Posted on 10/11/2001 8:44:26 PM PDT by sola gracia
"Everything has changed." That refrain has become as common in the post-9/11 world as "God bless America."
America's culture-makers—many of whom live in New York City—are deeply shaken. The intellectual movements, artistic styles, and entertainment fads now seem obsolete.
True, left-wing academics like Noam Chomsky and Susan Sontag treat American values with a disdain second only, perhaps, to Osama bin Laden. But in insisting that the terrorist attacks were justified because of America's imperialism, its support of Israel, and oppression of the developing world, the post-Marxists on university campuses are making fools of themselves, to the point that it is evident even to college students.
As Andrew Sullivan, senior editor of The New Republic, points out, the leftists are putting themselves in the uncomfortable position of supporting an ideology that brutally subjugates women (to the point of flogging them for walking by themselves in public), executes homosexuals, and outlaws nearly every human freedom. People who have made their careers by condemning America for being anti-woman, homophobic, and oppressive are now defending a regime that really is all of these things. And anyone who compares New York City to Afghanistan has to admit that America is a free country, after all, that it has ideals worth defending.
Hollywood, with a guilty conscience, is toning down its violence. The art world is calling for an end to irony and nihilism.
So what changes can we expect on the cultural scene? If irony, cynicism, and nihilism have become irrelevant, what next?
Possibly we may see a new appreciation for America's heritage. Patriotism is back, big time. Churches are full. The terrorists hate America's freedom and they hate Christianity. This is reason enough to stop taking them for granted and to build on them once again.
But there are other possibilities. An excess of freedom, warned Plato, is often followed by an excess of tyranny. Could the culture go from the extreme of anything goes to the other extreme of social oppression?
Liberals are crowing that the era of distrust of government is over. There are calls for national ID cards and the suspension of constitutional rights. Many in the timorous public seem willing to give up freedom for security—just as the great Christian cultural critic Francis Schaeffer warned about decades ago.
Perhaps more dangerous in the post-postmodernist era is what may happen to religion. Suddenly the cultural hostility to faith went up in smoke, when Americans faced real pain and real spiritual need. This was a good sign. And yet, in the well-intentioned "interfaith prayer services," a more disturbing note was sounded. Christians, Muslims, Sikhs, and Hindus were all worshipping together, praying, it was said, "to the same God."
The Bible strictly forbids syncretistic worship, the mingling of biblical and pagan religions, a violation of the First Commandment. When the Israelites brought idols of Baal into the Temple, presumably because they thought they and the Canaanites worshipped "the same god," the real God was not pleased.
Such multi-faith worship may be the beginning of the much-anticipated "one-world religion," which, though filled with pious emotionalism and religiosity, will be far different from Christianity.
Another theological possibility is a militant secularism. Salman Rushdie, the novelist who has been under an Islamic death sentence, wrote a column for The Washington Post in which he takes to task the anti-American left but also urges the exaltation of everything the Islamic "fundamentalists" are against.
"The fundamentalist seeks to bring down a great deal more than buildings," Mr. Rushdie writes. "Such people are against, to offer just a brief list, freedom of speech, a multi-party political system, universal adult suffrage, accountable government, Jews, homosexuals, women's rights, pluralism, secularism, short skirts, dancing, beardlessness, evolution theory, sex."
It is easy, he says, to be against terrorism. "But what are we for? What will we risk our lives to defend? Can we unanimously concur that all the items in the above list—yes, even the short skirts and dancing—are worth dying for?"
Just as the Romans were unwilling to die for their orgies in the face of the barbarian onslaught, Americans, though open to many things on that list, are probably unwilling to die for such things as evolution, homosexuality, and short skirts.
The point, though, is that, in some circles, people are already lumping conservative Christians together with the Muslim terrorists as "fundamentalists," as the enemy who deserves to be stamped out.
Have we not heard this very statement on FR recently?
I dont think the real God is pleased right now eithor..
Yes you are right it has been said that fundamental Chrisitanity is the flip side of the fundamental Islam that terrorized this Nation
On one hand we have the faith desendants of the men that built this Nation compared to the desendants of a mad man... people are set on destroying what the followers of Christ have built.
The comparison is being made by men that do not know God.
I think you could make a case that all this mindless flag-waving
is a strong sign of the kind of nihilism Nietzsche talked about.
Will you please tell me which of the Founding Fathers was a fundamentalist of Falwell's ilk? I seem to recall that most of them were deists (Jefferson and Paine) or regular Episcopalian types (Washington) or Unitarians (the Adams brothers.)
