devotion always produces a culture, which we are defining as the physical instantiation of the non-physical and non-corporeal zealous devotion of the adherents of the cultus. Put another way, culture is the outward expression of a peoples inward beliefs – beliefs that are what they are because of the cultus.

Immediately we can see that while cultus and culture are distinct realities they are so intertwined that one cannot have cultus without it producing culture and that culture cannot exist without the cultus. Every culture is created by a cultus and every cultus produces a culture. For example, the Hindu faith yields a Hindu cultus, which creates Hindustan while the Islamic faith yields an Islamic cultus, which creates Muslimville, and the Secular Humanist faith yields a Secular Humanist cultus, which creates America, and a Christian faith would yield a Christian cultus, which would create Christendom.

It should be readily apparent already that the core of a culture is its cultus. The cultus produces a ‘way of life’ that at other times we call culture. The cultus is the spiritual reality that drives how a people organize themselves in their various corporate expressions.

One point we must emphasize already in light of what we have said is that all cultures are religious phenomena’s that are produced by a people’s Theology. Should one desire to understand any culture or any aspect of culture they must work back from what they see on the periphery that presents itself as the peoples way of life to the cultus that is producing that way of life and from there back to the God, gods, or god concept upon which the cultus is exerting its zealous devotion. The beginning point for every culture is the cultus and the beginning point for every cultus is its God, gods, or god concept.

Before moving on I want to be very concrete about this point. Since a culture is the physical incarnation of the non-physical and non-corporeal zealous devotion of the adherents of the cultus that which comprises the various expressions of culture likewise are expressions of this devotion. To be even more precise what we are saying is that the various aspects of a culture such as literature, science, economics, law, journalism, entertainment, education, are varying manifestations of the zealous devotion of the varying adherents of the cultus to their God, gods or god concept.

Another observation that should be made here is that culture not only exists in order to reflect the cultus, and to magnify the god of the cultus but culture also exists in order to protect the cultus. Every culture has and is a defense mechanism whereby it protects, defends, and seeks to perpetuate itself and the cultus that creates it from the influence of another cultus. As such, where the Christian faith is introduced and takes hold in a hostile atmosphere there the antithesis is expressed in faith vs. faith, cultus vs. cultus, and culture vs. culture.

What we have said thus far leads us to three conclusions.

1.) The ancients were correct when they taught that Theology is the Queen of the Sciences as cultures are crafted according to their cultus. Moderns have a tendency to laugh this notion off but if culture and cultus are what we are saying they are then Theology remains the core discipline that informs all other disciplines and every man should start with the core discipline of Theology before moving on to other disciplines that are but seeking to express the core discipline in sundry ways.

2.) Before man is Homo sapiens man is Homo Adorans. Man, whether considered individually or collectively, is what he worships, or otherwise put man is and so creates that to which he is a zealously devoted adherent.

3.) The idea of a faith producing a cultus that only saves individuals and doesn’t yield a culture is a logical absurdity. It is literally not possible.

Having laid this basic groundwork I would like to consider briefly those religious expressions, often found within Christianity, that insist that the Christian cultus in its institutional expression (The Church) can and should be divorced from culture, even going so far as to warn of the grievous error of other leaders of the Christian cultus as they push on in seeing the connection between cultus and culture. The byword among these men who insist on a disconnect between the cultus in its institutional manifestation and culture is that Christianity is a faith and not a culture and while that is true what they fail to acknowledge is that Christianity is a faith, that like all faiths, creates a particular kind of cultus, which in turn must create a culture in order for Christianity to prosper as Christianity.

Now, it may seem a bit extreme to suggest that Christianity cannot prosper as Christianity unless it’s cultus produces an always renewing and reforming Christian culture but let us consider the alternative. If the Christian faith refuses to produce a cultus that in turn produces a culture then the inevitable consequence is that the zealously devoted adherents of some other competing cultus, which is itself derivative of some non-Christian god concept will produce a culture and history suggests that the new culture producing cultus will do its flat level best to eliminate all other competing cultus’.

