Well said. I like to say that with Trump, both the Right and the Left finally get the President they deserve....
Sent from my iPhone > On Aug 3, 2017, at 11:54, BILROJ via Centroids: The Center of the Radical > Centrist Community <[email protected]> wrote: > > > New York Times > Trump Can’t Save American Christianity > By ROD DREHERAUG. 2, 2017 > > According to Genesis 1, in four days, God made the heavens, the earth and all > the vegetation upon it. But four days after Anthony Scaramucci’s filthy > tirade went public, Team Trump’s evangelical all-stars — pastors and > prominent laity who hustle noisily around the Oval Office trying to find an > amen corner — still had not figured out what to say. > > Fortunately, the White House relieved them of that onerous task by firing Mr. > Scaramucci — not, please note, on the president’s initiative, but rather at > the request of John Kelly, the new chief of staff. Meanwhile, the Christian > Broadcasting Network ran a puff piece proclaiming that a “spiritual awakening > is underway at the White House,” thanks to a Bible study with what “has been > called the most evangelical cabinet in history.” That ought to still any > skepticism emerging among the true believers for a while. > > Is there anything Donald Trump can do to alienate evangelicals and other > conservative Christians who support him? By now, it’s hard to think of what > that might be. These are people who would never let men with the morals and > the mouths of Mr. Trump and Mr. Scaramucci date their own daughters. And yet, > Team Trump has no more slavishly loyal constituency. > > This is not only wrong, but tragically so. The most pressing problem > Christianity faces is not in politics. It’s in parishes. It’s with the > pastors. Most of all, it’s among an increasingly faithless people. > > The truth is, Christianity is declining in the United States. As a > theologically conservative believer, I take no pleasure in saying that. In > fact, the waning of Christianity will be not only a catastrophe for the > church but also a calamity for civil society in ways secular Americans do not > appreciate. > > > > But preparing for this post-Christian future requires a brutally honest > assessment of both the modern church and the contemporary world. This is > painful, but denial will only make the inevitable reckoning worse. > > First, Americans are falling away from the church in unprecedented numbers. > According to a 2014 Pew study, more than one in three millennials refuse to > identify with a religious tradition — a far higher number than among older > Americans. Most of these young adults are likely to stay away from church as > they age. > > This generational shift is a watershed. Last year, the sociologists David > Voas and Mark Chaves concluded that the United States is no longer > acounterexample to the West’s secularization. America is on the same path of > religious decline pioneered by Europe and Canada. > > Second, the faith American Christians profess is, from a moral and > theological perspective, shockingly thin. Christian Smith, a sociologist at > Notre Dame, has been leading a long-term study of the religious and spiritual > lives of millennials. Mr. Smith finds that what he terms “Moralistic > Therapeutic Deism” has displaced authentic Christianity as the true religion > of American Christians. > > Moralistic Therapeutic Deism is a pseudoreligion that jettisons the doctrines > of historical biblical Christianity and replaces them with feel-good, vaguely > spiritual nostrums. In M.T.D., the highest goal of the religious life is > being happy and feeling good about oneself. It’s the perfect religion for a > self-centered, consumerist culture. But it is not Christianity. > > “America has lived a long time off its thin Christian veneer,” Mr. Smith told > me. “That is all finally being stripped away by the combination of mass > consumer capitalism and liberal individualism.” > > > > Since the 1980s, conservative Christians unwittingly participated in our own > marginalization by placing too much hope in Republican politics. There’s > nothing wrong in principle for Christians to bring our faith to the public > square (if you disagree, take it up with the abolitionists and the civil > rights movement). But the standard “religious right” model, based on the idea > that the American people are a morally sound majority led by decadent liberal > elites, was inaccurate. > > Conservative Christians helped elect Republican politicians, but that did not > stop the slide toward secularism. True, the church gained some access to > power, but it failed to effectively counter popular culture’s catechetical > force. > > Too many of us are doubling down on the failed strategies that not only have > failed to convert Americans but have also done little to halt the > assimilation of Christians to secular norms and beliefs. Mr. Trump is not a > solution to this cultural crisis, but rather a symptom of it. > > These are not normal times. Pope Benedict XVI himself once said that the > spiritual crisis the West faces is worse than anything since the > fifth-century fall of the Roman Empire. This is why St. Benedict of Nursia is > so relevant to Christians today. > > The monk founded the Benedictine religious order amid the chaos and decadence > of imperial Rome. He was merely searching for a way to serve God faithfully > in community during a prolonged civilizational collapse. After his death in > 547, hundreds, and then thousands, of monasteries arose in Western Europe, > all following his “Rule of St. Benedict.” They helped preserve the faith > through the Dark Ages and laid the groundwork for the rebirth of civilization > out of barbarism. > > Lay Christians in the 21st century are certainly not called to be cloistered > monks. But Christians are going to have to step back to some meaningful > degree from the world for the sake of building up orthodox belief, learning > the practices of discipleship and strengthening our communities. The everyday > practices and disciplines of Benedictine spirituality can be adapted to > ordinary Christian life in the world. > > And if we don’t? Father Cassian Folsom, the retired prior of the monastery in > St. Benedict’s hometown, told me that Christian families and churches that > don’t do some form of the Benedict Option are not going to make it through > the trials to come with their faith intact. > > There’s little reason to be optimistic, but every reason to be hopeful. > Christian hope does not expect worldly success but believes that even > suffering and defeat can work mysteriously for the greater glory of God. St. > Benedict did not set out to save Western civilization. He only wanted to > serve God in a time of unprecedented trouble, and lead others to do the same. > > Today, we in the West owe an incalculable debt to the saint and his early > medieval followers, whose visionary, disciplined faith bore spectacular fruit > long after their deaths. This experience shows Christians that we have to > think not in election cycles but in centuries. > > -- > -- > Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community > <[email protected]> > Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism > Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org > > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. 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