Depressing news for the Church of EnglandTHE Church of England has debunked the widely held view that young people are spiritual seekers on a journey to find transcendent truths to fill the “God-shaped hole” within them.
A report published by the Church today indicates that young people are quite happy with a life without God and prefer car boot sales to church.
If they think about church at all, the images young people come up with are “cardigans”, “sandals and socks”, “corrupt”, “traditionalist” and “stagnant”.
Church seeks spirituality of youth ... and doesn't like what it finds
Mark Alexander
5 comments:
Mark
Given the church's long decent into irrelevance, this can hardly be considered as a shock to anyone, While some of the more localised denominations are thriving, the established churches, at least in western Europe are drowning and have been for some time.
Do not expect either this current government or even the opposition, to have the resolution, nor the fortitude to face what is rapidly becoming a danger to the very fabric of democratic polity. For one thing, many on the left actively seek the demise of democratic and religious institutions, as being an anathema to their designs, so the chaos that Islamic Fundamentalists bring, is actually regarded as a positive developement as far as they are concerned. Of course, not being half as perceptive as they like to consider themselves, they fail to realise that the lid to Pandora's box, will only constrain what is left inside, while what is let out will follow it's own courses, irrespective of the whishfull intentions of an intellectual's superior thought processes. As for the rest, the placemen along for the ride, the soulless opportunists, the rabble rousers, well, reality can be a cruel mistress, but they havn't seen her in a while so no need to worry, eh? As for the religious leaders, their moral capital has all been long spent, squandered to cosy up to power and maintain a comfortable place for themselves in the everyday scheme of things. As George Orwell said - only an intellectual could be so foolish.
We are governed by vacuous nonentities, with an ability to smile for the camera and mouth a few inane platitudes, just enough to plug the 5 second soundbite, so beloved of the media. The real tragedy is that we desperately need men and women of substance, but the electorate has been so snowed under by self righteous mumbo jumbo and pseudo virtuous intentions masquerading as compassion, that they are at a complete loss as to who they should follow, and often vote solely on whether they like the look of one candidate over another based on how photogenic they appear. Though I have to admit, that dosen't account fot Prescott!
The demise of religious conviction, concommittant with the rise of radical, activistic anti religious atheism (as opposed to those passive souls who just do not believe in any form of divinity), has cut a swath of desolation straight through the spirit of western man. Those 100 million corpses, left in the wake of Marxism's march into oblivion (we can only hope!), are matched by a greater number of lost souls, wandering around, desperately seeking meaning and enlightenment, in a world devoid of real compassion and spiritual nourishment. For all the virtuous intentions, trotted out for our considered perusal by our betters, our ruling elites have managed nothing more nor less than to defecate upon the institutions and social conventions that bond our societies together. The supreme conciet, to believe in the infalability of their policies of social engineering, to bring forth a new man, a shinning new polity, is simply staggering in it's arrogance and folly. I suspect that we are shortly to witness the true legacy of Europe's soft socialist (Marxism lite) santimonious utopian fantasies, in the coming conflict which seems to be Europe's inevitable fate. If there is a God, we desperately need him now, for left to our own devices, as we have demonstrated so many times in the past, our capacity for violence knows no bounds. Whats the blood price going to be this time to sanctify socialist man's moral pieties?
We have lost much to the shallowness of modern pop culture, to the endless search for a new soul for Western man. Capitalism's greatest crime has been that it provides no nourishment to the spiritual side of mans' existance; but the folly here is in the misconcieved belief that it was Capitalism's duty to provide that in the first place; the function of Capitalism is the generation of wealth; we may indeed argue as to the merits or faults of it's distribution,as in the rapacious greed of some individuals, but it has been extremely successful as to it's prime function. So far, on the evidence of history, it would appear to be the only system to produce enough excess to raise humanity from the muck and provide a reasonable standard of existance to all that live under it's productive capacities. And before any Marist/Postmodernists jump up on their soap box, the wretched state of the third world is entirely of their own making, starting with their kleptocratic ruling elite. Western man climbed out of the muck of poverty, superstition and chaos, so too can any other society, should it actively seek that goal. But first it must form itself into a cohesive society, for from there anything is possible, however there is one inescapable factor, long denied by much of the modern intellectual world...that it does require leaders with vision and true virtue. For as the ancient Chinese proverb goes.."To find a man who would be king is easy. To find one who would benefit the kingdom, difficult."
This barren wasteland, that is the spiritual plain of modern man, brought about by the demise of faith in the western world, is slowly and inexorably eating away at the core of the western man's belief in himself. That belief in the self is the essential ingredient to a successful existance in this world, and it is in understanding this key fact, that we can see why the intellectual world has been so hell bent on perverting our perceptions of right and wrong. For once you control the dialogue, you can become the gatekeepers on the road to power. It would seem to be that man needs something greater than himself to believe in, lest in his endless and fruitless searching, he fall into mischief; and as we all know, his capacity for that is limitless.
Sorry for the length Mark, just that it is a subject highly relevant to your post. It's the age old question to the meaning of man's existance.
Just Another Richard:
Thank you for this wonderful, thoughtful, and insightful comment. I can only agree with its content totally.
Given the church's long decent into irrelevance, this can hardly be considered as a shock to anyone, ...