Secondly, even should some other competing cultus allow the non-culture producing cultus of Christianity to exist the consequence would be that the non-culture creating cultus of Christianity would be increasingly be defined by the alien cultus and its culture. With notable exceptions, the human being is a chameleon like creature that normatively changes color to adapt to the cultural background against which (s)he is set. People who embrace the Christian faith and so become part of a Christian cultus will find their Christian faith defined and their Christian cultus radically altered as they live in and are set against a culture that is overwhelmingly contrary to their Christian faith and cultus. That this is so, one only needs to look at the Church in the West today, as she has largely become an accomadationist institution reflecting the pagan cultus and culture among where she finds herself and not the cultus of Her Lord and His Faith.

So, given these realities, I say again that if the Christian faith doesn’t give birth to a culture producing cultus then that Christian ‘faith’ is in danger of heading towards the same end as the 19th century shakers who refused to produce children. A sterile Christian cultus will have the same lifespan as those sterile Christian dervishes.

Before moving on to other cultus culture issues a word should be interjected here regarding the notion that the institutional Church (the cultus in its visible manifestation) and her spokesmen should only speak to cultus issues (sometimes referred to as Word and Sacrament) and shouldn’t officially speak to cultural issues. First, we would heartily agree that the Christian cultus issues of whom the creator God is, of Jesus Christ’s life, death, resurrection, and enthronement, and of the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit should be directly and repeatedly be front and center before the zealously devoted adherents of the cultus (God’s people). However, we believe the problem with some of our detractors is that they are incapable of seeing the connection between cultural issues and the cultus. For example, when speaking to what are deemed as cultural issues there should be no problem in seeing that such a sermon would be directly related to the idea of Jesus Christ enthroned as a King to whom all men owe their allegiance. In the end making a hard and fast separation between issues of Christian cultus and issues that come up in culture is to potentially leave Jesus Christ to be a Gnostic Lord. Also, in a refusal to speak to cultural issues that come up we are communicating to God’s people, if only implicitly, that reality is compartmentalized into a sacred and profane realm. By our refusal to speak to all of life we are communicating that the Christian cultus and the Lord who created that cultus doesn’t care about politics, economics, law, and every other putatively non-theological area. Finally, if the cultus, in her visible manifestation, doesn’t speak from God’s Word on these issue then where will the members of the cultus (God’s people) go in order to hear how a Christian people should think about issues that create the tapestry against which they are to live out their Christian faith?

In rounding off on cultus and culture issues for this essay I would like to explore tactical and strategic thinking as it pertains to working in the non-Christian majority cultus and culture in which we currently live. It strikes me that Christians are better at tactical issues when it comes to the cultus / cultural conflict that we are in but not so good at thinking strategically. We tend to address the symptoms but seldom seem to go for the disease. Part of the reason for this is that we have as many strategic goals as we do expressions of the Christian faith, and so we are shut up to working together only on tactical issues. Concretely speaking, what it is that a Pentecostal wants to accomplish in a strategic sense is likely going to be vastly different then what a Roman Catholic wants to accomplish in a strategic sense and this is so because each have a substantially different view of who God is. Our strategy then is shut up to what we have in common in being against the current prevailing cultus / culture and not what we have in common in being for some agreed upon end. Because the cultus of each varying expression of Christianity is deep down at odds we have a difficult time with strategic plans. Another reason that we aren’t so good at Strategic thinking is that so many people who deem themselves part of the Christian cultus are ideological quislings who mistake tactical victories for strategic victory.

The Christian faith will not prevail in the West again until we realize that we are at war with not only alien faiths but also with alien cultus’ and alien cultures, all of which are created by some God, god’s or god concept. It is not enough to wrestle with only one of these apart from realizing how all the others are bound up with each other. We may and should make distinction among

“If you are receiving government payments in any of its redistributive forms, then you have no business going to one of these events (Tea-Parties). Food stamps, student loans, subsidized housing, public schooling, and so on — your time would be better spent just staying home and trying to figure out how to disconnect the oxygen hose yourself. Refuse the benefits first.”

