“We are witnessing the development and acceptance of a new moral code in America. Mosaics (those under 25) have had little exposure to traditional moral teaching and limited accountability for such behavior…”The result is that without much fanfare or visible leadership, the U.S. has created a moral system based on convenience, feelings, and selfishness.”
The consistent deterioration of the Bible as the source of moral truth has led to a nation where people have become independent judges of right and wrong, basing their choices on feelings and circumstances. “It is not likely that America will return to a more traditional moral code until the nation experiences significant pain from its moral choices.”
These are the sobering words of George Barna, a seasoned author and researcher of national trends in faith and morality. Below is a telling list of moral actions taken by both Baby Boomers and Mosaics within the past week of being interviewed.
These statistics are even more startling than those in the previous post. Mosaics are the future of America. As a business owner, I question how to create anything of significance within a society of people prone to lie, retaliate, and gossip…or for that matter, with people who demonstrate minimal self control on issues of pornography, sex, and drinking.
These statistics may help explain the passion in my last post regarding Hillary’s speech. My concern isn’t simply Hillary or Democrats. And the line, “It’s about trust, stupid,” was a play off of President Clinton’s campaign slogan 12 years ago when he proclaimed, “It’s the economy, stupid.” I’m sorry if my words came across as a bit reckless.
We all have responsibility here. President Bush has demonstrated far too much trust-eroding behavior as well with his insensitive “Shock and Awe” bravado and frequently condescending tone. In order to have
even a hope of accomplishing the campaign promises being made, we all must begin the difficult trust rebuilding process…both here and abroad.
McCain’s prison folklore may be admirable, and Obama’s ability to make Oprah cry her eyelashes off is certainly impressive, but both efforts will fail without adequately addressing this deteriorating moral code. This is a vital moment for the church to step up and help both parties lead.
Amen Ed,
Like I heard a wise preacher say “Yesterdays concerns are todays problems”.
The Church is the solution hear on earth. That’s why our Father has us here, to be the salt and the light. Penetrate and show the way to go.
It’s not an arrogent or self absorbed attitude. It’s a mandate and responsability from our King/Father.
Churches equip your leaders and get ready for the flood of people that’s coming.
Don’t miss the boat.
I think part of the issue at stake here is the issue of “traditional moral code.” As measured by Barna, the items that make up such a code include lying, gossip, retaliation against others, etc..
As a member of gen y or a millenial, I believe that people in my generation are still following a moral code, and it’s not necessarily a better or worse (more or less Biblical) moral code than that of the boomers. It is, however, less traditional, and definitely different. I would be curious to see how millenials compare to boomers in the less tangible areas of workaholism, greed/materialism, issues of justice, and judgmentalism. These are also things that Jesus spoke strongly against, just as the items in the “traditional moral code” are, but they are less stressed in many boomer-led churches today.
Tyrone,
I do believe it could be a “flood” that comes for those church leaders who get what’s happening and, by God’s grace, learn to equip people appropriately.
It truly is a new day with remarkable opportunity. It will take a much more “broken spirit and contrite heart” from the church than we’ve seen practiced in the past. People are not so readily confused by counterfeits these days!
Brock Bahler is a nephew of mine (Ed), a wonderful Christian heart, and is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Philosophy. Here is his provocative take on my post:
Although I’m not about to begin advocating the practice of these behaviors (although getting drunk from time to time seems to be biblically supportable; cf. Ruth 3:7), once the “shock and awe” of these kinds of statistics wear off, there seem to be good reason to be suspicious of their veracity and applicability.
The first point that comes to mind are the types of behavior being addressed. Just think about it. How many 50+ year-old men with a wife, kids and 9-5 job are likely to go to a party, get plastered, and have a one night stand over the weekend? But if you’d asked some of these same Boomers what kind of life they had been living back in the 60s-70s (have we forgotten the Boomers started the “sexual revolution”?), we might get quite a different answer (9/10 women born in the 1940s had pre-marital sex. cf. http://www.publichealthreports.org/userfiles/122_1/12_PHR122-1_73-78.pdf).
I imagine if we surveyed different questions (such as cheating on taxes, participating in an ethically questionable business deal, using work time for personal activities, mistreating a spouse or family member, etc) we might get different results.
Second, something tells me the sampling of Mosaics (people 18-24, i.e, 7 yrs) and Baby Boomers (ages 44-62, i.e., 19 yrs) is a bit unfair. There were most definitely more Boomers than Mosaics who would’ve participated in a phone interview (how many Mosaics even have land lines anyhow?), thus making a “yes” answer from a Mosaic have greater influence on the data than a “yes” from a Boomer.
Third, I can’t help but wonder if this data is a test case in honesty and conscientiousness than anything else, particularly when more than 60% of men affiliated with Promise Keepers admit to having a problem with pornography (And I think its safe to say most Mosaics don’t even remember Promise Keepers). And how many people, after years of living life, have found ways to justify what really is gossip as “venting” or (God forbid) as a prayer request?!
Fourth, other studies have shown opposite results. One study suggests Boomers actually get drunk more often than Mosaics (http://www.topix.com/com/gsk/2008/07/its-binge-there-and-drunk-that-for-baby-boomers).
No doubt, America’s notion of morality has gone through a shift over the past few decades, but we should be careful not to belive in some nostalgic age of innocence that was lost after the 1950s. If we believe sin has had devastating effects on our world and on individuals – regardless of their age bracket – we ought to be slow to believe that somehow one age group is more immoral than the next.