Agreed! The Church of England has fiddled at the margins, when it really should have been evangelizing. But evangelism is not really a part of the C of E's remit, it seems. The clergy of all levels prefer to tinker with questions to which there are no real answers; and their solutions will do nothing but alienate many.
Do not expect either this current government or even the opposition, to have the resolution, nor the fortitude to face what is rapidly becoming a danger to the very fabric of democratic polity.
Believe me: I don't! This current government has shown nothing but a propensity to destroy the very fabric of our society; and the opposition has not demonstrated any aptitude to reverse the process. On the contrary, members of that party (i.e. the Conservative Party), too, seem to be bereft of 'great' ideas, and bereft of any courage to deal with the huge problems facing us all.
For one thing, many on the left actively seek the demise of democratic and religious institutions, as being an anathema to their designs, so the chaos that Islamic Fundamentalists bring, is actually regarded as a positive developement as far as they are concerned. Of course, not being half as perceptive as they like to consider themselves, they fail to realise that the lid to Pandora's box, will only constrain what is left inside, while what is let out will follow it's own courses, irrespective of the whishfull intentions of an intellectual's superior thought processes.
The people of the left, as you say, are without any insight. They will be the first casualties of what they are trying to bring about!
As George Orwell said - only an intellectual could be so foolish.
How wonderfully insightful he was!
We are governed by vacuous nonentities, with an ability to smile for the camera and mouth a few inane platitudes, just enough to plug the 5 second soundbite, so beloved of the media.
We are governed by people who simply want power, and the trappings thereof, for power's own sake. They want the glory without the responsibility that high office should bring with it.
The real tragedy is that we desperately need men and women of substance, ...
Yes, and where are we to find them?
... and often vote solely on whether they like the look of one candidate over another based on how photogenic they appear.
Yes. Pathetic, isn't it?
Though I have to admit, that dosen't account fot Prescott!
Yes, something went wrong there, didn't it? :-)
If there is a God, we desperately need him now, for left to our own devices, as we have demonstrated so many times in the past, our capacity for violence knows no bounds.
How true! Violence is on its way for Europe, I fear.
Capitalism's greatest crime has been that it provides no nourishment to the spiritual side of mans' existance; but the folly here is in the misconcieved belief that it was Capitalism's duty to provide that in the first place; the function of Capitalism is the generation of wealth; we may indeed argue as to the merits or faults of it's distribution,as in the rapacious greed of some individuals, but it has been extremely successful as to it's prime function.
Yes, I do agree. But one thing should be remembered: In years gone by, the greed of capitalism was counterbalanced by the teachings of a strong Church. What has happened in recent years is clear: Capitalism has grown stronger; the Church, weaker. There is now nothing to counterbalance the greed inherent in a capitalist system. Now, it is each man for himself, and to hell with the consequences!
For as the ancient Chinese proverb goes.."To find a man who would be king is easy. To find one who would benefit the kingdom, difficult."
Such a wonderfully insightful and apt proverb! We can trust in the wisdom of the Chinese.
This barren wasteland, that is the spiritual plain of modern man, brought about by the demise of faith in the western world, is slowly and inexorably eating away at the core of the western man's belief in himself.
Yes, it would seem that Western man no longer knows what he should believe in. It's a tragedy.
It would seem to be that man needs something greater than himself to believe in, lest in his endless and fruitless searching, he fall into mischief; and as we all know, his capacity for that is limitless.
Materialism has taken over. People have become shopaholics. Sunday trading has driven a nail into the coffin of faith and the family. It is why people's lives are so empty. It is also noticeable how far less caring people have become. People don't know their neighbours anymore; and hospitality is a thing of the past. How sad a nation we have become!
It's the age old question to the meaning of man's existance.
And we shall probably never find the answer!
Mark,
What a disturbing article!
For decades, a large portion of the Christian church has been watering down doctrines and accommodating mutliculturalism and moral relevancy. Some denominations have been worse that others, but in many of the big churches, the social gospel has replaced the doctrines. And when the church wasn't undermining itself, the educational system was undermining Christianity and, at the same time, promoting the idea that all religions and cultures are equal.
Capitalism itself isn't the problem, but capitalism without a moral compass IS the problem. Starting about mid-20th Century, true philanthropy took a nosedive. And I'm sad to say, that I myself have fallen into that condition to a certain extent. Being taxed to death interferes with my outreach. It's a vicious cycle.
From the article:
If they think about church at all, the images young people come up with are “cardigans”, “sandals and socks”, “corrupt”, “traditionalist” and “stagnant”. ...The report comes in the context of a Britain awash with symbols of the supernatural, such as glow-in-the-dark crosses, Kabbalah bracelets and Harry Potter books.
There was more--much more--in the article of course, none of it encouraging for the future of Western Europe.
With Islam, we face a committed enemy, an enemy who is strong in doctrine, though that doctrine be a perversion and the antithesis of the new Post-Modern moral code. The West, on the other hand, is committed to what? Perhaps this: "He who dies with the most toys wins." Wins what, exactly?
Always:
Capitalism itself isn't the problem, but capitalism without a moral compass IS the problem.
How true!
Bld:
Yes, Just Another Richard's comment is terrific. It's beautifully written, insightful, and gets right to the point.
I think it worthy of a place on the main page, if you had guest writers, that is.
Yes it would be; and it can be done.
Thanks for your '"thanks". You're welcome, my friend. You're welcome!
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