Doug Wilson

This is why the tea parties, while stirring, won’t accomplish much. We already are past the entitlement tipping point. How many social security recipients were out 15 April? How many school teachers were out 15 April? After all, Government schools are the biggest works programs this nation has. Do protesting school teachers really desire to reduce the size of Government? How many veterans were out 15 April? Do veterans really desire to reduce the size of Government?

Obviously, this is not to say that some ways that Government spends money are legitimate and as such some employees who receive government money are legitimate. All of this is only to suggest that as a nation we are already compromised. To many piglets trying to get to the teats to really want to kill the sow.

Mind you, I don’t fault all the piglets for trying to get the milk of government largess anymore then I would fault a crack baby for desiring the drug it was hooked on quite apart from his or her choice. Many people are government dependent quite apart from their choice. One has to only think of not only children eating off of groceries coming from food stamps, but also one needs to remember the cottage industries that grow up around Government largess. Think of all the copying machines and office supplies that private businesses sell to public schools and government offices. Government money and dependence on government largess in the private sector is ubiquitous. Trying to pull apart the culture of government benefits from the US citizenry and the private sector would be like trying to pull juicy chewing gum out of stringy hair.

The Church struggles with providing a solution to all this. Ideally, we would try to care for our own, but since the individuals in Churches are already taxed at such a high rate, it is difficult to expect members to give enough, beyond a tithe, so that the Church can care for her own. It is expecting a great deal of people to finance, through their taxes, the States irresponsible social services while at the same time finance, through their offerings, the Churches responsible social services. One can only spread butter so thinly over humongous portions of bread.

We have created a entitlement culture, replete with all the cottage industries that spring up around any major job and benefits supplier. We have forced many people to either suck at the teat of the Government sow or die. (If you doubt this imagine what would happen to elderly people who refused to take the government benefits associated with prescription drug use.) If and when the State nationalizes health care there won’t be anybody left who won’t getting milk from the Wet Nurse State. Because of this there are no easy answers in how to extricate ourselves from this tar baby entitlement culture we’re stuck on and with. Because of this our Freedom as a people is completely compromised. None of us are really free.

To be honest it is our parents and grandparents and great-grandparents who should have been out Tea(ing), but many of them were to busy voting for Johnson’s Great Society or Roosevelt’s New Deal or Teddy Roosevelt’s square deal. The, so called, “greatest generation” failed us miserably on this score. It was these generations that laced our tea with arsenic and now we have naught to do but bravely drink it down.

Of course, none of this means we shouldn’t fight to the very end. But we must fight with eyes wide open. We are a defeated people and culture in the twilight of our eclipse. The best we can hope for is to make some kind of glorious last stand that some minstrel might capture in song, and that might be remembered by generations yet to come, who, remembering our final effort, might use it to inspire future generations to build Christ honoring culture.

Some will suggest that this is overly pessimistic. I will be accused of having lost my postmillennialism. However, postmillennialism should not require us to be Pollyanna about reality. One can be a postmillenialist and at the same time believe that the West will fail. There is nothing about the West that guarantees that God won’t continue to bring the judgment we deserve.

“From all that I had read of History of Government, of human life and manners, I had drawn the conclusion, that the manners of Women were the most infallible barometer, to ascertain the degree of morality and virtue in a nation. All that I have since read and all the observations I have made in different nations, have confirmed me in this opinion. The manners of women, are in the surest criterion by which to determine whether a Republican government is practicable, in a nation or not. The Jews, the Greeks, the Romans, the Swiss, the Dutch, all lost their public spirit, their Republican Principles and habits, and their Republican forms of Government, when they lost the modesty and domestic virtues of their women…

The foundations of national morality must be laid in private families. In vain are schools, academies, and universities instituted, if loose principles and licentious habits are impressed upon children, in their earliest years. The mothers are the earliest and most instructors of youth….The vices and examples of the parents cannot be concealed from the children. How is it possible that children can have any sense of the sacred obligation of morality or religion if, from their earliest infancy, they learn that their mothers live in habitual infidelity to their fathers, and their fathers in as constant infidelity to their mothers?”

