Posted on 03/07/2014 11:48:59 AM PST by mojito
...Over the past 50 years or so, these post-Protestants have gradually formed the core of a new and fascinating social class in America....And we can recognize their origins in mainline Protestantism when we discern some of the ways in which they see the world and themselves. They are, for the most part, politically liberal, preferring that government rather than private associations address social concerns. They remained puritanical and highly judgmental, at least about health. And like all puritans, they are willing to use law to compel behavior they think right.
Nonetheless, they do not think of themselves as akin to their puritan ancestors, for they understand Puritanism as concerned essentially with sexual repression. And the post-Protestants have almost entirely removed sexuality from the realm of human action that might be judged morally.
In the poster children, this typically manifests itself in strong political support for abortion and same-sex marriage, no expressed disapproval of either divorce or the bearing of children out of wedlock, and an uneasy feeling that the eating of meat and the drinking of sugary sodas are not just unhealthy, but actually slightly shameful....
Their deepest awareness of sin, however, derives from their sense of a shadowy evil that lies over the past, and over much of the present as well....
In their view, the world is filled with malignant social forces – bigotry, power, corruption, mass opinion, militarism, oppression. These horrors are the constant theme of history. They have a palpable metaphysical presence in the world. And the post-Protestants believe that the best way to know themselves as moral is to define themselves in opposition to such bigotry and oppression, understanding good and evil not primarily in terms of personal behavior, but as states of mind about the social condition.
(Excerpt) Read more at american.com ...
There were some things I disagreed with here, but there is much to chew on.
Essentially, the argument is this: that the Protestant Christian faith that held sway for most of our history among the white middle-class has been replaced by a mish-mash of Freudian and Marxist notions, with dire implications for our social and political future.
Example A: Barack 0bama.
Don’t tell that to my Southern Baptist relatives and friends who are as conservative as they can be. Include me, too. I am SB and proud if it.
Two of these are cheap slurs. But I'm pretty sure the President has formally studied and bases his world view upon the philosophies related to Marx.
0bama may not be a Maoist, but he is most certainly an Alinskyite, and in my book that's a Communist.
Ok. I am interested in genealogy. I discovered that one ancestor family of my dad was in a Baptist church in SC in 1810 The church minutes were online. They were very strict and kicked members out for what we would consider minor events such as fighting, adultery, not attending a district meeting, etc. Churches today would have very few members if they did the same. Guess they would think that anything goes today.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.