tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18762198.post4500951149115802685..comments2023-12-02T06:33:50.847-08:00Comments on Notes from a Common-place Book: Country WeddingTerry (John)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07523479530843509695noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18762198.post-12170489046938417862010-05-24T18:24:57.186-07:002010-05-24T18:24:57.186-07:00I, like you, find increasingly find that morality ...I, like you, find increasingly find that morality is not the core issue. The Pharisee was pretty moral, but the Publican came away justified.<br />Sociologist Christian Smith characterized much of American religion as "moralistic therapeutic deism," and I think that label applies to many evangelicals and conservatives in mainline Churches. MTD is one of those memes that seems to "explain" a lot.Reader Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00228580181161898001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18762198.post-52974073273056473092010-05-24T06:50:36.066-07:002010-05-24T06:50:36.066-07:00I also dislike the author's use of the word &q...I also dislike the author's use of the word "tribes" in this context.Milton T. Burtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01063079657696373189noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18762198.post-89817237796490381162010-05-24T06:06:41.012-07:002010-05-24T06:06:41.012-07:00Good post. I often tell those on the so-called &qu...Good post. I often tell those on the so-called "Christian Right" who try to say that the constitution was inspired by the Bible that the scriptures contain nothing about rights and freedoms but a great deal about obligations and duties. My words fall on deaf ears. The whole question reminds me of the title of a book back in the 60s that dealt with essentially the same sort of thing: "The Comfortable Pew."Milton T. Burtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01063079657696373189noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18762198.post-69029301499197957622010-05-24T05:49:55.752-07:002010-05-24T05:49:55.752-07:00Interesting thoughts, John, about the differences ...Interesting thoughts, John, about the differences between "Casual Christians" and "Captive Christians," and the implications that follow. I was thinking yesterday that twenty-first century American church is at a different level on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs than the first century church we read about in the New Testament. Post-modern Americans feel the need for self-actualization rather than food and clothing. Accordingly, it should not surprise us when we observe a lack of compassion on the hungry, for instance. "I've got plenty of food. If you don't have plenty of food, you must be doing something wrong. Therefore, you don't deserve my help."Kirknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18762198.post-16215020068446160112010-05-23T22:19:25.117-07:002010-05-23T22:19:25.117-07:00I've never seen the "sand ritual"......I've never seen the "sand ritual"... has that replaced the "unity candle" as the new wedding cliche? Thanks for letting us be a fly on the wall in your conversations, you bring up a lot of food for thought regarding moralism and transformation.Moo!https://www.blogger.com/profile/06552374566605332568noreply@blogger.com