"Churchianity"

"The attitude that I see repeatedly from churchianity is one of being isolated in our religious ghettoes with no comprehension that there is not sacred-secular dichotomy and having a slightly veiled holier-than-thou contentment which is constantly pointing a finger at bill clinton and hollywood..."

Above is a snippet from a response I got from the previous post. Does this really classify the majority of church goers in America? I've been quite critical of the church myself. I worked in one in which I could not believe the political nature of the proceedings. But even in that body there were folks who were sincere. There were people who seemed to be genuinely interested in learning what the Lord had to say and wanting to show love towards each other. Were they interested in feeding the orphans in Africa--not with anything more than their money. But they brought in kids from the area. I know that they went and picked these kids up weekly for different church functions. I know they collected money and made Christmases brighter. There were divorced people, and people with children out of wedlock, even a gay kid. Did they openly discuss it? Of course not. This is Foothills, NC. But they made an attempt.

At another church in which the building is lavish--they recently remodeled their sanctuary and installed stadium seating--an easy target for criticism. And I'm sure there are many Constantine Christians in that body (whatever that means). And I'm sure there are people who enjoy blasting the morality of Bill Clinton and Rosie O'Donnell, but there are people there who thirst after Truth. People who dedicate their lives to the church, who spend hours upon hours sacrificing their time so that other people may know love. They spend millions I bet on missions--if not then certainly in the 100s of thousands.

"I'm all for being included in intelligent discussions about the world, and being included in fine art, music and movies..."

The idea that quality products will land Christian philosophy in a place of influence in these arenas of media is wishful thinking, I'm afraid. Perhaps over two or three generations it could be possible. But if you take a look at the top 5 movies, tv shows, and Billboard's Top 5 singles, what you won't find much of is quality. You will find lyrics filled with sexual content--not sexual inuendo, not sexual allusions, but sexual filth. Like Akon's contribution to the art of music: Smack That.

CSI makes it's living by being as gory as possible in the mask of crime solvers--they're only here to save the day after all.

I guess the question comes down to the issue of whether or not in a democratic society values can be imposed via government action. The free market has its role as well. Sex sells there is no question about that. But is there a desire for the consumer to see ads with sex and hear lyrics with sex and violence, or is that pushed on them by those who control the airwaves? Is it too paranoid to think that the media and advertisers have the ability to control our minds--or if not control at least heavily influence?

Maybe I'm just bouncing these ideas around to see if they hold any water... Maybe I will dismiss these cultural warrior notions and be on with the social gospel. More than likely, I hope, I will discover that golden mean. Moderation.

dt