04-30-2008, 01:08 AM | #41 | |
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04-30-2008, 01:17 AM | #42 | |
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04-30-2008, 01:22 AM | #43 | |
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More importantly, I'm not sure what you are referring to with "it." If you're referring to being more welcoming of social and economic causes, I'd mostly agree. That hasn't been a great "draw." The black churches are a big exception, though. They've thrived doing that.
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"Do not despise the words of prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is good; " 1 Thess. 5:21 (NRSV) We all trust our own unorthodoxies. Last edited by Sleeping in EQ; 04-30-2008 at 01:39 AM. |
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04-30-2008, 01:53 AM | #44 | |
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The traditional protestant churches are diminishing in strength, numbers and cohesion. Look at the percent in the younger ages among mainline protestants: http://religions.pewforum.org/pdf/co...Traditions.pdf |
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04-30-2008, 02:07 AM | #45 |
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They have, but Islam has been even more successful than Protestants in fighting social problems in the black community like drug use. As Rodney Stark would say, those who become mainline are headed for the sidelines.
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04-30-2008, 02:09 AM | #46 | |
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I don't think the comparison to Mormon-lite is valid, though. I don't think anyone is asking the LDS Church to go all social gospel, or ecumenical or anything like that. I also don't think the mainline protestants' difficulties are irreversible. The United Methodists are showing signs of life. Some Presbyterians are talking about doing old style proselyting. The Episcopalians might be a lost cause, but then they are trying to figure things out. I attended a mainline protestant church on Sunday because it was stake conference and I'd had enough on Saturday (4 hours) and this particular church had really come out in support of the Mormons during the Ed Decker film mess a couple of weeks ago. It was very high class of them.
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"Do not despise the words of prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is good; " 1 Thess. 5:21 (NRSV) We all trust our own unorthodoxies. |
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04-30-2008, 02:16 AM | #47 |
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There's some truth to this. There are opportunities for these churches, though, that aren't so "mainline."
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"Do not despise the words of prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is good; " 1 Thess. 5:21 (NRSV) We all trust our own unorthodoxies. |
04-30-2008, 02:31 AM | #48 |
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SIEQ, what is the rosy optimistic picture for the mainline protestants?
Because they have a study group, because they send youth to Haiti, that doesn't speak to their viability. After all, there are so many non-profits that do more, that have no religious/Christian component. Their membership is steadily declining. Steady decline means less churches, less community presence, and increasingly, less relevance. |
04-30-2008, 02:45 AM | #49 | |
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What they need to not do is try to appeal to everyone. Their old boundaries developed over doctrinal impasses that most people today don't understand or care about. They'll need to make their peculiarities distinctive markers, and will need to sharpen their brands, as it were. In other words, they'll have to rearticulate themselves. I have ideas about how some of the mainlines may attempt this, but I need to evaluate a student on the radio in 15 minutes, so it'll have to wait!
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"Do not despise the words of prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is good; " 1 Thess. 5:21 (NRSV) We all trust our own unorthodoxies. Last edited by Sleeping in EQ; 04-30-2008 at 02:48 AM. |
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04-30-2008, 03:26 AM | #50 | |
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There's a saying in Greek archaeology, "you can't excavate Homer," meaning you can't start with an idea of what you want or think you'll find. You dig and then interpret the results. I know there's a lot of murky area between hypothesis-testing and what I'm trying to explain, but I think the gist of my point is to find the evidence before formulating any hypothesis. Since there's no hard evidence of this kind for the Book of Mormon, it's stalled from the get-go. There does remain what we call negative evidence, such as claims that DNA testing misses huge gaps, or that people from Asia could have arrived by boat in 600 BCE, but there is no positive evidence, such as a pot sherd with Nephi's name scratched on it in Egyptian or Hebrew letters. Splitting hairs, perhaps, but I see it as a difference.
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I hope for nothing. I fear nothing. I am free. - Epitaph of Nikos Kazantzakis (1883-1957) Last edited by Solon; 04-30-2008 at 03:33 AM. Reason: clarity |
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