Posted on 04/05/2009 8:58:24 PM PDT by Alex Murphy
Newsweek editor Jon Meacham welcomed "The End of Christian America," with the arrival of new statistics from a new religious identification study. Even though he later tries to stipulate that his own magazine’s headline is a little overwrought, he’s thrilled that the country is maturing beyond uptight Christian orthodoxy and beyond any Christian claim to insist on social conservatism:
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.Meacham routinely argues that liberal Christianity is "theologically serious." He echoed that same thought when Newsweek made the "religious case" for gay marriage. Then, Meacham tried to talk the reader off the ledge they built in their own headline: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.
Let's be clear: while the percentage of Christians may be shrinking, rumors of the death of Christianity are greatly exaggerated. Being less Christian does not necessarily mean that America is post-Christian. A third of Americans say they are born again; this figure, along with the decline of politically moderate-to liberal mainline Protestants, led the ARIS authors to note that "these trends … suggest a movement towards more conservative beliefs and particularly to a more 'evangelical' outlook among Christians." With rising numbers of Hispanic immigrants bolstering the Roman Catholic Church in America, and given the popularity of Pentecostalism, a rapidly growing Christian milieu in the United States and globally, there is no doubt that the nation remains vibrantly religious—far more so, for instance, than Europe.Newsweek clearly see traditional Christianity as a pestilent obstacle to the kind of libertine America they want to create. How nice to pick the week of Easter to tell Americans that Jesus is on the wane.
But for some reason my post was deleted. Perhaps someone out there has reading comprehension difficulties.
Yes it does! lol!
With doomsdayers like this, who needs any religion at all? <Sarcasm
It’s only Newsweak — Misspelling on purpose. Move on, folks!
**Obviously, right after 9-11, people put great weight in their faith, millions went BACK to church, that had not been, in years.
Now, we are back to where we were, pre 9-11.**
Same thing will happen again..........my prophecy.
No reading difficulties. Potty language - and references to potty language - are not welcome on the Religion Forum.
Last I looked at Newsweeks subscribership, it was “The End of Newsweek in America”.
Oh no, I understand the giving food and shelter, but I have always wondered why they didn’t encourage them to abide by the law. (the Bible says “obey the laws of the land”)
Not sure about he correlation with abortion. It was kind of random...guess it’s on my mind b/c of all the Catholic/abortion controversy (Notre Dame)lately.
But, if they give sanctuary to all people...even if they have committed a crime...then ok.
And one more thing...I just thought the illegals were using the U.S.’s Catholic churches to hide in...not necessarily for food/shelter. If food/shelter was all they needed, then there are plenty of Catholic churches in Mexico, right?
Thank you for responding...
I’m not catholic but I’ll say this. For all their sanctimonious posing on behalf of the invaders, they sure don’t like it when their churches are broken into.
Lutherans are the same.
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20071205/NEWS/712050362/-1/newssitemap
And the break-ins are increasing in number.
Maybe they will when they go to their new tabloid-level format, monthly or whatever. The weekly rag is scheduled for extinction due to lack of interest.
I think that there might be a misconception with the term "sanctuary". It's sounds like you think there are Catholic churches throughout the US and in particular the SW that are harboring large hoards of illegal immigrants. If so, that's not the case.
The Catholic Church operates a variety and a multitude of shelters across the US - battered women shelters, homeless shelters, emergency shelters etc. There are some shelters, usually located in heavily Latino areas that have illegals in them. And there might be a few isolated instances where these people are physically located in the church basement. But, that's the exception and not the rule.
Most of the people in these shelters are women and children that truly don't have anywhere else to go or have anyway to get there safely or quickly. A parish priest has an obligation to help those (all those) that are located in his parish - regardless if those people may have come from places that have churches that could have helped them at home.
As for the criminal aspect of criminal sanctuary; again, the church has a long history in Europe and in the US where priests or nuns will shelter fugitives. But, most of the times, the parish priest will act as an intermediary to ensure that the fugitive is delivered to the proper authorities without any violence. And, almost always, the covenant of the sanctuary is not violated by local, state or federal authorities.
You may remember when Noriega was deposed by US forces. He held up in a Panamanian Church for some time. But, he eventually was taken into custody through US forces negotiating with the Bishop and Parish Priests.
Things are moving way too fast not to see that something Really BIG has been set in motion, begining with the nomination of Obama.
Something prophesied long ago.
Who is forcing anyone to go to believe anything or to go to church? It's amazing the things liberals are scared of. And meanwhile they have no problem with the government forcing people to work 30% or more of their lives away to pay taxes.
Did this guy show a picture of himself with his collection of armbands perhaps?
Scumbag elitist.
What an overeducated dumbass. (no oxymoron)
They’re destroying their parents country.
“If 10 per cent is good enough for Jesus, why, it oughtta be enough for Uncle Sam.”
Really?!
That's quite revealing on your part.
They talked our economy down for the past 8 years and drove us into a depression. Now they are starting on our religion.
They talked our economy down for the past 8 years and drove us into a depression. Now they are starting on our religion.
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