-ccm
People use pejoratives about fundamentalists because they're scared of them. I've grown up with lots of gung-ho Southern Baptists, so I know they're harmless, but not everyone knows that. The reason fundamentalists are scary? I've seen a lot of it on FR-- one person makes an argument that relies on history (facts) and analysis (reason) and oftentimes a fundamentalist will respond with quote after quote from the bible, tied together in ways that only another of his own belief system can figure out. It's like we're speaking English and you'all are speaking in tongues.
Like I said, I, personally, know that you guys are nice, harmless, and good people, but not everyone knows that-- many find your behavior baffling, and therefore, scary.
I've seen a lot of it on FR-- one person makes an argument that relies on history (facts) and analysis (reason) and oftentimes a fundamentalist will respond with quote after quote from the bible, tied together in ways that only another of his own belief system can figure out. It's like we're speaking English and you'all are speaking in tongues.Actually, even within a particular strain of theology, we can get our wires crossed. Mostly, it's because we aren't professional writers. We all think our writing is perfectly clear but others may read a particular post and come to a very different conclusion.
Like I said, I, personally, know that you guys are nice, harmless, and good people, but not everyone knows that-- many find your behavior baffling, and therefore, scary.Actually, sincere Christians do tend to scare the unchurched and those of extremely shallow religiousity. It's generally expected. They tend to feel faint when they realize that people actually believe the Bible is the Word of God and live accordingly. That is a very frightening thing to most non-Christians and to those who think the Bible is some sort of Hallmark card from God.
"....And yet, in the well-intentioned "interfaith prayer services," a more disturbing note was sounded. Christians, Muslims, Sikhs, and Hindus were all worshipping together, praying, it was said, "to the same God."
This has bothered me quiet a bit, but then again we didn't get to this point over night, this is something that has creep up on the U.S. over many decades. I imagine unless God intervenes in a very major way it would take us decades to get this nation back on course. On the other hand this worshipping seems to be on a nation government level. If the American Christian Culture, which seems to like the Jerry Falwell types more then it would want to admit, ever got it act to together it probably would change this situation. I pray that this is what will happen before I die and doesn't ever get worse. Even though this bothers me I try to keep a perspective that for every non Christian Religion that has a building out there that has it’s members praying there is thousands of Christian Churches which are also praying, but would never think of putting an amen to the end of the non-Christian prays and they would rather die instead, so I guess when you look at it in that perspective maybe there hope on the nation government level.
The Bible strictly forbids syncretistic worship, the mingling of biblical and pagan religions, a violation of the First Commandment.
Praying together is not necessarily an act of syncretism.
********
I'm not as pessimistic as the author. I believe that this chastisement has awakened America's sleeping moral sensibility. But I agree that we have a lot of reforming to do, especially regarding the abortion holocaust.
Nietzsche is dead.
-God
There is no comparison between the ranting of visions by a mad man and the thoughtful work of the founding fathers..you are the one raising Flawell (who thanks to our founding fathers) can say what he pleases without fear of being stoned to death!
Oh ye it is..They worship false gods..
2 Corinthians 6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
You have to keep in mind that secular liberal-socialists are not exactly the most educated, cultivated, and civilized people on the planet. And frequently you will find that they don't exactly know very much about what they are talking about. To not understand the VAST difference between Western Christianity and Middle Eastern Islam is a classic case. They're pretty stupid actually when you get right down to it. There are, unfortunately, enough loony dysfunctional examples of pathological religiosity which lend some apparent credence to the anti-Christian agenda. Suffice it to say, people need to do their homework on this topic. Reality involves many different trajectories of analysis and interpretation for its structural, psychological, and philosophical complexity than are supplied by scriptural texts alone. Self-professing "Christians" would do well to take notice of this and not set up the straw-man targets for their aggressive and maniacly hostile opponents. The intellectual analysis of the current international situation, for instance, requires a great deal more than citing Bible passages.
The God of the Jews, the God of Islam, the God of the Philosophers and the God of Brahman Hindus, is the same as our God. Our paths diverge after that.
Granted, the Trinity has not been revealed to these other people, but we don't have a complete understanding of God's essence either.
We can agree that the God of the Jews is the God of Christian believers. But allah is a false god..as is brahman....to say we have different "paths" is foolish new-age gibberish
Deuteronomy 5 Thou shalt have none other gods before me.
John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Matthew 7:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
They are going to hell!
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