When America’s Religion Goes Wrong:
Wokeness as Secularized Puritanism
PJ Media,
by
David P. Goldman
Original Article
Posted By: NorthernDog,
1/16/2021 9:05:13 AM
America seems to have gone mad. It still is the world’s richest and most powerful country, with the oldest continuous government on earth. Yet it is in deep crisis, and divided between hostile camps that reject each other’s legitimacy. Paradoxically, what made America strong also makes it inherently fragile. Joshua Mitchell, a professor of government at Georgetown University, presents a cogent diagnosis of America’s dark night of the soul in a remarkable new book. A Chinese acquaintance quips: “Now you are having your own Cultural Revolution.” In fact, the criticism and self-criticism sessions imposed on corporate employees and school personnel
Reply 1 - Posted by:
Dodge Boy 1/16/2021 9:18:07 AM (No. 662856)
As I have stated numerous times here at this great salon, belief in our Creator, is being replaced with obeyance to the state. We also have the pretenders in high places in our federal government, the Religious in Name Only crowd like Pierre Delecto, biden the cheater, BJ, Nanie, and Obie.
23 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
Samsquanch 1/16/2021 9:30:07 AM (No. 662867)
They pretty much are all pretenders now.
10 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
Samsquanch 1/16/2021 9:33:34 AM (No. 662871)
Mitt's claim to fame is being the grandson of Marion G. Romney, who was in the first presidency of the LDS church. Unfortunately he's been able to hoodwink many of the members by name alone.
12 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
franq 1/16/2021 9:34:21 AM (No. 662874)
Fear crept into the leadership. Elder and deacon boards made up of professionals and managerial types. The voice of the Church is severely weakened.
11 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
mathman 1/16/2021 9:38:09 AM (No. 662879)
A magnificent farrago of nonsense.
Take the trouble to read the Bible, without any pre-existing framework, just as it is. Read the story if Israel, from its beginning to now. Read the Prophets. Read the Gospels. Read the letters of Paul. Don't take any one's word for it, read the thing itself.
The Gospel is the same as it always was. We are created, we fell, we must repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Folk strayed from the truth throughout the Bible. If you don't believe me, look it up. By choosing leaders for themselves, the People of Israel fell into many perils and woes. Folk stray from the truth today. There is no salvation in any economic or political system. None. There is no rescue in any political figure or dead hero. Jesus, as He is described in the Gospels, remains the only hope.
All else is lamentable claptrap.
Don't bother to look for some point of view to read the Bible. Get a copy in your own vernacular and read it. No suppositions, no prior knowledge, just the words.
Our current woes are no greater, and no worse, than the woes of previous generations. How do you think it would feel to be carried away into captivity and serve as slaves?
I could list the times folk turned away from the Truth, but it would be boring.
Just take it as it stands. This dude named Moses was abandoned, as an infant, into a little boat in the Nile, because he was a boy and boys were to be killed. He was taken into the house of Pharoah. The rest is history. He lived 120 years, died without a grave, and went around wearing a veil most of his life because his face was too bright to look at. He told us to wait for Jesus.
Jesus finally came. Ignore Him at your peril.
26 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
Borderboy 1/16/2021 9:51:23 AM (No. 662893)
A long one but a Must Read.
6 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
Quigley 1/16/2021 10:16:13 AM (No. 662914)
I’m a fan of “Spengler” but this one not at all. Some interesting points in the article, but none as interesting as the title of puritanical secularism. Trying to see all secular events through the lens of American religion is too forced and becomes incoherent. A few interesting points, but all in all it left me wondering if it was written solely because of a request of the marketing department of the book publisher. Puritanical secularism is really nothing more than “you’re wrong and I’m right and that makes you unfit to exist.” I don’t a religious component is needed or helpful to understand that.
The events of 2020 and 2021 that concern us can only be viewed through the lens of abuse of power. Perhaps the abusers were ruthlessly exploiting accidental occurrences or perhaps they had a hand in engineering their occurrence. Perhaps they are also masterful at exploiting mass psychology of which religion must be a factor.
We’ve been rolled. And religion had nothing to do with it. Religion could only come into play if the public will was free of abuse of power and could find expression. The article characterizes the Civil War as a religious war against the slave interests (the dimokrap party). If so, the will of the people found expression perhaps.
