Thoughts with compare / contrast by the author/me

Today I will discuss the cultural change and its effect on the Christian community.

Are we followers of Jesus Christ in fact?

The Moral Vacuum

Members of contemporary North American society share a certain degree of moral knowledge. Most mainstream Americans, for example, commonly abhor such societal blights as genocide, despotism, racism, and pedophilia. Alternatively, most revere social virtues like honesty, kindness, altruism, and tolerance for ethnic and religious diversity. However, the list of moral ambiguities abounds, and it appears to be getting longer by the day. Americans find themselves of late relinquishing their moral compasses to lawmakers, pollsters, and ballot boxes. Judges in some states have sanctioned gay marriage while lawmakers in other states have taken the matter to vote.Stem cell research, which profits in part from the genetic material of aborted fetuses, creates moral quandaries for scientists, religious leaders, and politicians alike. Ever- widening holes in the planet’s ozone layer, along with ever-shrinking ice caps in the Polar Regions, have catapulted care-of-earth concerns to the moral realm. While the list of moral ambiguities grows longer, the rate at which America ‘s commonly held body of moral knowledge shrinks in a manner comparable to the melting of Arctic ice. At the same time, like holes in the ozone, there appears to be an ever-widening moral vacuum that has engulfed American culture, leaving many individuals and families on their own in terms of moral decision-making. Conspicuously absent in public moral discourse is the Christian church.

It is commonly believed that the Religious Right is a major player in America ‘s moral debates.

Most non-church-going Americans in fact do not look to any facet of the Christian church as the sole repository of moral knowledge. One recent survey conducted by Barna Group showed that while most Americans consider personal faith to be an important source of moral guidance, ―a huge majority of adults pick and choose what they believe rather than adopt a church or denomination ‘s slate of beliefs.  The church ‘s waning influence is at least one contributing factor to America ‘s ever-increasing moral vacuum.

I became acutely aware of these twin problems – the moral devolution of American families and the church ‘s apparent disengagement – while working as a counselor in a mental health clinic. I consulted with individuals, couples, and families assigned by the clinic ‘s supervisor. Most clients presented family relationship issues. These problems were sometimes rooted in child behavioral problems, which brought the family into the local juvenile-court system. In other instances, couples with marital difficulties were engaged in last-ditch efforts to save a marriage damaged by unfaithfulness by one or both spouses, communication problems, or a general loss of interest in each other. In almost every instance, individuals and families were coping withPolar Regions, have catapulted care-of-earth concerns to the moral realm.4 While the list of moral ambiguities grows longer, the rate at which America ‘s commonly held body of moral knowledge shrinks in a manner comparable to the melting of Arctic ice. At the same time, like holes in the ozone, there appears to be an ever-widening moral vacuum that has engulfed American culture, leaving many individuals and families on their own in terms of moral decision-making. Conspicuously absent in public moral discourse is the Christian church.

In future blogs I will suggest ways to approach and engage each of the issues that are referenced above.

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