The book suggests that the defining problem driving out most people who leave is … just how American life works in the 21st century. Contemporary America simply isn’t set up to promote mutuality, care, or common life. Rather, it is designed to maximize individual accomplishment as defined by professional and financial success. Such a system leaves precious little time or energy for forms of community that don’t contribute to one’s own professional life or, as one ages, the professional prospects of one’s children. Workism reigns in America, and because of it, community in America, religious community included, is a math problem that doesn’t add up.
I am really happy I grew up in the Church in a certain narrow sense. I at least saw my neighbors and people in my area in a place of equality and community regularly. It had a lot of issues and bad gross stuff as I am sure we all know about (morally, physically, spiritually, you name it), but I think it was a fundamental part of my leftist philosophy forming.
Idea that America has turned Church as social status and “luxury” social club is bonkers. Modern life is incompatible with Christian values and principles as well as being incompatible with just living. Capital turns everything an economic unit, even God and community
It's disgusting. I went to my grandma's church a year ago or so and the pastor literally told us all to pray for: The fucking military... the fucking police... and the fucking politicians... yet we didn't pray for the poor or the war-torn or the suffering homeless population.. Like wtf. This isn't Christianity, this is unironic Satanism lol. Everyone worships the capitalist state. I jut don't know what is to be done about the state of the church. We need a reformation or something smh..
I feel that 100% man. I remember even as a boy that hearing to send prayers up for the "warriors" in the military and not for some sort of amorphous "peace" hit me weird. It was right during the invasion of Iraq and my youth pastor was telling us to pray that soldiers and such would return safely. I remember asking him one-on-one after we why we didn't pray for peace and he didn't really answer. I remember that just being something I couldn't grapple with for a while. Fast-forward to now with all my leftist understanding and better understanding, I see just how the seeds of todays Christo-fash were planted and bare vile fruit today. It's real bad man.
They worship it see it's harsh punishment to the poor as "divine" justice. It sucks so much.
This. And you cannot convince these Evangelicals and mega-church people that what they're supporting is wrong. It's even impossible for me to relate to my Christian family members, one of my cousins listens to fucking Joel Osteen vomits profusely. And as you say, these people see the suffering of the poor as divine justice for irresponsibility or whatever is evil and cruel. They have forgotten the lesson of the Good Samaritan. They are like the Rabbis who just walked on past the man dying in the street. What's also wild is how capitalism literally promotes the same values the Bible describes the devil having, and our whole society and fabricated pop culture pushes neoliberal propaganda on kids. Meanwhile, in school we tell the kids to be kind, courteous, honest, etc. but when they grow up and realize the world doesn't work that way, they get cynical and decide to take what they can in this dog-eat-dog system. I just wish Christians like us had a real voice in society so people would know we don't stand for injustice, bigotry, and war like the fundamentalists do. Anyway, sorry for rambling but I get really passionate about this lol
Never apologize for caring about injustice, caring is cool. No amount of post-post-post irony internet brain poisoning will change that. You good man
Hell yeah bruther!
as the lord Himself would say
incompatible? (sorry not trying to be correction jerk, just want to make sure of meaning since used twice)
I am typing on my phone. It automatically autocorrected. I hate this thing so much. Thanks for the correction! I’ll clean up the original post