Tried With Fire

I had several hours last Friday morning with nothing to do but read. What a treat! So I started reading  Religion and American Culture by George Marsden, which was languishing in my to-be-read stack. The main reason I read history is to try to understand why we think the way we do today, and this book did not disappoint. The following quote is from chapter 3 - Protestant and Progressive America: 1860-1917 : The standard view, still taught in both college economic texts and in popular literature after the Civil War, was built upon the premise that God created the world with a system of rewards and punishments. People who worked were rewarded, while lazy or profligate people suffered from poverty. The right to own private property was considered a sacred right, since it was essential to the operation of the reward system. It was important also not to interfere with the natural mechanism, as in strikes or government interference. Charity was an important duty toward the truly ...

This is a quote from Divided by Faith : [W]hite evangelicals view the race problems as (1) prejudiced individuals, resulting in poor relationships and sin, (2) others trying to make it a group or systemic issue when it is not, or (3) a fabrication of the self-interested. Given that issues of inequality, systemic injustice, and group conflict are not part of their assessment, we did not expect to hear these addressed as part of the solution. And we rarely did. What we did hear from many was what others have called the "miracle motif." The miracle motif is the theologically rooted idea that as more individuals become Christians, social and personal problems will be solved automatically. What is the solution to violent crime? Convert people to Christianity, because Christians do not commit violent crimes. What is the solution to divorce? Covert people to Christianity, because Christians are less likely to get divorced? What is the solution to hate problems of race? ......