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[mckmas8808]

I did, and they are what I believe to be during the Reagan/Clinton years when our economy was fantastic.

I think at that time there was still a presence of the things I mentioned earlier. Again, I am speaking from my single perspective and acknowledge that I could be wrong.

Nobody will agree that the "good 'ol days" were in the 50s.

 

[Druz]

In my opinion, there is a correlation between the turning away from Biblical values and the downfall of America, in its loss of morale, purpose, and morality.

Don't hate me.

I believe that's called delusion. I also don't know where to begin when you think religion instills morality in everyone. God hates fags right?

 

[ice cream]

A long as it's not replaced by fucking Muslims, I'll be happy

ok....

 

[gohepcat]

I did, and they are what I believe to be during the Reagan/Clinton years when our economy was fantastic.

WTF? I have a feeling you are too young to remember the early eighties.

If you erase the last 8 months the economy was booming.

Haha. I like you. You seem to be consistently wrong about things.

 

[AndresON777]

ok....

:lol

That is awesome I'll have to save it.

 

[Doubledex]

A long as it's not replaced by fucking Muslims, I'll be happy

.

 

[Stoney Mason]

Christian leader wants Meacham fired UPDATE

UPDATE: The public relations firm handling Engle's letter called to clarify. The letter sent out today to members of the media is not the final version. That will be sent tomorrow to Newsweek.

For the second time in since December, Newsweek has attracted criticism from Christians over a provocative cover story.

Back in December is was Lisa Miller's "The Religious Case for Gay Marriage," and now it's editor Jon Meacham's "The Decline and Fall of Christian America."

TheCall founder Lou Engle sent a letter to Newsweek Chairman Richard M. Smith calling for the firing of Meacham, while slamming the piece for being "sensational and offensive."

Meacham, author of "American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a Nation," writes and speaks often on religious issues.



April 6, 2009

Mr. Richard M. Smith

Chairman

Newsweek

251 West 57th Street

New York, NY 10019-1894


Dear Mr. Smith,

Once again Newsweek has pointedly sought to offend a large majority of the American population with its cover story “The Decline and Fall of Christian America.” This headline and story on the heels of the December cover story “The Biblical Case for Gay Marriage,” can lead devout Christians in this country to believe that Newsweek no longer wants the business of the 85% of Americans who claim to be Christians.
As a pastor and representative of the millions of Christians who have participated in TheCall events, we respectfully raise our objections to this piece and call for the immediate dismissal of editor Jon Meacham, who apparently has disdain for the Christian faith and has reported as fact popular misconceptions about what Christians believe, how they practice their faith, and the meaning and authenticity of our foundational texts.

We fully support critical inquiry and questions, but Newsweek is publishing stories that offend Christians and cater to a small Manhattan crowd that thinks stories attacking religion are trendy. With the decline of newspaper and news magazines in this country, we’d think the coverage of faith would be a more objective approach.

Poll after poll has found that an overwhelming majority of Americans believe that God exists and the Bible is His sacred Word. So either all of us were duped in some elaborate conspiracy, or there is some real truth to these faith claims that are worth exploring and debating in a respectful, not demeaning way as Mr. Meacham has sought to do.

While Mr. Meacham’s article points to an alarming trend — that the number of Americans who don’t identify themselves as Christians has doubled since 1990 — the numbers shouldn’t be characterized as an “imminent fall.” This language is sensational and offensive.

We respectfully suggest you dismiss Mr. Meacham or at least change the title of the magazine to “Opinionweek.”

Sincerely,

Rev. Lou Engle

Founder and President

http://www.politico.com/blogs/micha...stian_leader_wants_Meacham_fired.html?showall

 

[Dan]

We fully support critical inquiry and questions, but Newsweek is publishing stories that offend Christians and cater to a small Manhattan crowd that thinks stories attacking religion are trendy. With the decline of newspaper and news magazines in this country, we’d think the coverage of faith would be a more objective approach.

Read: Your magazine should be less fact-based.

 

[Mumei]

Read: Your magazine should be less fact-based.

Precisely.

I wonder if he understands the point being made.

 

[Agent Ironside]

I agree, but it's not just religion, man. I think the bigger contributor is that parents no longer instill respect into their kids for authority, property, privacy, themselves, others, or the sacred. It's the lack of respect and common decency that is the bigger factor.

I'm still on Team Jesus. We're planning a comeback at some point!

