Death Of The Grown-up

[FC]

I HIGHLY recommend the book, "Death of the Grown-up" by Diana West. It is one of the most impacting and important books I've ever read. I plan to buy two copies- one of them is for my girls.

She puts what most of us know to be true about the demise of western civilization onto paper in a way we never could. She discusses how adults never leave adolescence. She speaks of how adulthood is no longer the goal- youth is the ideal and goal. She discusses multiculturalism being juvenile, how we can no longer call evil for what it is, and the moral equivalency of all cultures, leading to the destruction of our own. Most importantly, she deals with parents who engage in "red light parenting", and allowing kids to call the shots. Adults abdicating their responsibility, while being cool, hip, and youthful. Incredible book!

[littlecanoe]

I HIGHLY recommend the book, "Death of the Grown-up" by Diana West. It is one of the most impacting and important books I've ever read. I plan to buy two copies- one of them is for my girls.

She puts what most of us know to be true about the demise of western civilization onto paper in a way we never could. She discusses how adults never leave adolescence. She speaks of how adulthood is no longer the goal- youth is the ideal and goal. She discusses multiculturalism being juvenile, how we can no longer call evil for what it is, and the moral equivalency of all cultures, leading to the destruction of our own. Most importantly, she deals with parents who engage in "red light parenting", and allowing kids to call the shots. Adults abdicating their responsibility, while being cool, hip, and youthful. Incredible book!

 

 

FC, That sound kinda like the Bible.

[FC]

It is certainly harmonious with Biblical principles, but is not a "religious" book. It deals with the cultural upheaval that occured post-WW2.

I'm fixin' to have a battle with my ex over these very issues. I have three girls who are living in this sort of Gilmore Girls atmosphere. The refusal to stand up and be an adult is destroying the nation. The government makes it hard to discipline kids in the home or in the school. This is highly recommended reading, in my view.

Moral relativism.

Cultural relativism. This sort of view that, "One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter" doesn't happen to be the view of our enemies.

[Spiris]

The refusal to stand up and be an adult is destroying the nation. The government makes it hard to discipline kids in the home or in the school.

 

I am so with you on that issue FC. These next 4 years under socialist rule will be the defining moment in our history.

I know I won't let my guard down, no matter what occurs.

 

Spiris

[littlecanoe]

There is nothing new under the sun.

 

This subject reminds me of a passage out of Isaiah where he lists many of the a lot of the sins of the nation. There is stark similarity to our present day. I just can't think of the chapter right now. Anyway, humanity has been here before.

 

We need to adopt the attitude of pro-activity on our children's behalf. We need to agressively teach them truth.

[FC]

The book also talks about how the western world views Islamists in a faulty way. We think they want freedom like we do, but freedom to them is centered on their religion, which totally defines what they are responsible for, and free to do. We have an infantile view in the western world of cultural and moral equivalency that will get us killed. This is a book that is really worth reading.

 

Do you live in KY (you know about Pleasant Hill)?

 

Side note- I guess you've heard that the steel industry and the governors now want a bailout? When will the stupidity end?! By the time this is done, inflation, debt, and unemployment destroy the nation. We'll be wanting a single government and currency. I hope I don't live to see that happen.

 

My ex follows the advice of a counselor (supposedly Christian) who says my girls need a "coach" more than a parent! 2 Timothy comes to mind: "But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.

For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power..

 

 

 

[littlecanoe]

Yep, I'm between Bowling Green and Somerset.

 

A few years ago, and I don't remember the source, I was challenged to begin to consider how humanistic reasoning has influenced Christian thought. We no longer, as a whole, view God's word as relevant to all that we face. We've adopted pop culture psychology as an equivalent and are seeing the results. If you've never read or seen the video's that Francis Schaeffer did some years ago, "How Shall We Then Live" it's an awesome look at how we consider the world from a scriptural point of view. Well worth the time.