John Adams
Autobiography, IV: 123

Today at 12 Noon I joined over one thousand other citizens in Lansing, Michigan at the Capital and exercised my first amendment right of assembly. The crowd consisted of an overwhelmngly white demographic, though the best speaker, by far, was a black minister who gave the invocation and benediction.

While there I was trying to be an observer as well as a participant. As an observer what struck me was that this was a protest movement that was bringing together people who are put off by a confluence of issues. There were signs against taxation. Signs against spending. Signs against the Federal Reserve. Signs against illegal immigration. Signs against Obama. Signs against socialism. Signs against robbing children’s future. Many signs invoking John Galt. Signs against the government’s assault on the second amendment.

Some of my favorite signs were,

1.) A sign with a picture of Obama holding a Vaseline jar with the words coming from Obama, “This is the only stimulus your going to get.”

2.) A sign with a picture of Obama with lipstick on and words that said, “You can put lipstick on a socialist but he’s still a socialist.”

3.) A sign that had pictures of “Mao,” “Lenin,” and “Castro,” with the words, “Other Community Organizers.”

4.) A sign that said, “End The Fed … It owns enough already.”

The one theme that tied all the signs together was a deep seething anger at a government that is seeking to steal the freedoms of Americans, while seeking to be an agency that “spreads the wealth” around. The people in Lansing clearly understood, to a degree, the dangers of command and control government.

I say “to a degree” because there are still some things that these kinds of American’s don’t yet get. This was seen by the insistence of opening the Tea Party with the pledge of Allegiance. These Americans are angry with their government but they do not seem to yet realize that if any solution to what they are angry about is going to present itself, it is very likely going to be the solution of secession. The pledge of allegiance doesn’t allow for secession — “One nation indivisible” — and so it seems a bit contradictory to be reciting the pledge. There was also the invoking of great presidents like “Abraham Lincoln” and “Theodore Roosevelt.” These are two presidents that are largely responsible for bringing us to the point that we are currently at in terms of centralized government.

And then there was the issue of foreign wars. Naturally, middle America loves its military and its foreign wars and that was a theme that was played up today. Unfortunately middle America needs to realize that they will never get their beefs about the Welfare state satisfied as long as they keep supporting the Warfare state. Welfare & Warfare go together in a centralized state like Obama and trillion dollar deficits and until middle America realizes it is not America’s job to do nation building middle America will continue to be raped by confiscatory taxation.

The speakers in Lansing were lame and served up mostly Ra Ra material. The one factoid I did learn that was interesting is that Michigan has recently created legislation that would require yoga training schools to be licensed. Of course there will be a licensing fee involved. Most of the speakers cited the excessive taxation, citing facts that most of the crowd there likely already were familiar with.

The important thing about this tea party was for people to see that there are other people out there that are tired of being used as the government’s ATM machine. The major regret that I had is that the speakers didn’t make it clear that this tendency towards centralized government is not a uniquely democratic problem. I wish the speakers had made it clear how wicked Bush and the Congressional Republicans had acted regarding fiscal responsibility while they were in office. Middle America has to realize that though Obama is spending Trillions to Bush’s 100’s of billions, they were two peas in a fiscally rotting pea pod.

Finally, I hope middle America doesn’t think that anybody in Washington is listening to them and or to these protests. Instead, what Washington is doing is spinning all of this protest as the actions of right wing extremist terrorists. Instead of listening Washington is declaiming that the people are the enemy of the state.

I continue to fear that all of this is not going to end well.