Thats whats up. I concur.

 

[ronito]

I agree, but it's not just religion, man. I think the bigger contributor is that parents no longer instill respect into their kids for authority, property, privacy, themselves, others, or the sacred. It's the lack of respect and common decency that is the bigger factor.

I'm still on Team Jesus. We're planning a comeback at some point!

Times are bad. Children no longer obey their parents, and everyone is writing a book. Cicero (106-43 BCE)

I really can't stand this thing of "oh the world is as horrible as it ever was!" claim that people love to repeat and repeat and repeat. Early christians believed the world was as evil as it was ever going to get in their day.. I don't ever think that a generation has ever said, "You know our young people in general are stand up people. And parents by and large a doing a swell job." You might get sects to say this about their own young people in a pat-yourself-on-the-back fashion, but people never say it in general, they didn't in Moses' time, they didn't in Cicero's time, they didn't Caesar's time, they didn't Jesus' time, they don't now. So let's not pretend this is new, or somehow exclusive to us. It doesn't help anyone.

 

[Buckethead]

So let's not pretend this is new, or somehow exclusive to us. It doesn't help anyone.

I generally support this idea, but at the same time, I don't know man.

I don't think people 20+ years ago went around saying "fuck fuck fuck", posting pictures of their dicks in a dead persons' skull, and all the other messed up stuff that goes on nowadays. The internet isn't entirely terrible, but people have gotten this idea that they can do/say whatever they want without consequences. That's definitely a new idea. Way lack of accountability.

I don't buy into the sensationalist sky-is-falling type stuff, but I still would argue that in a lot of ways things have changed for the worst. Obviously, no blanket statement is detailed enough to extensively analyze our...cultural situation, or whatever you would call it, but yeah...

Maybe with the advent of modern technology, we are just exposed to things more than we were before, but still I feel that there is still a set of secular, global ethics that the world has seemed to be taking a shit on.

We're social creatures, yet we live like we're all on our own....


And on topic: "the road is narrow". Christianity was never meant to be popular. Calling it "The End of Christian American" or whatever, while a good title, really doesn't mean much to legitimate tenets of Christianity.

And to those athiests...why do you insist on saying "oh good" in response to the article, you're still basing your beliefs off of a god/goddess. That's stupid and just as flawed as the religious ideologies you don't buy into. Just live your life, be a good person, and let things be.

 

[ronito]

I generally support this idea, but at the same time, I don't know man.

I don't think people 20+ years ago went around saying "fuck fuck fuck", posting pictures of their dicks in a dead persons' skull, and all the other messed up stuff that goes on nowadays. The internet isn't entirely terrible, but people have gotten this idea that they can do/say whatever they want without consequences. That's definitely a new idea. Way lack of accountability.

I don't buy into the sensationalist sky-is-falling type stuff, but I still would argue that in a lot of ways things have changed for the worst. Obviously, no blanket statement is detailed enough to extensively analyze our...cultural situation, or whatever you would call it, but yeah...

And on topic: "the road is narrow". Christianity was never meant to be popular. Calling it "The End of Christian American" or whatever, while a good title, really doesn't mean much to legitimate tenets of Christianity.

And to those athiests...why do you insist on saying "oh good" in response to the article, you're still basing your beliefs off of a god/goddess. That's stupid and just as flawed as the religious ideologies you don't buy into. Just live your life, be a good person, and let things be.

I dunno, I mean it's not like we're taking slaves, have common place prostitution, or have segregation, or are carving pics of guys having sex with a horse on our buildings, which are things that prior generations did. When ever I think things are bad I think, but then at least there aren't carvings of beastiality, incest and underage sex at our local gym. I'm just saying these "good ol' days" never existed. It's always been bad.

As to the End of christianity, like I said, there's no end to it. At worst it will get insular.

 

[Buckethead]

I dunno, I mean it's not like...

I'm just saying these "good ol' days" never existed. It's always been bad.

Yeah agreed.

But at the same time there's certainly major deficiencies in human rights (in a word "China", underrage sex trade, forced child labor, etc.), so if anything broadscale evils have become more subtle. They're still with us. Maybe not as broad and obvious as they used to be, but they're still there.

I think the main issues are social in nature and that's the main problem and why they're more magnified . Before it was very clear what was right/wrong and good/evil but in essence society could still function while the war was being waged against them. e.g.: Divorce, Business Ethics, etc.

