In Tocqueville's Democracy in America, he discusses
extensively the cause and effect of the democratic society in America.
One important aspect that he points out is the close relation between
religion and society in the United States. "It is religion that gave
birth to the Anglo-American society. This must always be borne in mind.
Hence religion in the United States is inextricably intertwined with all
the nations habits and all the feelings to which the fatherland gives
rise." -Tocqueville, pg 486
How does this play out in our modern Protestant culture? The democratic society, as Tocqueville notes, is obsessed with usefulness and practicality to the exclusion of beauty and splendor, contrary to the great cultures of the past. A democratic society will "cultivate those arts that enhance the convenience of life rather than those whose purpose is to embellish it; they will usually prefer the useful to the beautiful, and they will want the beautiful to be useful." (530) Our modern Protestant culture is democratic in this sense: rarely will you see a truly beautiful Protestant church. Our places of worship are utilitarian in nature, evidenced by the common practice of having removable chairs instead of pews, their multi-purpose design, their plain walls and ceilings, their little plastic communion cups, and their "quick and easy" building designs. Instead of aspiring to grandeur and beauty in our churches, we prefer what is useful and practicable. "The religion preached by the earliest immigrants and bequeathed to their descendents — a religion simple in its forms of worship, austere and almost savage in its principles, and hostile to outward signs and ceremonial pomp — naturally offers little encouragement to the fine arts." (516)
This applies in the area of morality as well. "[People in aristocratic centuries] talked constantly of the beauties of virtue...But as imaginations ceased to soar quite so high and people began to concentrate on themselves, moralists became alarmed by the idea of sacrifice and no longer dared hold it up for the human mind to contemplate. They were...reduced to asking whether citizens might not find it to their individual advantage to work for the good of all....little by little, such observations proliferated. What was once just an isolated remark became a general doctrine, and ultimately it came to seem as if man, in serving his fellow man, served himself, and as if his private interest lay in doing good....in the United States people rarely say that virtue is beautiful. They maintain that it is useful and give proof of this daily. American moralists do not hold that a man should sacrifice himself because it is a great thing to do; they boldly assert, rather, that such sacrifices are as necessary to the man who makes them as to the man who profits from them. They have noticed that...man is today driven back on himself by an irresistible force, and having lost hope of stopping him, they think only of guiding him." (610, emphasis mine) Again we notice the similarity between the society and religion. Many MAEPCs (Modern American Evangelical Protestant Christians) teach virtue on the basis of how it will benefit you, or how practices condemned in the Bible are detrimental to you individually. Abstinence before marriage, for instance, is encouraged by the assertion that those who practice it will not contract diseases, will have healthier relationships, and will be glad they waited later on. Another example is cheating in business. We are told that people will find out that you cheat and will no longer use your services , so although you may make more money in the short run, your long term gain will decrease. True. But self-interest as a sole motivator for virtuous living is insufficient. The self-interested mentality of valuing virtuous acts based on what one gains by them can be seen in our tendency to deflect grateful thanks for an act of service or a gift by saying, "Oh, it was no trouble to me." In the past, one who was seeking to love another through service would think of all the ways to make the sacrifice on his part greater so that the gift would be more highly valued. Jesus' redemption of us on the cross was not motivated by self-interest on His part, and He didn't tell us, "It was of no consequence." He told us to respond in kind by laying down our lives for each other and giving Him all that we are. In contrast with the common precepts of today, historic Christendom has emphasized the importance of our eternal soul, the fact that we were created to be in communion with God, and they preached that we are to lay down our lives for each other without expecting anything in return. They taught us that our chief end is to "glorify God and enjoy Him forever." These teachings instilled in their hearers a love of chastity and mercy and justice for their own sakes, and for the love of God, rather than a resignation to a 'moral life' because the world just works better that way. "In the Middle Ages priests spoke only of the other life; they were not much concerned with proving that a sincere Christian can be a happy man here below. But American preachers refer to this world constantly and, indeed, can avert their eyes from it only with the greatest of difficulty. Seeking to touch their listeners all the more effectively, they are forever pointing out how religious beliefs foster liberty and public order, and in listening to them it is often difficult to tell whether the chief object of religion is to procure eternal happiness in this other world or well-being in this one." (616) These subtle shifts in thought and practice provided a fertile environment for a heresy like the Prosperity Gospel-which teaches that Christians whom God loves should expect to be wealthy and long lived-to spring up.
I'm not bashing Protestantism. I am a Protestant, and happy to be one. But perhaps we should recognize some of the pitfalls we are prone to. We all have them. Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, Copt, Protestant, you name it. We should be willing to look at things in the light of historical Christianity and think about things critically. Practicality and usefulness are good things. But God created us to beautify. We are His image. We are His glory. (1 Corinthians 11) We Christians are to point people to God through the beauties of His creation and His glorious created order.
