God is not the center point of American life now so much as personal gratification.
The problem is that despite how many "things" one accumulates, it is never so satisfying as the spiritual fulfillment one receives via a relationship with the almighty. Yet the cultural crusade against those of faith has claimed a huge number of victims who turn away from God and place their faith in "things".
What can I say? Good luck attaining spiritual fulfillment from that DVD player or Ford Mustang there, fellah.
I was in church for many years, and I have major doubts about some claims of the church and many who champion Christianity. I've seen a relationship with God do great things for some people, but I've also seen people hurt by choices made in pursuit of that relationship. I spent many years seeking "spiritual fulfillment" in Christianity. Both good and bad things came of that pursuit. I certainly don't look for fulfillment in DVD's or cars, but neither do I believe that every problem is irrelevant if I just go to church. No "cultural crusade" could have turned me from God. Instead, my own experiences with Christianity made me much less interested in those pursuits.
If your sandals do not wear out and you find mannah on your front yard every morning, the question of whether thingss are getting better or worse is moot. For the rest of us, the question is relevant. My point was that this guy is writing an article cheerleading for how wonderful things are today, but he didn't analyze very carefully. When someone makes these claims in a national magazine but his analysis is bad, there's nothing wrong with voicing differences.
I don't think that the current culture is as anti-Christian as many in the church claim. The party that controls the legislative and executive branches of our government is pro-Christian. As a society we've taken some steps towards officially recognizing faith-based approaches to social problems. All but the lunatic left fringe now recognize that immediate gratification of all sexual urges is neither necessary or healthy. We may not agree with the strict anti-sex views of the lunatics on the other side, but society no longer snickers at people who think that abstaining past high school is a healthier course of action. The "Christian culture" of a diverse selection of Christian music, books, radio, and television entertainment and information is much bigger than it was in the past. I'm not saying that our society is in better or worse shape than it was forty years ago on this point. I'm just pointing out some data that would support a more positive view.
Bill