Nones, Civilization, and Christian Ingratitude

Last updated on: June 23, 2015 at 11:35 am by Guest Contributor

Nones, Civilization, and Christian Ingratitude 2015-06-23T11:35:20-04:00 Guest Contributor

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

by Brian Miller

Civilizations rise and fall. The barbarians have been at the gates many times before at Rome, Constantinople, Vienna, and revolutionary Paris. The secular powers have not always survived these crises, but the Church has outlived them all. This should be of comfort to those of us fretting about the recent Pew study on religion. Christians are on the decline and “Nones” are on the rise. The effects of this can be seen everywhere in the culture around us. The common morality is no longer assumed to be Christian, and the sexual revolution has achieved near total victory in the courts of law and public opinion.

While barbarian armies are not literally battering down the doors, it is clear we are living through a historic moment. An old order is giving way to something new, and if you believe even just slightly in what Christianity has to say about sexual ethics then the new order can be nothing short of terrifying. In such a time it can be a great comfort to look back at history and remember that God’s work is not dependent on earthly kingdoms. Worse things have happened before, and the Church has survived them all.

Still, it seems appropriate and natural to mourn the fall of earthly kingdoms. Especially if it ever had any claim to goodness in this world. No place is perfect, but some places are better than others. Western civilization was built and maintained only by the hard work of many holy men. Again, history shows us we are not alone in feeling grief. Beginning with Jeremiah’s lamentations for the fall of Jerusalem, “My eyes fail with tears, My heart is troubled,” we see that our mourning is an appropriate response. Even at the fall of Rome, a city that had persecuted so many Christians and had only recently been Christianized, Jerome and other Church Fathers openly expressed grief and fear.

We grieve and despair in such times because even though we know the City of God is distinct from the city of man, it does not follow that the city of man is inconsequential to the Church and her mission. The Church is concerned primarily with the salvation of souls, but ideally the point is reached where so many souls in a concentrated area have become Christianized that Christian ethics become their common language. Such a place is usually only reached after much work and sacrifice.

Later generations almost inevitably become lazy and forget the sacrifices of the previous generation. They take for granted the benefits of a hard built culture without really believing in the foundations that made it possible. This partly explains the recent decline in religious belief. The “Nones” never really believed at all, and they don’t claim to believe now because it is no longer beneficial for them to do so.

One reaction to this is to say “good riddance.” The era of fake Christianity is over, and only the truehearted and pure will continue to claim the name Christian. Indeed, several evangelical leaders have said the decline of public religion is good for Christianity. Notably, Dr. Russell Moore, recently said, “Bible Belt near-Christianity is teetering. I say let it fall.”

The point that we are all being more honest with each other is well taken. Christians will now (hopefully) be Christians and atheists will be atheists. But is it really that simple? Moore cites as an example the fact that many people who wanted a divorce would never do so because of Christian societal expectations, not necessarily because they believed divorce was wrong.

But is it really better, in any sense, that social norms no longer restrain divorce? That it no longer does is a sign of the decay and death of a Christian moral order. An order that was built through centuries by the blood, sweat, and tears of reformers, saints, soldiers, and martyrs. Surely it deserves more than a “good riddance.”

To have this reaction requires Dr. Moore and other evangelicals to adopt the very modern assumption that a person’s actions are good only if freely chosen without outside influence. That assumption comes from the enlightenment’s vision of the state of nature, not the account of man’s nature found in the Gospels and the Christian tradition. Furthermore, it discounts the good that comes from having a common Christian social morality.

Yes, many in previous generations did not believe in marriage yet remained in marriage. And many took their children to Church without believing in all the hocus-pocus. However, through all that a common moral language was largely maintained. Children who would not otherwise have heard the Gospel went to Sunday school and saw an image, however imperfect, of marriage. After all, the Christian message of love is that we are to deny our own wants and desires for the sake of something else. What better analogy for that than parents who sacrifice their own dreams for their children?

The baby-boomer generation did many things wrong, but expecting people to go to Church and remain married was not one of them. They were cafeteria Christians to be sure, but they were more importantly cafeteria sexual revolutionaries. The bourgeois materialism they imported into the middle class gave them a feeling of superiority over communists and hippies, yet it simultaneously caused them to unquestioningly embrace modern birth control and divorce. Churches unquestioningly embraced sexual freedom so long as it was heterosexual. Indeed, the modern gay rights movement owes a debt of gratitude to the baby boomers, the generation that first freed us from the bonds of the natural family.

This gradually wore away our society and Christians did little, and still do little, to reverse it.

The passing of the common morality is not a cause for celebration. It means we have squandered our inheritance. We hypocritically said the sexual revolution was fine to a point, but at that point the battle was already lost. Speaking to the world will be much harder now. We have allowed it to evolve to a point where we speak different metaphysical languages.

The most constructive thing we can do at such a historical moment is not carry on with bravado as we have always done. Now is not the time for chest pumping and bragging about being the survivors and the true remnant. It is a time for introspection and critical self-examination about where we went wrong, or as the scriptures call it, repentance.

Brian Miller, a Florida native who now resides in Virginia, is an adherent to what Chesterton called the “Toryism of the South.” He has a J.D. from George Mason University. He’s a pretty big fan of Cicero and the Book of Common Prayer.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

June 17, 2015

5 Sure Signs of a Dying Church

Next Post

June 22, 2015 Let the Seven Deadly Sins Guide Your Parenting

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Culture Slideshow Uncategorized

Select a Month April 2026 October 2025 July 2025 April 2025 February 2025 October 2024 August 2023 June 2023 March 2023 February 2023 November 2022 April 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 January 2020 December 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 January 2019 October 2018 August 2018 June 2018 May 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz