A faith vacuum haunts Europe – Los Angeles Times
Chesterton feared that if Christianity declined, “superstition” would “drown all your old rationalism and skepticism.” When educated friends tell me that they have invited a shaman to investigate their new house for bad juju, I see what Chesterton meant. Yet it is not the spread of such mumbo-jumbo that concerns me as much as the moral vacuum that de-Christianization has created. Sure, sermons are sometimes dull and congregations often sing out of tune. But, if nothing else, a weekly dose of Christian doctrine helps to provide an ethical framework for life. And it is not clear where else such a thing is available in modern Europe.
That there is a groundswell of superstition in the form of paganism has been apparent there for quite awhile, so the “”superstition” would “drown all your old rationalism and skepticism.” ” is true enough, and not just on the individually observed scale.
But what about America? We have quite a bit of paganism, although it is mostly the “back-door” type. There is Wicca in Methodist churches and Druidism in … I think it was the Presbyterian church, but I’d have to research it again. We could call this the Phoebe Phenomenon. Well, five years ago we could’ve.
I’m interested in thinking about this. It is like having the puzzle pieces, but not being sure how they all fit. If I could figure how they fit this would be a different sort of post.
There is a correlation between demise of Christian belief, rise of Islam fundamentalism, secularism and its combination of apathy and intransigent opposition to Christianity. There are some keys in the withering of vital Christianity, I am sure of that.
But, shoot, I cannot put my finger on it.
“Britons have heard a great deal from Tony Blair and others about the threat posed to their “way of life” by Muslim extremists like Muktar Said Ibrahim. But how far has their own loss of religious faith turned Britain into a soft target — not so much for the superstition Chesterton feared, but for the fanaticism of others?”
Reminds me a bit of a post about the deterioration of decency….. but…I…just …can’t…quite nail it down.
Is Islamic fundamentalism far from superstition? I say this, making myself quite vulnerable, I know – to all you godless secularists out there, but it needs to be considered.
We are facing a Faith vacuum unless we put a Faith with reality into it. that is the only answer. Faith that meets reality with vigor. Whenever I think of this I picture St. Patrick. That Saint seems far removed to even many of the Irish today, but he is a good example of courageous faith that had the reality of God in a very present manner.
The thing that I think ties all modern men together, Christian, Muslim, Pagan… is the need for something that works. That is their common denominator.
via Amy Ridenour