5 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
planetgeo 1/16/2021 10:25:58 AM (No. 662932)
Normally I think highly of Goldman's (formerly "Spengler") insightful articles, but I think he misses it badly here. He correctly identifies the "self-hatred" but not its real root cause and continuing driving force. Fundamentalist Christian culture has little to do with it. It's targeted, relentless re-education and conditioning by America's enemies. They have infiltrated and taken over virtually all of America's educational, communication, and entertainment infrastructure and they have been relentlessly brainwashing particularly its young people with distorted, negative characterizations about the origins, founding principles, and history of America. And since there has been no pushback, there are now multiple generations either in positions of power or ascending to them the have those false distortions ingrained in their thinking.
Americans who love their country AND its founding principles as defined clearly in its Declaration of Independence and its Constitution have been too silent too long. The pushback must be earnest and fearless, and it must start now.
8 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
red1066 1/16/2021 10:26:02 AM (No. 662933)
The people that work, pay taxes, and obey the law are fed up with elected officials saying one thing to get elected, then doing something completely different when elected. We're tired of being stabbed in the back. We're tired of being portrayed as rubes because we're patriotic and believe in the founding virtues that made this country great. We're not that far removed from family members that served in the military in WWII. Many of us had father's who fought in that war, or at least grandfather's who served. There is a personal connection with that generation. We also know that they would not be happy with the current state of the country. At least I know my father wouldn't be, and I'm damn sure my grandfather wouldn't be.
9 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
Chuzzles 1/16/2021 11:14:33 AM (No. 662996)
Maybe because the new religion of Churchianity and secularism has been replacing actual Faith and belief in God. When one refuses to stand against evil, instead embracing it because they want back into the Swamp (like Pence did), that is chasing the world, not obeying God. That is Churchianity defined basically.
4 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
Bur Oak 1/16/2021 11:43:25 AM (No. 663053)
I disagree with the statement in the last paragraph that the virus hasn't been curbed in the USA because we don't obey the government. Look at all the people running around with worthless masks and locking themselves in their homes.
7 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
wordsmith82 1/16/2021 11:57:31 AM (No. 663071)
Thanks #5 for your description "a magnificent farrago of nonsense."
fta: ..."as we become more disconnected and our lives get smaller in the democratic age, the temptation to make distinctions between others and ourselves grows."
Our lives have gotten smaller because government has gotten larger, for one thing. Creating a life for oneself by use of one's own talents and interests is one of our American privileges that is stripped from us as government takes over more of our lives. It is this loss of individuality that ironically produces the loneliness so many now experience.
5 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
Laotzu 1/16/2021 12:20:59 PM (No. 663111)
Painful nonsense to read, with a surprise ending about Korea and Covid:
The sad fact is that all of East Asia brought the pandemic under control, in part because Asians are less concerned with expressing their identity than are Westerners, and more likely to follow instructions.
The failure of the article lies in its failure to once mention the Constitution. The current state of affairs is driven by religious fervor to replace the Constitution with fervent religious belief in the infallibility of the Administrative State as the solution to every problem. The New God is Big Government. This has never happened before because we protected our Constitutional right to free speech and assembly. And when Government would attempt to get this big and this stupid, we could beat it back with rational thought. Now, there is only the speech of government and our relationship to the New God is governed by group identity and group rights.
There is no standing as an individual before our creator on Judgment Day. Our worthiness is assessed on this earth as a member of a group, with no relationship to individual moral behavior. You're a felon? That's fine, so long as you're a felon of color. You've created jobs and opportunities for tens of thousands of Americans, but you're White and don't praise the New God? You will be driven from the public sphere.
1 person likes this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
HisHandmaiden 1/16/2021 12:37:06 PM (No. 663134)
Incoherent nonsense, indeed... when the Gospel is so simple, a child can understand.
“For God so loved the World, He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believed in Him would not perish, but have eternal life.”
~ John 3:16
KAG
5 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
DVC 1/16/2021 1:05:41 PM (No. 663169)
Spengler [Goldman] has lived and worked with and for Asians for a long time. I think this has warped his view of things.
0 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
columba 1/16/2021 4:48:41 PM (No. 663355)
The original Christian Church had no part in Salem. It was Puritans, I believe.
2 people like this.
Below, you will find ...
Most Recent Articles posted by "NorthernDog"
and
Most Active Articles (last 48 hours)
Comments:
Salem Witch Trials Part 2 are coming soon.