tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238382886103256219.post2414892356891369908..comments2023-11-10T09:15:40.084-08:00Comments on The Friends of Jake: Americanized Christianity (updated)Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10124314924693077453noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238382886103256219.post-13842806674924840092015-11-02T22:07:19.482-08:002015-11-02T22:07:19.482-08:00"they were universally nonviolent (against ....."they were universally nonviolent (against ... abortion"<br /><br />Well of course, I'm going to take exception to this: abortion as "violence". If anything, can't the argument be made that Early Christians (of the time of the <i>Didache</i> which, IIRC, has the first explicit Christian denunciation of abortion) picked up the condemnation of abortion from the pagan Greeks, e.g., the Hippocratic Oath (w/ its "I will not provide/nor cover-up an abortion" clause)? The Hebrew Bible was OK w/ abortion, if the result of a "Who's Your Daddy?" test! [Numbers 5: 19-23]<br /><br />But speaking of the Hebrew Bible:<br /><br />"Summing up a great deal of research, Feinberg and Willer write that "liberals tend to endorse foundations based on caring and protection from harm (harm) and maintenance of fairness and reciprocity (fairness) more strongly than conservatives. However, conservatives tend to endorse moral concerns related to ingroup-loyalty (loyalty), respect for authority (authority), and protection of purity and sanctity (purity) more than liberals"<br /><br />Doesn't Loyalty, Authority, and Purity sound more like the (<i>pre</i>-Later Prophets) Old Testament, while Caring, Protection from Harm, and Fairness sounds more like the New Testament? I've said it before, I'll say it again: <i>it would be great if conservatives met Jesus</i> [Or, to quote Marcus Borg (memory eternal), if they "met Jesus again for the first time"!]JCFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14516376500318551838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238382886103256219.post-33278001651906461472015-10-31T12:44:14.044-07:002015-10-31T12:44:14.044-07:00This level of agreement just kills a good conversa...This level of agreement just kills a good conversation. :) <br />Kevin Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01192330313518885427noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238382886103256219.post-89830101324908067692015-10-30T13:18:30.568-07:002015-10-30T13:18:30.568-07:00And, tithing or not, there is the fact that there ...And, tithing or not, there is the fact that there are many organizations that fall under the category of "charitable" or "educational" to which people contribute (most worthy, certainly). Support for the local symphony or the public radio station are worthy and beneficial to the community as a whole; but a different benefit than, say, contributing to a community kitchen. And, of course, many people claiming a faith, whether actively worshipping or not, may divide contributions among several organizations with differing impacts.Marshall Scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02807749717320495495noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238382886103256219.post-41057085677837881452015-10-30T11:52:07.229-07:002015-10-30T11:52:07.229-07:00Marshall, interesting point. Although the numbers...Marshall, interesting point. Although the numbers seem to suggest that Americans are still, on average, giving to charity. This would suggest that a good number of the religious who do not belong to a congregation do make charitable contributions. Of course if you don't belong to a congregation you probably don't tithe. Kevin Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01192330313518885427noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238382886103256219.post-37051204034199175362015-10-30T07:33:09.068-07:002015-10-30T07:33:09.068-07:00Kevin, I wonder if the disconnect is because of &q...Kevin, I wonder if the disconnect is because of "the disconnect:" the "average American Christian" isn't really religious. People who are active in a faith community are giving to charity. However, the statistics from the Gallup folks for nearly two generations have consistently reported that less than half of Americans claim connection with a specific congregation or worshipping community. Perhaps 75-80% will say they are something - Baptist, generic Christian, whatever; but only 48% will say they associate with a specific congregation (and that is all faiths, and not just Christians). Moreover, as the number of "Nones" is growing, it is that 48% that is slipping.<br /><br />So, from that, there appear to be as many folks calling themselves Christian but not associating with others, as there are folks who are active in worship. (I'm being careful here: being active in a local community is not all there is to faithful living.) It gets even more narrowed by surveyors like Barna that use an even more narrow understanding of "Christian." So, the concept of "average" may well be watered down. Marshall Scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02807749717320495495noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238382886103256219.post-6629811383465511632015-10-29T09:53:49.108-07:002015-10-29T09:53:49.108-07:00What would be the support for the idea that the av...What would be the support for the idea that the average american christian does not give to charity. Every study I've seen indicates that religious people overwhelmingly give to charity. Kevin Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01192330313518885427noreply@blogger.com