Whatever, we're wandering way off topic, but it's certainly an interesting thing to think about.

 

[legend166]

America is not, never was, and never will be a Christian nation. No matter how much the annoying political Christians want it to be.

The less hypocritical people trying to twist Christianity to gain people and wealth, the better. And since that's what Christianity in America seems to be today, this does not bother me.

 

[D3RANG3D]

I generally support this idea, but at the same time, I don't know man.

I don't think people 20+ years ago went around saying "fuck fuck fuck", posting pictures of their dicks in a dead persons' skull, and all the other messed up stuff that goes on nowadays. The internet isn't entirely terrible, but people have gotten this idea that they can do/say whatever they want without consequences. That's definitely a new idea. Way lack of accountability.

I don't buy into the sensationalist sky-is-falling type stuff, but I still would argue that in a lot of ways things have changed for the worst. Obviously, no blanket statement is detailed enough to extensively analyze our...cultural situation, or whatever you would call it, but yeah...

Maybe with the advent of modern technology, we are just exposed to things more than we were before, but still I feel that there is still a set of secular, global ethics that the world has seemed to be taking a shit on.

We're social creatures, yet we live like we're all on our own....


And on topic: "the road is narrow". Christianity was never meant to be popular. Calling it "The End of Christian American" or whatever, while a good title, really doesn't mean much to legitimate tenets of Christianity.

And to those athiests...why do you insist on saying "oh good" in response to the article, you're still basing your beliefs off of a god/goddess. That's stupid and just as flawed as the religious ideologies you don't buy into. Just live your life, be a good person, and let things be.

I am probably one of the few people who don't believe in god who could care less if people believe less or more, just don't give a stink face when I say I don't believe in god like you do!! And for being a "good person" that is subjective.

 

[bafflewaffle]

who want to work on christmas, who dont want cmas school break, raise your hand

 

[pizzaguysrevenge]

I live in San Francisco and work/study in Berkeley.

Christian America has been dead here for a long time.

 

[polyh3dron]

Dear Mr. Smith,

Once again Newsweek has pointedly sought to offend a large majority of the American population with its cover story “The Decline and Fall of Christian America.” This headline and story on the heels of the December cover story “The Biblical Case for Gay Marriage,” can lead devout Christians in this country to believe that Newsweek no longer wants the business of the 85% of Americans who claim to be Christians. yada yada yada yada yada....

Translation: Newsweek just shot themselves in the foot.

I don't know how much the rest of you know about Christian culture (I'm an expert), but honor and shame are huge parts of it. It's not like it is in secular America where you can become successful by being an asshole. If you screw someone over in Jesus land, you bring shame to yourself, and the only way to get rid of that shame is repentance.

What this means is the Christian public, after reading this story, is not going to want to purchase Newsweek, nor will they purchase any of the other products from the Washington Post company. This is HUGE. You can laugh all you want, but Newsweek has alienated an entire market with this move.

Newsweek, publicly apologize and fire Mr. Meacham or you can kiss your business goodbye.

 

[pizzaguysrevenge]

Translation: Newsweek just shot themselves in the foot.

I don't know how much the rest of you know about Christian culture (I'm an expert), but honor and shame are huge parts of it. It's not like it is in secular America where you can become successful by being an asshole. If you screw someone over in Jesus land, you bring shame to yourself, and the only way to get rid of that shame is repentance.

What this means is the Christian public, after reading this story, is not going to want to purchase Newsweek, nor will they purchase any of the other products from the Washington Post company. This is HUGE. You can laugh all you want, but Newsweek has alienated an entire market with this move.

Newsweek, publicly apologize and fire Mr. Meacham or you can kiss your business goodbye.

 

[SnakeXs]

You guys do realize that mexicans, one of the fastest growing demographics, are a fairly religious Christian group, right?

 

[polyh3dron]

You guys do realize that mexicans, one of the fastest growing demographics, are a fairly religious Christian group, right?

The same people the right wingers have been demonizing for TAKING OUR JURBS?

 

[Aaron]

who want to work on christmas, who dont want cmas school break, raise your hand

I've worked Christmas for like the last ten years. So what? Just another day (when I get paid more).

 

[Lateraleye]

The same people the right wingers have been demonizing for TAKING OUR JURBS?

And the same people that vote Democrat. Something's not adding up... maybe they are aliensssss?