Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Catholic
What is the real “Destructive Culture?”

What is the real “Destructive Culture?”

Last updated on: January 25, 2018 at 4:49 pm by Mary Pezzulo

What is the real “Destructive Culture?” 2018-01-25T16:49:28-04:00 Mary Pezzulo

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.

poor-2571958_640

I keep thinking about that nonsense paragraph from Dreher that I tore apart yesterday. One phrase of his is rattling through my head: “the destructive culture of the poor.” He claims that no one would want to live next to Section Eight housing because of the “destructive culture of the poor.”

The destructive culture of the poor.

I mentioned yesterday that I think he’s dead wrong. There is no “culture of the poor.” Poor people are the least powerful class in the culture they occupy– poor Americans are the bottom rung of American culture, and so forth. Poor people have no power to hide or run from the vices and pitfalls of their culture, so the sins of a culture are manifested in their lives in a way that can’t be hidden. You can learn a lot about a nation by what they’ll tolerate and even defend doing to the poor.

What is the culture of destruction that Dreher mistakenly identified with poverty?

It’s our culture. It’s the culture we live in now, the culture so enamored of the spirit of the world. The world, meaning Creation, is good, but the spirit that fell from Heaven and is permitted to corrupt the world is our enemy. The Culture of Destruction is the enemy of Christianity.

The Christian worships Christ, recognizes that Christ is found hidden in her neighbor. A person a Christian calls a success is a saint– someone who answers the call of God and lives her vocation with her whole heart, on fire with love for God and manifesting that in love for neighbor.

The Culture of Destruction worships power– and today, in our society, the symbol of power is most often money. It’s considered a virtue to stockpile money, not money for any good purpose, but money for its own sake. It’s considered a virtue to show of how much money you’ve accumulated, not through giving it away but through spending it on luxuries. A person the Culture of Destruction calls a success is a rich person. Rich people may be praised for making nice large conspicuous donations to charity with their names on it, but only if they remain rich afterwards. If a rich person sold all she had, gave to the poor and took up an ascetic life, she’d be considered insane by the culture of destruction.

The Culture of Destruction asks, how can I become more powerful? Christianity asks, how can I shield the powerless?

The Culture of Destruction asks, how can I amass more possessions? Christianity asks, how can I empty myself to enrich my neighbor?

The Culture of Destruction asks, how can I be more ostentatious with my wealth? Christianity asks, how can I free myself of the desire for others’ admiration?

The Culture of Destruction asks, what’s in it for me? Christianity asks, what can I bring to you?

The Culture of Destruction devours those who are less powerful. Christians eat and drink Christ, and in turn pour themselves out for others.

The Culture of Destruction consumes and destroys. Christians build up and heal.

The Culture of Destruction loves rules and regulations that allow them to exert power over people. Christians are severe with themselves and merciful with others. They would always rather show clemency than exact punishment.

The Culture of Destruction divides people by race or class because it makes them easier to control. Christians regard everyone as sons and daughters of the same Father in Heaven.

The Culture of Destruction values people for their labor or their wealth. Christians value people because they are people.

The Culture of Destruction demands that anyone who can’t pay their own way should die. Poor people with no means to keep their utilities turned on should be punished with squalor and then have the squalor shunned by richer people, as Rod Dreher suggested we should with his comments on Section Eight housing. They should drink polluted river water and no one should pity them, as a shameless supposedly Catholic blogger once suggested. People who can’t afford a home should be turned out of their homes because homes are not for sheltering people but for making landlords and banks money. But once they’re out of their homes, they mustn’t live on the street either because streets are not for poor people to walk or live on; they are for looking aesthetic so people with money will enjoy shopping in establishments on those streets. So the culture of destruction which created homelessness enacts laws punishing the homeless for loitering or sleeping in public. They even try to penalize Christians for feeding, clothing and sheltering the homeless, because the homeless are waste products of the Culture of Destruction and have no value to it. And this is a true persecution, an injustice that the Christian should fight against.

