AMERICA'S CULTURAL SHIFT

By Marianne Mauti

THE CULTURAL SHIFT AND HOW IT IS SHAPING AMERICA……..

Have you ever felt like the world has completely turned upside down? In recent years we have seen America go from a Nation that has fought for the freedom of others to a Nation whose own freedom's especially the right to exercise religious beliefs is diminishing on a daily basis.There is no denying that, as a Nation, we find ourselves in a cultural shift that has encompassed every facet of American Life!

 All you have to do is take a look at the social culture of a generation, view it's artistic expression and you will have a pretty good picture of where a Nation is heading. A recent article from "Forging Our Faith",points out the secular agenda behind the current shift, …" secularists have been working tirelessly over the last several decades to en-culturate our youth to believe their values are personal and as such could and should evolve over time.It would be hard for anyone growing up in todays ethical system to believe there used to be a firm biblical moral consensus in this country and a time when Christian Institution’s commanded respect."

Katy Perry at the 2014 Grammy's

A few month's ago we witnessed the evidence of that enculturation  when the 2014 Grammy's aired. Never before has there been so blatant an assault by the anti- christian humanists as they attempted to packaged and sell their overly sexualized and pagan display to our kids as "art". It was so over the top that even the secular media wondered if Katy Perry was actually trying to summon Beelzabub. In a recent article entitled,"How Did the 2014 Grammy's Awards signal a Shift in the American Culture," writer Ed Stetzer had this to say,"in some ways they are indicative of its shifts." He goes on to say," Views that were sidelined ten years ago (remember, Presidents Clinton and Obama were once opposed to gay marriage) are not just accepted, they are celebrated. And, those who hold to a Biblical standard of marriage are "paraphras[ing] a book written thirty-five hundred years ago". He points out the obvious disparity between the cultural statements that the "artists" of today make and the average American family. The fact is that the en-culturalization of our youth was alive and well at this years Grammy's and every parent who allowed their children to watch gave their young minds a big dose of what their pop culture hero's believe!

He then goes on to point out that, "Christians are going to become increasingly uncomfortable in this world and will struggle to express it!" While they may be true for Christians who use their talent in the secular music industry, it was encouraging to see Christian artist Natalie Grant take a courageous and very public step in showing  her disapproval of the evenings event's when she and her husband got up and left the Grammy's early. Grant who was twice nominated that evening tweeted this message to her fans later that night,"We left the Grammys early. I've many thoughts, most of which are probably better left inside my head."  "I've never been more honored to sing about Jesus and for Jesus. And I've never been more sure of the path I've chosen."

At the heart of today's en-culturalization is a belief by many young Christians that they don't need to adhere to strict tenants of God's Word, that it is no longer the source of all truth. In fact destroying the belief in the absolute truth of God's Word is at the heart of the humanist agenda!  A recent survey by George Barna (The Barna Group), of young adults (20's), indicates that less than one in a hundred has beliefs consistent with a Biblical worldview. George Barna says that the younger generation often cut and paste their beliefs and values from a variety of sources, even if they are contradictory. 

The cultural shift that Christian Americans have been responding to is the lie that we can intellectually separate our religious beliefs from our secular life and it is no longer necessary to define our morality solely on the Word of God. We see this happening when socially prominent and beloved TV personalities such as, Oprah Winfrey, (who professes to being a Christian) say publicly about theology, “I took God out of the box . . . I'm a free-thinking Christian who believes in my way, but I don't believe that it's the only way, . . ..”  A philosophy like Oprah's can only advance when Christians are willing to accept the premise  of  an evolving relationship with God and we don't challenge that erroneous way of thinking ! Our lack of a meaningful response tells the world that we are willing to abandon the God of the Bible and create a God who thinks like us! We want to decide which laws of God fit into our personal theology and which ones don't! Heres the problem with that, God has the idea that he gets to decide what is moral and immoral and we don't get to have an opinion or different interpretation! We also don't get to  pick and choose! 

What can we do to push back on the assault against our faith, values and moral beliefs. I like what Natalie Grant had to say at the conclusion of her comments on the nights event, "I AM NOT ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST." As the worlds "cultural train" continues to careen down every avenue of American life let's be bold and courageous enough to live as passionately and as loudly as they do! Christ in us should be the standard that brings conviction and repentance and salvation to others! It almost sounds too simple. I heard someone say recently:

"Preach the Gospel and when necessary use words!" 

What they were saying was this, your life can "exemplify" what your words can only "amplify" .What truth there is in that simple statement! Frances Schaeffer (Author of "The Christian Manifesto", "Whatever Happened to the Human Race", etc.) had this to say about cultural shifts and worldview, "Today not only in philosophy but in politics, government, and individual morality, our generation sees solutions in terms of an evolutionary process and not absolutes. When this happens, truth, as people have always believed truth to be, has died." Schaeffer, in his belief of mans evolving worldview declared that man has now placed himself as the "measure of all things". Schaeffer believed that the Church had forsaken its duty to be the salt of the culture and what we are now seeing is the result. Was he right?

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A Christian View on Today's Top Stories is an online news source for those who ascribe to a "Christian WorldView." We hope to share current issues, top trending stories and subject of interest from all over the world! While today's major media outlets share information on events  from a very bias, humanistic world viewpoint, we hope to be a common sense, conservative, Christian voice. We hope you will join us by subscribing to our daily posts and "liking" us at our "A Christian View on Today's Top Stories," page on Facebook!  

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PLEASE NOTE: 'A CHRISTIAN VIEW OF TODAY'S TOP STORIES' ,Does not publicly endorse any  ministry, magazine, blog or secular publication shared on this site. 

ABOUT US: 'A CHRISTIAN VIEW ON TODAY'S TOP STORIES': Is a subsidiary of "FORGING OUR FAITH" Ministries. Editor in Chief: Marianne Mauti .

PLEASE CONTACT US: if you want to reprint any of our articles. We can be reached  at forgingyourfaith@ aol.com. Thank you!

ADDITIONAL SOURCES: Forging Your Faith, Ed Stetzer/"How Did the 2014 Grammy's Awards signal a Shift in the American Culture," writer Ed Stetzer , The Barna Group, Natalie Grant Twitter, Frances Schaeffer/The Christian Manifesto