Neoliberal Christianity
Critique of modern neoliberal Christianity. I was in some of these groups back in my homeschool days and have seen this at its absolute worst rock bottom form- which has since gone down hill from there if it can be believed. I am a Christian but one can hardly recognize what is described below as such.
I think I've studied most forms of current US Christianity and will add a few critiques that stand out to me in addition to what Laurie has to say -
- These people have no idea what the bible says and don't have, nor do they wish to have, a real philosophical holistic understanding of any of it. They are incapable of answering common sensible questions thinking people have- a topic that caused them to be the object of much scoffing derision. The same milquetoast passages are read again and again while hard sections are ignored.
- Focus on materialism - the use of the church as a cultural center, entertainment zone, sports, teaching, etc...
The evangelical does not humbly ask themselves - " how does what I am observing, which might seem odd to me, inform my view of reality and doctrine?" They do not question if perhaps their view aught to humbly conform to what they can plainly see first- rather than being shoe horned into some preconceived mental religious structure that may not even by based on anything in their faith in the first place.
The protestant on the other hand is spiritually asleep at the wheel- Sam Harris himself could walk into such a church, light a bible on fire just by looking at it, and walk out -and these folks would sit in the pew, blink lazily, and continue on undisturbed mumbling "Jesus is the answer". This form of neoliberal christianity is characterized by extreme neglect - emotional ,physical, psychological........ philosophy is utterly rejected in favor of empty creeds and unthinking repetition of dead cultural forms.