Category: Culture

For the past couple years another of the local churches in Charlotte has run adds announcing that they intend to have a $100.00 raffle on Easter.

Word is that if you get saved during the Easter service that increases your odds that you’ll win the bucks.

OK …. so the second sentence is a joke. But the raffle part is true. They incite people to the Easter service by promising them a possibility of winning some cash.

I was thinking about doing a promotion that included promising a night with a local Hooker for the “lucky” winner who attended our Easter services.

Think that would pack them in?

http://www.newsweek.com/id/192583

The article is really quite interesting if you have the ability to strain the writers idiotic assumptions and twisted conclusions.

Here are a few of the quotes I found the most interesting,

(“This post-christian narrative)is precisely what most troubles Mohler. “The post-Christian narrative is radically different; it offers spirituality, however defined, without binding authority,” he told me. “It is based on an understanding of history that presumes a less tolerant past and a more tolerant future, with the present as an important transitional step.” The present, in this sense, is less about the death of God and more about the birth of many gods. The rising numbers of religiously unaffiliated Americans are people more apt to call themselves “spiritual” rather than “religious.” (In the new NEWSWEEK Poll, 30 percent describe themselves this way, up from 24 percent in 2005.)”

The italicized section is exactly spot on. America is not getting any less religious. What is happening is that America is going from the religious expression of implicit monotheism to the religious expression of explicit polytheism. The folks who prefer to call themselves “religious” in preference for the term “spiritual” are just like the country girl, out of envy of her rich cousin, insisted on calling her Jumper a evening gown.

Also, we shouldn’t miss that if people embrace a faith system that doesn’t have any binding authority inevitably this means that a binding authority will eventually have to forcefully bind those who have no binding authority. Can you say “S-t-a-t-e?”

And as far as tolerance is concerned it might be good to keep in mind Aristotle’s wisdom here,

“Tolerance and apathy are the last virtues of a dying society”

“While we remain a nation decisively shaped by religious faith, our politics and our culture are, in the main, less influenced by movements and arguments of an explicitly Christian character than they were even five years ago. I think this is a good thing—good for our political culture, which, as the American Founders saw, is complex and charged enough without attempting to compel or coerce religious belief or observance. It is good for Christianity, too, in that many Christians are rediscovering the virtues of a separation of church and state that protects what Roger Williams, who founded Rhode Island as a haven for religious dissenters, called “the garden of the church” from “the wilderness of the world.” As crucial as religion has been and is to the life of the nation, America’s unifying force has never been a specific faith, but a commitment to freedom—not least freedom of conscience. At our best, we single religion out for neither particular help nor particular harm; we have historically treated faith-based arguments as one element among many in the republican sphere of debate and decision. The decline and fall of the modern religious right’s notion of a Christian America creates a calmer political environment and, for many believers, may help open the way for a more theologically serious religious life.”

1.) Our American culture does compel religious belief. Our culture set up Government churches in the 19th century and compelled children to attend. In point of fact the complexity and “charged nature” of our political call culture was simplified and de-charged by politicians compelling religious belief of Americans through Government churches.

2.) The American political system never came close to embracing the crackpot Roger Williams vision of political culture. The American political system never embraced notions of “separation of Church and State” as Roger Williams envisioned that. It’s these kind of embarrassing statements that reveal that our literary and educated class, as represented by the writer of this article, don’t know jack squat about what they write about.

3.) If it is our commitment to Freedom that unites Americans, as this writer suggests we might ask what standard defines this notion of “Freedom.” Is it “Freedom” according to Isalmic standards? Is it “Freedom” according to Humanists standards? Or was it “Freedom” according to the truth of Biblical notions? You see “Freedom” can only be defined according to some religious system and it can only be defined for whatever it never ceases to be according to the Christian faith.

4.) The decline of the Christian faith and the rise of polytheistic faiths will not bring a calmer America. Instead what will happen is a inflaming of the culture wars as the cultures that are birthed due to these different faiths will come in increasing clashes with one another.

“And they have learned that politics does not hold all the answers—a lesson that, along with a certain relief from the anxieties of the cultural upheavals of the ’60s and ’70s, has tended to curb religiously inspired political zeal. “The worst fault of evangelicals in terms of politics over the last 30 years has been an incredible naiveté about politics and politicians and parties,” says Mohler. “They invested far too much hope in a political solution to what are transpolitical issues and problems. If we were in a situation that were more European, where the parties differed mostly on traditional political issues rather than moral ones, or if there were more parties, then we would probably have a very different picture. But when abortion and a moral understanding of the human good became associated with one party, Christians had few options politically.”

This is exactly correct. Christians have contributed to the decline of Christianity by embracing one political party as a be all end all solution. Once this party betrayed them they were compromised. From this initial compromise they continued on from compromise to compromise. Christians would have been better served to support third party movements in order to communicate how serious they were about their christian faith. Instead Christians thought that what were essentially theological problems could only be solved politically.

All in all, this decline of Christianity in the West will lead to a more coarse and brutal culture. Christians need to contemplate how they will engage this cultural decline while at the same time keeping their identity.

10.) You like big government

Mass immigration, the way that it is being currently allowed, will effect the balkanization of America. Once balkanization is achieved the only thing that can harmonize the disparate groups into a cohesive whole is force (think Tito’s Yugoslavia). Force is what Government does best.

9.) You’ve always wanted to be multi-lingual

8.) Well, e pluribus Unum is Spanish, after all… isn’t it?

7.) You have always thought castanets sounded cool

6.) Your children are brats and you want to disinherit them

5.) You think the bureaucrats that run prisons and are responsible for Welfare handouts aren’t busy enough.

