What Has Gone Wrong?
If you are like me, you look at the landscape of our society and wonder: what in the world has gone wrong? We once were a country that honored God, the Bible, the morals taught in the Bible, and even though we had many problems and many individuals with problems; overall we trusted in the Lord and had time honored principles we lived by that derived from the teaching of Jesus and his apostles. The founders of our country, not all Christian, still saw the value of such a moral foundation, saying that without it a democracy couldn’t stand. If “we the people” are to survive, it can’t be a free for all, there must be standards that drive us, are within us.
Now, we are far from that. Those who are not “church goers” still sometimes honor Jesus, but they honor a pastel version, painted in their own image, not the image of God we gain from the Bible. Even churchgoers today are likely to skip Sunday school, small group, and attend Sunday worship only when it is convenient, not with any sense of obligation to God. They rarely read the Bible or have conversation about it. But they hear it criticized. So, what has brough us to this point in our country’s history? The above, and let me list some other factors:
Education. I grew up in the 1950’s-60’s when the traditional values were still believed and practiced by the majority, but while that may have been true, at the same time colleges had become very liberal in their teaching. I remember considering a “religion” class at Southwest MO State, located in Springfield, MO, sometimes called the buckle on the Bible belt. But I didn’t take it because I’d heard that the teachers only criticized Christianity and had no use for the Bible. That was a religion class, so you can imagine the liberal thinking in other classes. I took a Systems of Psychology class later and a “Christian system” was not even allowed as an option. This indoctrination of impressionable young people has only accelerated and been passed down to lower levels of school, even our grade schools where if you struggle with your male or female identity you may be encouraged to change sex. Even Bill Maher, the liberal comedian, says he’s glad that didn’t happen to him as a young person. He wanted to be a pirate and might have had one eye removed and a peg leg given to him! His point is well taken.
Changing Families. Prior to World War 2, the workplace was mostly men, with many women still being “homemakers” who cared for the children, cooked, volunteered at church, and coordinated family activities. That all changed when so many men went to war and the women went to work. They stayed at work after the war, and the two-income family started to take place. So much more could be afforded with two incomes, so day-cares and pre-schools started to pop up everywhere. Remember the old saying “the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world”? There is truth in it, and now the mother’s voice is minimized. Values now come from a greater variety of sources. Don’t get me wrong, for many women, they continue to care for kids, cook, and do much volunteering. But now, as they do so, they become so stressed and tired that they have little energy for family; and as they do too much, men feel less valued and do less. No real favors from this dynamic.
Those two things are major. Add to it such things as: 1) Rock and Roll Music and the messages it puts in our heads (Can you still sing that song from 1965 or 1994? Indeed. Can you remember those Bible verses you memorized back then? Think about it.) 2) TV and Movie influence. Even the “based on a true story” ones take such liberties we get a distorted view of history, let alone the junk said and shown in most TV shows and movies. 3) Social media. Yes, Facebook and the like can be used for good. We all know how often it is not, and how addicting it becomes. We get bombarded with a lot of junk. 4) City mentality. People who grow up and live in the city just don’t think the same as those who grow up and live in the country. Watch the political red and blue colors. It’s not really states, but city thinking against the rural thinking.
Certainly, there are other factors, and you could list a few. In fact, feel free to contact me and give your thoughts. My email is: rwillisx2@gmail.com. Let me circle back now to my original point at the beginning. With all of these things impacting our thinking, don’t we (if Christian) at least need some balance with biblical teaching? How are we to get that if we minimize involvement at a good Bible teaching church?
Now, we are far from that. Those who are not “church goers” still sometimes honor Jesus, but they honor a pastel version, painted in their own image, not the image of God we gain from the Bible. Even churchgoers today are likely to skip Sunday school, small group, and attend Sunday worship only when it is convenient, not with any sense of obligation to God. They rarely read the Bible or have conversation about it. But they hear it criticized. So, what has brough us to this point in our country’s history? The above, and let me list some other factors:
Education. I grew up in the 1950’s-60’s when the traditional values were still believed and practiced by the majority, but while that may have been true, at the same time colleges had become very liberal in their teaching. I remember considering a “religion” class at Southwest MO State, located in Springfield, MO, sometimes called the buckle on the Bible belt. But I didn’t take it because I’d heard that the teachers only criticized Christianity and had no use for the Bible. That was a religion class, so you can imagine the liberal thinking in other classes. I took a Systems of Psychology class later and a “Christian system” was not even allowed as an option. This indoctrination of impressionable young people has only accelerated and been passed down to lower levels of school, even our grade schools where if you struggle with your male or female identity you may be encouraged to change sex. Even Bill Maher, the liberal comedian, says he’s glad that didn’t happen to him as a young person. He wanted to be a pirate and might have had one eye removed and a peg leg given to him! His point is well taken.
Changing Families. Prior to World War 2, the workplace was mostly men, with many women still being “homemakers” who cared for the children, cooked, volunteered at church, and coordinated family activities. That all changed when so many men went to war and the women went to work. They stayed at work after the war, and the two-income family started to take place. So much more could be afforded with two incomes, so day-cares and pre-schools started to pop up everywhere. Remember the old saying “the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world”? There is truth in it, and now the mother’s voice is minimized. Values now come from a greater variety of sources. Don’t get me wrong, for many women, they continue to care for kids, cook, and do much volunteering. But now, as they do so, they become so stressed and tired that they have little energy for family; and as they do too much, men feel less valued and do less. No real favors from this dynamic.
Those two things are major. Add to it such things as: 1) Rock and Roll Music and the messages it puts in our heads (Can you still sing that song from 1965 or 1994? Indeed. Can you remember those Bible verses you memorized back then? Think about it.) 2) TV and Movie influence. Even the “based on a true story” ones take such liberties we get a distorted view of history, let alone the junk said and shown in most TV shows and movies. 3) Social media. Yes, Facebook and the like can be used for good. We all know how often it is not, and how addicting it becomes. We get bombarded with a lot of junk. 4) City mentality. People who grow up and live in the city just don’t think the same as those who grow up and live in the country. Watch the political red and blue colors. It’s not really states, but city thinking against the rural thinking.
Certainly, there are other factors, and you could list a few. In fact, feel free to contact me and give your thoughts. My email is: rwillisx2@gmail.com. Let me circle back now to my original point at the beginning. With all of these things impacting our thinking, don’t we (if Christian) at least need some balance with biblical teaching? How are we to get that if we minimize involvement at a good Bible teaching church?