Thought about blogging on this myself, but I’ll just “guest blog” with my generational collaborator:
POKER POLITICS:
Obama: “Hey, look at me, I’ve got experience, I picked a old white haired guy.”
McCain: “I see your white-haired-guy and raise you a former beauty queen.”
Good, now we have the election all set for an Image Takes All battle. How would you like you White House? White, Black, Old, Young, Male, Female, or can we interest you in a combo platter?
My point is simply that I hope we all look deeper than gender, race, or age; it just seems like an Image campaign.
Thank you for writing this and being bold yet gentle for the Lord. You spoke the truth. God bless you.
Amber,
Thank you for bringing these things up: “I would be curious to see how millenials compare to boomers in the less tangible areas of workaholism, greed/materialism, issues of justice, and judgmentalism.” Jesus did indeed address these issues. That said, start from the 10 commandments as a point of foundation and you ewill find that the “retaliation factor” mentioned in Ed’s post is the response by the generations you speak of to the issues (sins) you mention and it has worked itself out in this “new moral code”. Neither the sins before our present state nor the “new” sins now are good. Indeed, the response that Jesus indicated we should make, when suffering wrong is to not return evil for evil to anyone. When the generation before has had their parents “emotionally” or physically abandon them and replace their responsibility to their children with the actions (sins) you mention it is indeed sad. But isn’t it even sadder and no less excusable to respond with a selective “moral code” that includes sins that retaliate for those abuses suffered? There are layers here to the very real problem you have rightly highlighted. But isn’t the answer to stop the cycle so that repentance and reconciliation is really achieved? Isn’t it also a part of the point God is trying to lead us to, both as a community and as individuals, that He is in control? He does know what is happening to each of us and their is something we all need to know about our suffering? Please allow me to explain further.
This morning in my worship I was reminded of this when the truth hit home from a sermon I listened to: We all suffer. No one, not those who do evil nor those who are righteous have not suffered. But the world has always tried and is pretty much there now in perfecting the art of avoiding suffering by distraction. Some of the distraction comes in the forms you mention. And you so eloquently open your reader’s heart by implying the pain this causes to others, in this case the generation that follows. But God has another purpose for allowing these things beyond free will and here it is: Are you and I, while rightly desiring fairness, justice, a calm and quiet life, going to turn to God and ask Him for the relief and answers to our suffering? Or are we going to seek distraction after distraction, which harms others and eventually ourselves, and turn away from Him?
While having suffered right along with you, and feeling just as strongly as you do about justice and fairness, pray for us both to learn to draw closer to Him for strength and endurance and faith. We need to be the Josephs and the Jobs of this age and please our heavenly Father who does love us so very much! Please pray for me and my family and I will most certainly pray for you and yours. Love and peace be to you and May He bless you forever.
Great questions raised here, Ed and others. It’s an interesting topic, and one that is hard to discuss calmly because both generations tend to be on the defensive.
Nevertheless, there are some cultural shifts happening that make these issues really important. I have run into more people lately (both generations — I’m gonna guess it’s attitudinal and not age-related) who have said a variation of: “all sin is sin…it’s all covered anyway.” They have used this to excuse everything from lying to adultery to alcoholism. These are people sitting in church every week. They are my friends.
I find this disheartening. Like Dr. House one on of my favorite tv shows, I’m tempted to say “Everybody lies.”
I know we all sin. I know we all have issues. But am I so wrong for wanting to change that? To work on becoming holy? I feel like lately that’s not even a goal. Rather, it seems like people are trying to see how long they can go without trying to improve or become more Christ-like at all. I don’t want to foist legalism on people…I want them to strive for holiness themselves. Not because they have to, but because they want to.
Thanks for all the deeply insightful comments I’ve been pondering since yesterday. About the time I feel prepared to respond another thoughtful one surfaces.
As many of you have mentioned, this is tough stuff that rattles us. Yesterday I talked for 3 hours with a mother of 5 trying to navigate this new moral code in the schools. It’s now OK for student leaders like, yes Honor Society members and cheer leaders, to take full frontal nude photos of themselves and text them around school. Yep, and the school can’t infringe on their free speech so I’m told…what? By the way this is happening in a small rural school in Indiana
And, this past week I had two job applicants telling me you can no longer find work/office cultures with any sense of integrity in how they treat the public or each other. Maybe the television show “The Office” isn’t so far off.
Add to that a 57 year old school teacher bending my ear for an hour today trying to keep her sanity through all this chaos as the result of the lost boundaries.
What’s the root cause?
Let’s forget about who’s to blame.
And where do we go from here?
Hey Brock,
I’m way slow in responding to your comments. Thanks for the great points. Group size doesn’t influence percentages but some of your other point were valid.
Maybe the most was the sex and drinking issues. Of course college age adults would be more prone to the binge behavior mentioned. But I struggle with your rationalization for dishonesty, gossip, and retaliation. I would think all ages are prone to the “venting” and “prayer request” type cover ups.
However, there was clearly a sense of mistrust in your and other’s comments that is significant and thought provoking.
I’m humbled you cared enough to join in the conversation. Thanks brother.
Ed
Marla,
It’s been hectic here…thanks for your patience.
I share your concern about sin and the price we pay as individuals, families, and culture at large. I hear so many youth pastors share concern about how to get kids interested in Christ and sanctified living.
Could the root of the issue be what Tyrone and Kristin speak of above?
[...] of our readers, Marla, shared that comment recently. If her experience is common, it may very well suggest that we of the older generations have proven [...]