The followers of Christ recognize that human beings are more important than the money they bring to the economy. Human beings deserve not only to live but to flourish, whether or not they can afford to pay for it. Houses are primarily for living in, not for enriching banks. Water is primarily for drinking and bathing, not for making money. People are not sources of capital but icons to be revered. The followers of Christ do not shelter themselves away from poverty. They embrace it. They see in the poor the suffering Christ. They actively seek this Christ and serve Him in any way they can.

The Culture of Destruction separates itself from people who are undesirable, but the Christian desires unity with all.

And this is why I’m suspicious of people who try to flee the world and form intentional communities apart from it. Sometimes, such a thing is a person’s vocation, and that’s wonderful. But I think the majority of Christians are supposed to remain in the world, servants to the least, signs of contradiction in defiance of the Culture of Destruction.

It’s not that the “destructive culture” Dreher observed doesn’t exist, after all. It’s just that, by trying to flee from unfortunate people, you wind up selling your soul to destruction.

(image via Pixabay)

mourn with those mourn

mystery

Public face of Catholicism

Previous Post

January 24, 2018

Of Sh*tholes, Poverty and Rod Dreher's Errors

Next Post

January 28, 2018 A Brief Word on the American Solidarity Party

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category abortion Abuse Advent America American Christianity angel angels Annunciation Appalachia apparition apparition chaser apparition chasers apparition culture art art review babies baby baby Jesus Bad Lip Reading bad statue contest bath beauty Bible story blog blogkeeping blood book review Brandon Sanderson breastfeeding bus Catholic catholic conspiracy alarmism Catholic Oppositional Disorder Charismatic Renewal Charlie the Cat chastity Christ Christian idenitity Christianity and Judaism Chronic Illness clean clothing COD piece comedy compassion conscience conspiracy theory conversion cop-on-black violence Crucifixion cry of the poor culture Daesh Daily Saints death death penalty devotional diaconate diaper diapers dirty disability Donald Trump Dorothy Day dream drugs Eastern Catholicism Eastern Christianity education election election update Elsewhere on Patheos empathy environment Fear feminism film review fish flashback fluffy buns food Franciscan University of Steubenville Friendship Room fun Gabriel gardening gospel hair-splitting Heaven hell heresy Hillary Clinton history Holly the Witch Holy Spirit holy war Homeschooling homosexuality horror human dignity humor Icon idol immigrants infection inter-religious dialogue Interpretation of Scripture Islam Jesus Jihad Joseph joy laity and lay vocations lamb dinner laundry lent lgbtq literature love manners Mary Medicine and Science Meditation mercy mess milk misogyny Missouri monasticism monster motherhood mourn with those mourn movies movis music mystery nature neurodiversity New Pro-Life Movement news nonsense nostalgia O antiphons obituary objectification Ohio Valley Ordinary Time ordination Ordo Amoris parable paradox Passover peanut butter personal beliefs pets philosophy Planet Charismatic poetry politics polls poop Pope Francis Pope Leo power in the Church prayer prayer request prayers preferential option for non-violence president presidential election priest primary private revelation pro-life prophecy Public face of Catholicism Pure Flix Q and A race racism random rape rape. sexuality reader's request Reckoners refugee religious trauma ressurrection Right to life Saints saints and celebrations same-sex same-sex marriage satire scandal secular feasts seder Seven Joys Seven Last Words sex sexual ethics sexuality silencing six months skid row slavery social justice Speculative fiction spiritual abuse spoon stain story suffering suffrage suffragette Sunday Gospel temple Tenebrae Responsories Terror the exorcist The Friendship Room The New Pro-Life Movement Things I Learned on the Internet tin cup traffic true story tv review Uncategorized USCCB vice and temptation violence Virtue virtue and vice war Way of the Cross whimsy whole life women's ordination work of mercy Year A

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

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Clap your hands and shout with triumph! Which psalm calls all peoples to celebrate God as the great King?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Psalm 150 Psalm 98 Psalm 100 Psalm 47