In the motion picture Titanic, one of the most telling scenes depicts the moment when the "unsinkable" ocean liner strikes the submerged portion of an iceberg, leaving a deadly gash in the bow. Upstairs in the ballroom, a large crystal light fixture trembles as if it has been kissed by a gentle breeze, offering the only visible clue of what has happened far below. Dancers and diners will continue to celebrate for at least another hour. In fact, because the generator will survive to keep the lights burning until the very end, many passengers will be reluctant to leave the "security" of the ship in order face the cold biting sea in lifeboats. But at the moment when the crystal chandelier trembles, the great ship is doomed.
A book recently reminded me of that momentous scene in the movie. Immediately, I thought about the tragic state of affairs in my homeland, the United States of America. We have been crippled by an economic disaster rooted in our addiction to spending more than we have. The family is dying, as schools, governments and daycare centers take greater and greater responsibility for children. Our children and teen-agers are jaded, saturated in an over-sexualized culture, and largely disinterested in anything except Facebook and movies. And a growing majority of Americans are beginning to believe that Christianity is a sad, old dragon which has been finished off by the advances of science and technology. At least dinosaurs were real at one time. Christianity is dismissed as mythology.
It seems apparent that the U.S.S. America is taking on water. All that remains is the tragic day when the ship rises up on one end and makes one last dive into darkness. There was a time when we supposed that it was not too late for a political solution. Watching the recent budget debate in Washington over a few billion dollars in cuts even as we are piling on trillions of dollars in debt,it became apparent to many of us that this is beyond the reach of politicians. For nearly a week, I have asked myself, "When was the moment when we should have instantly known our fate was sealed?" When did that crystal light fixture in the ballroom of U.S.culture tremble because a fatal wound had been inflicted at the belly of our nation? I believe I know the answer.
In 1962, the United States Supreme Court ruled that prayer in public schools was unconstitutional and, therefore, illegal. Many Christians actually celebrated that decision as an enlightened advance in the separation of church and state. Not surprisingly, once the camel had his nose in the tent, other rulings followed at national and state levels. Within a very short time, schools were forbidden to tolerate the name of Jesus Christ- not only in class, but even in ceremonial prayers at graduations and footballs games.
Half a century later, we find ourselves in a moment unlike any other we have seen in our history. A large share of Americans has grown up in secularized schools where the name of Jesus Christ was never uttered. One of the lessons they learned is still with them. Children understand that public schools are structured to teach things that adults believe are important. So our children have been convinced that math and science are important. Spelling is also important. Safe sex is taught in most public schools, so it must be very important. Likewise, saving the rain forests is extremely important. But worship, prayer and faith in Jesus Christ are clearly unimportant and unrelated to real life. When you tell kids they can't even say "Christmas Holidays," the message is crystal clear.
It is no accident that jaded boys and girls in the US have trouble wrapping their minds around spiritual ideas about faith, character and sacrifice. It is not by chance that children have difficulty in mentally processing moral and ethical decisions. This was never about atheists or unreligious children being offended. There were never that many atheists or Jews in most US public schools, and they were never compelled to convert, or even to pray. As a child in the South, I sometimes read or doodled mindlessly during the daily prayer, and I was never penalized. The whole debate was designed to generate new atheists and agnostics.
Fifty years later, we in the church have experienced a rude awakening. For the first time in history, American young people are abandoning the religious faith of their parents in record numbers. We finally recognize that this was about more than poison politics. It was about poisoned education. But we look around at our jaded, secularized children whose eyes roll at the mention of spiritual things, and we wonder, is it too late? Can you right a sinking ship or would you only be rearranging deck chairs while everything goes down?
The answers are hard ones. Let's talk about them next week.
Selah.
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