In 1995 (14 years ago) 25% of the prisoners in federal penitentiaries were illegal immigrants. That number is even higher today. 19 years ago, we spent 16 Billion more in welfare payments to immigrants than they paid back in taxes. Anybody want to bet that those numbers haven’t decreased?

4.) You never liked the middle class anyway

Statistics suggest that one consequence of immigration is wealth transfer from labor to big capital, resulting in ever shrinking middle class, thus moving us towards a have and have not third world culture.

3.) You’re an Evangelical and you figure that people shouting for ‘Aztlan’ are OK since you liked that Narnia movie also.

(Besides, you think the Mexican flag is real pretty.)

2.) You think America should be a universal nation. To be a nation, by necessity, entails ethnic and cultural specificity. To speak of a universal nation is akin to speaking of a universal marriage or a universal family. As with marriage and family, so with the idea of nation, there must be parameters that restrict the members that comprise it in order to speak coherently concerning it.

1.) You grew up during the 60’s and you’ve kind of missed the good old fashioned protest marches.

And a few more from our resident Medical Doctor,

0. You think it will help with your sanctification for you and your children to deal with the leprosy, plague and tuberculosis they will now be exposed to in their government propaganda institution…I mean, public school.

-1. It’s exciting and exotic to have adult males in your community whose culture tells them that sex with 10-year old females is important to further their development into compliant, subservient “baby-mamas.”

-2. Everyone knows that all those poor Mexicans are coming her to do the jobs “Whitey,” won’t do…even if we end up in a hyper-inflationary depression with 25% unemployment.

-3. Isn’t it a good thing to have all those committed Roman Catholics in our communities, shining as examples of Christian piety…even if their out-of-wedlock birthrate approaches 75% and their abortion rate is equal to that of avowed atheists?

-4. We just want to join the long list of successful multi-cultural civilizations, like…ummm, well…they have to exist, right? Right?!? Hello??

Fear — Sung by Lilly Allen

I want to be rich and I want lots of money
I don’t care about clever I don’t care about funny
I want loads of clothes and I want f***loads of diamonds
I heard people die while they are trying to find them

And I’ll take my clothes off and it will be shameless
Cuz everyone knows that’s how you get famous
I’ll look at the sun and I’ll look in the mirror
I’m on the right track yeah I’m on to a winner

[Chorus]
I don’t know what’s right and what’s real anymore
I don’t know how I’m meant to feel anymore
When do you think it will all become clear?
‘Cuz I’m being taken over by The Fear

Life’s about film stars and less about mothers
It’s all about fast cars and cussing each other
But it doesn’t matter cause I’m packing plastic
and that’s what makes my life so f***ing fantastic

And I am a weapon of massive consumption
And its not my fault it’s how I’m programmed to function
I’ll look at the sun and I’ll look in the mirror
I’m on the right track yeah we’re on to a winner

Chorus
I don’t know what’s right and what’s real anymore
I don’t know how I’m meant to feel anymore
When do you think it will all become clear?
‘Cuz I’m being taken over by The Fear

Forget about guns and forget ammunition
Cause I’m killing them all on my own little mission
Now I’m not a saint but I’m not a sinner
Now everything’s cool as long as I’m gettin thinner

[Chorus]
I don’t know what’s right and what’s real anymore
I don’t know how I’m meant to feel anymore
When do you think it will all become clear?
‘Cause I’m being taken over by fear

Dr. George Grant in one of his lectures on ancient history tells a story about a visit to a large museum he made. Dr. Grant told about the grand displays of Egypt replete with mock pyramids and tombs. He then went on to tell about the grand displays of ancient Greece and other well known cultures. Dr. Grant emphasized the power and scope of the museum displays of these mighty civilizations. Dr. Grant then went on to tell how after he had viewed these great civilizations he walked into a room where the civilization of ancient Israel was on display. Dr. Grant went on to tell how the ancient Israel display wasn’t nearly as ostentatious as the displays of the other great civilizations. Grant tells how the Israel civilization display was characterized by pottery and eating utensils and other items that comparatively speaking were nick-knacks when compared to the power displays of the ancient cultures such as Egypt and Greece.

Dr. Grant’s point out of this is that Israel didn’t build the kind of civilization as other power civilizations because Israel’s civilization was not built on the basis of slave labor nor was it primarily a centralized state such as the other civilizations. Instead Israel culture was about simple matters like community, family, food, and song. Not the kinds of things that make for grandiose museum displays.

This evening I attended a theatrical version of “Sound of Music” which reminded me of Dr. Grant’s lectures. “Sound of Music” is a musical that has as a backdrop 1938 Austrian culture trying to maintain its simple civilization against the giant Fascist totalitarian culture of Germany. In this way the musical is very Christian. The songs reflect a particular culture and are about love of family, love of music, and love of country. The songs and dances, though not all original to Austria, are in praise of a culture that doesn’t want to be swallowed whole by a “great civilization.”

The christian themes that proclaim the love found in the simplicity of community, family, food, and drink are likewise found in J.R.R. Tolkien’s works. The success of great wars and movements against totalitarian regimes is waged, at least in part, so that simple people can continue to love eating mushrooms, drinking beer, spending time with family, and being indulgent to children.

The christian themes of love for what is nearby in family, community and church are also put on display in Wendell Berry’s Port William novels. In Jayber Crow the story is told of what it means to live in community. In one of the most tender scenes that I’ve ever read in any novel Berry puts Jayber Crow in a local church where he has a vision of the church community over the years so that one gets the sense that even though many of these people lived and died before others they were all one community and belonged to one another because they belonged to that Church.

In all of these the love is for local in defiance of love for the spectacular and grandiose. In all of these the love is for the familiar in contrast to love for wide-scale fame. In all of these there is a turning of the back on mass appeal in order to embrace what is known and has been known for generations.

This desire for the simple, the separate, and the known is a Christian theme it would be good to return to once again.