How does this play out in our modern Protestant culture? The democratic society, as Tocqueville notes, is obsessed with usefulness and practicality to the exclusion of beauty and splendor, contrary to the great cultures of the past. A democratic society will "cultivate those arts that enhance the convenience of life rather than those whose purpose is to embellish it; they will usually prefer the useful to the beautiful, and they will want the beautiful to be useful." (530) Our modern Protestant culture is democratic in this sense: rarely will you see a truly beautiful Protestant church. Our places of worship are utilitarian in nature, evidenced by the common practice of having removable chairs instead of pews, their multi-purpose design, their plain walls and ceilings, their little plastic communion cups, and their "quick and easy" building designs. Instead of aspiring to grandeur and beauty in our churches, we prefer what is useful and practicable. "The religion preached by the earliest immigrants and bequeathed to their descendents — a religion simple in its forms of worship, austere and almost savage in its principles, and hostile to outward signs and ceremonial pomp — naturally offers little encouragement to the fine arts." (516)
This applies in the area of morality as well. "[People in aristocratic centuries] talked constantly of the beauties of virtue...But as imaginations ceased to soar quite so high and people began to concentrate on themselves, moralists became alarmed by the idea of sacrifice and no longer dared hold it up for the human mind to contemplate. They were...reduced to asking whether citizens might not find it to their individual advantage to work for the good of all....little by little, such observations proliferated. What was once just an isolated remark became a general doctrine, and ultimately it came to seem as if man, in serving his fellow man, served himself, and as if his private interest lay in doing good....in the United States people rarely say that virtue is beautiful. They maintain that it is useful and give proof of this daily. American moralists do not hold that a man should sacrifice himself because it is a great thing to do; they boldly assert, rather, that such sacrifices are as necessary to the man who makes them as to the man who profits from them. They have noticed that...man is today driven back on himself by an irresistible force, and having lost hope of stopping him, they think only of guiding him." (610, emphasis mine) Again we notice the similarity between the society and religion. Many MAEPCs (Modern American Evangelical Protestant Christians) teach virtue on the basis of how it will benefit you, or how practices condemned in the Bible are detrimental to you individually. Abstinence before marriage, for instance, is encouraged by the assertion that those who practice it will not contract diseases, will have healthier relationships, and will be glad they waited later on. Another example is cheating in business. We are told that people will find out that you cheat and will no longer use your services , so although you may make more money in the short run, your long term gain will decrease. True. But self-interest as a sole motivator for virtuous living is insufficient. The self-interested mentality of valuing virtuous acts based on what one gains by them can be seen in our tendency to deflect grateful thanks for an act of service or a gift by saying, "Oh, it was no trouble to me." In the past, one who was seeking to love another through service would think of all the ways to make the sacrifice on his part greater so that the gift would be more highly valued. Jesus' redemption of us on the cross was not motivated by self-interest on His part, and He didn't tell us, "It was of no consequence." He told us to respond in kind by laying down our lives for each other and giving Him all that we are. In contrast with the common precepts of today, historic Christendom has emphasized the importance of our eternal soul, the fact that we were created to be in communion with God, and they preached that we are to lay down our lives for each other without expecting anything in return. They taught us that our chief end is to "glorify God and enjoy Him forever." These teachings instilled in their hearers a love of chastity and mercy and justice for their own sakes, and for the love of God, rather than a resignation to a 'moral life' because the world just works better that way. "In the Middle Ages priests spoke only of the other life; they were not much concerned with proving that a sincere Christian can be a happy man here below. But American preachers refer to this world constantly and, indeed, can avert their eyes from it only with the greatest of difficulty. Seeking to touch their listeners all the more effectively, they are forever pointing out how religious beliefs foster liberty and public order, and in listening to them it is often difficult to tell whether the chief object of religion is to procure eternal happiness in this other world or well-being in this one." (616) These subtle shifts in thought and practice provided a fertile environment for a heresy like the Prosperity Gospel-which teaches that Christians whom God loves should expect to be wealthy and long lived-to spring up.
I'm not bashing Protestantism. I am a Protestant, and happy to be one. But perhaps we should recognize some of the pitfalls we are prone to. We all have them. Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, Copt, Protestant, you name it. We should be willing to look at things in the light of historical Christianity and think about things critically. Practicality and usefulness are good things. But God created us to beautify. We are His image. We are His glory. (1 Corinthians 11) We Christians are to point people to God through the beauties of His creation and His glorious created order.
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