Why Modern Men Look Elsewhere For Spiritual Wisdom

Word on Fire Ministry ^ | 6.19.23 | Bishop Robert Barron

[MurphsLaw]

Interesting discussion on why today's men
have found a niche for seeking out answers
to the questions needing answers they seek.
In that, the popularity of the likes of Joe Rogan and Jordan Peterson
are explained in the article that is discussed.
This is not to detract from or demean these Modern day self-help gurus-
but shed some light on why this new "spiritual" vibe has taken center stage in secular culture.

25 min YouTube video link below:
(Discussion starts at 4 min. Mark-
Ends around the 30 min. Mark.)

Why Modern Men Look Elsewhere For Spiritual Wisdom

[Jonty30]

I disagree with you on the premise that everytime somebody figures out how to make their own life better, and their idea spreads through society, society improves.

Im excluding natural disasters or invasions or other disruptors in society..

[Jonty30]

I think he’s working humself, in a circular fashion, of becoming a believer.

[GulliverSwift]

He seems kind of insincere in this regard to me, almost as if he realized his audience is overwhelmingly Republican Christians and so he’s refashioned himself to be more suitable to the audience’s ideas.

Something just seems like an act when he speaks. He’s so theatrical that it rubs me the wrong way.

[GulliverSwift]

GMTA. I said one for him today.

[Secret Agent Man]

Hes had videos where he does tear up and gets emotional.

Hes a tradcon simp. He isn’t stable.

[trebb]

You just taught the Bible’s message in two short paragraphs...

[OldGoatCPO]

Good response and very true.

Hard times also drive people to religion which strengthens faith, etc…

The soft part of this are the churches, synagogues and temples. When times are good the churches become morally fat and lazy. This generation of churches and leaders are soft on doctrine, morals and behavioral norms. They lose their faithful as the faithful lose faith in them. It is not the churches fault really. Churches, denominations, dogma et al are creations of man not God. Religious organizations suffer from the same frailties of the flesh that man suffers from. When times get hard man will look towards faith. They will look away from the weak vacillating churches and denominations. They will look for their own answers or seek out a strong faith based doctrine and community.

I did not mention the Mosque. They have not changed their doctrine, dogma or membership requirements for hundreds of years. They have not gone soft….yet. Of course Christianity had hundreds of years on Islam, more time to develop then lose its way so to speak. Islam is projected to flip the tables and overtake Christianity before the next millennium. So when times are really hard and good people look for faith, will they find faith, morals and community, in a Church or a Mosque?

[joesbucks]

But evil still exists. Look at how many people here believe the rapture not only could but should based on current events. And it’s been that way since the dawn of time.

[Jonty30]

I believe God will bring an end to it eventually. Evil does exist and those will be judged in their due time. It is much more pervasive than it used to be.

[GingisK]

For me, it was the “Merry Christmas and Happy Ramadan” from the pulpit.

[MurphsLaw]

No- I haven't watched that interview- though I'm sure it has something of a higher intellectual grasp than I am capable of - and enjoy the challenge to comprehend.
And yes I know it doesn't meet the staunch 1958 Traditional thinking requirement some desperately need to make it sufficiently clerical enough.

Shoot the messenger, fine I get that.
But at least appreciate subject matter being discussed as objectively as you can- and you might learn something.
Anyone who knows young men, or has son(s) in this age bracket should be aware of how JP and Rogan; etc. Have become so influential- to the point of replacing the Church's formation of spiritual thought as less relevant- and how the need for a Savior in this life is diminished and minimized.
I think it's a conversation that needs to continue- especially for traditional concerns, because this trend is exactly the opposite direction from 1958.

[Dr. Sivana]

he’s refashioned himself to be more suitable to the audience’s ideas.

He is an old style academic given a long-form podcast, and he's Canadian. That informs a lot of his style. While it is not lost on him that Christian conservatives have been his strongest (sometimes ONLY) allies from the get-go when he was bring blackballed for refusing to use the wrong pronoun. When he goes on a bender against the government's movements against western Canada oil (and western Canada in general), the Dutch farmers, etc. That is 100% real.He is still dealing with the cognitive dissonance of ventral institutions he had trusted working with actual malice against their own people.

He does like to tie in whatever is being talked about with what he has been studying, whether it is 3 million year old lobsters or Moses and the Burning Bush. The only pandering I have noticed is that he doesn't go out of his way to bash Creationists anymore, which he used to do some. Dismissing a more literal approach to Scripture is something implicit in his approach, where he looks for layers of meaning in scripture (which you can do), while neglecting the plain explicit meaning (which you can't). I agree that he should get out of the exegesis business, he's out of his depth and doesn't quite realize it. I do not attribute dishonesty. His showmanship comes from years of learning how to keep bored students engaged. He does NOT talk down to the audince.

[Biblebelter]

When looking for spiritual wisdom apart from the Inerrant Word of God, I look to the grave.

In particular, the wisdom of my parents and grandparents.

They went through a lot, they fought the good fight, and most importantly they always kept the faith.

[Jonty30]

He has said that there is something different about the Bible than any other book in history. So, his not bashing Creationism may be due to him allowing for the possibility that life on earth may have arisen from deliberate action and not just a congeal of random events.

[MurphsLaw]

The question then would be-
What influences were available to your (grand)parents?
I can assure Christian Virtue was more relevant in their day then it is now.
In the 1950s...a Bishop Fulton Sheen was one of the most popular celebrities in that time frame.
The Joe Rogan of their day...
How in the world could a Catholic Bishop gain so much notoriety?
His message always boiled down to Christ's Sacrifice on the Cross
and what that should mean for us.

Will self- help guru's and Navy Seal discipline allow these young men
to also find Salvation in Christ?
That's the point of this.

[Biblebelter]

What influences were available to your (grand)parents?

Electronic mass media was not much of an influence as all my grandparents were born in the 1880’s.

They were influenced by their observations of two World Wars and the Great Depression.

If someone in the 21st century is looking to find spiritual influences in electronic mass media, they may find it as difficult as camel a getting through the eye of a needle.

[Angelino97]

I did not mention the Mosque. They have not changed their doctrine, dogma or membership requirements for hundreds of years. They have not gone soft….yet.

And yet many Muslim girls in the West are obsessed with their Instagram and other social media. They're posting the same silly bimbo selfies as other Western girls.

And many Muslim men in the West are just as obsessed with porn, drugs, alcohol, fast cars, and partying.

Western mammon is corrupting Muslims just as easily as it corrupted East European Communists.

[OldGoatCPO]

I lived in Saudi for a year, what goes on in public and what goes on in private are two different things.

Orthodox Jews and some Amish have falling prey to vices. When they do it certainly makes the news. But it is not the individuals I speak about, it is the religion. I am referring to the dogma, standards, and morals espoused by the religion. Secularism destroys that and replaces it with the government and man's laws. When a religion admits something is morally wrong, but sanctions immorality by perverting its own teachings, that is the end of that religion. The whole hate the sin love the sinner is bovine excrement. For one reason, ultimately the church morphs into love the sin embrace the sinner. We have seen it, this is not some esoteric theory. Where Christianity has accepted sin and perverted it's own teachings it is doomed to fail. Eventually people look at the church and think why bother.

[MurphsLaw]

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