[FC]

It is a good series- I saw it a long time ago, then bought it on Amazon.

[FC]

Excerpt

Once, there was a world without teenagers. Literally, "teenager," the word itself, doesn't pop into the lexicon much before 1941. That means that for all but this most recent period of history, there were children and there were adults. Children in their teen years aspired to adulthood; significantly, they didn't aspire to adolescence. Certainly, men and women didn't aspire to remain teenagers.

 

Today, turning thirteen, instead of bringing children closer to an adult world, launches them into a teen universe. And due to the hold our culture has placed on the maturation process, that's where they're likely to find the adults.

 

Most of us have grown up--or, at least, grown--into this new kind of adulthood, this perpetual adolescence so much the norm that it's difficult to recognize it as the profound civilizational shift that it is. Here to help is this blog, which will monitor the news of the day to keep tabs on the "Grown-Up" and the "Not Grown-Up" among us.

 

Update: Newsflash from the London Telegraph:

 

"Hundreds of schools have banned their teachers from marking in red ink in case it upsets the children."

 

An excerpt:

 

Pupils increasingly find that the ticks and crosses on their homework are in more soothing shades like green, blue, pink and yellow or even in pencil. ...

 

The red pen goes back further than most schools, having been developed during the mid-19th century when ammonia-based dyes became available.

But the opposition to using red ink is now a worldwide trend with recent guidelines to schools in Queensland, Australia warning that the colour can damage students psychologically.

 

There are no set guidelines in this country on marking, and schools are free to formulate their own individual policies.

 

Crofton Junior School in Orpington, Kent, whose pupils are aged 7 to 11, is among hundreds to have banned red ink.

Its 'Marking Code of Practice' states: "Work is generally marked in pen - not red - but on occasion it may be appropriate to indicate errors in pencil so that they may be corrected. Teachers must be sensitive about writing directly onto pupils' final work."

 

Head teacher Richard Sammonds said: "Red pen can be quite de-motivating for children. It has negative, old school connotations of 'See me' and 'Not good enough'....We use highlighter pens in all colours of the rainbow--apart from red. There are pinks, blues, greens and fluorescent yellows. The idea is to raise standards by taking a positive approach. We highlight bits that are really good in one colour and use a different colour to mark areas that could be improved."

 

Question: Is this a civilization worth saving?

 

[littlecanoe]

As one who believes in truth and believes that he has found truth in Christ I would say YES!. We are to be salt and light.

 

I'm going to have to get a copy or two for myself and for some of the men in our church. We are at a point of forming a new church and this topic has been one of major discussion. We are facing the issue of "do we continue in the modern form" or "do we teach the childrenouth as though they are adults". This book, from a secular perspective, will only add to the content of our discussions!

 

As to our culture as a whole I see the Church being refined and true Biblical doctrine being a growing focus. Having said that, our pastor was forced into resignation. The reason boils down to this statement made by one of the deacons, "you people focus too much on the word". That statement will tell you why we left. We left a SBC church, and while still in the SBC, we are more along the line of the Founders Movement and consider ourselves in line with much of the doctrine of Reformed Baptists.

 

I'm amazed that the church, as a whole, has gone to the gooey, feely, needs based approach telling people that they are just fine as they are. Part of the modern culture is that we who call ourselves followers of Christ have forgotten the One that we follow and His teachings. We have become humanistic Christians which is oxymoronic.

 

I'm gonna get on Amazon right now! Thanks for posting on this topic!

[FC]

That was a pretty amazing statement by the deacon. We visited a church last summer down at Waikiki. It was loud, people were going in and out all the time, a TV camera was sweeping overhead, and two people were text messaging during the service. I wrote to the church. I got no response, of course.

 

I like the cowboy churches the best, but our Bible church is really a good bunch of folks.

 

Diana West, in the book never runs out of subjects or stories to make her point. You will find yourself engrossed in it.

[littlecanoe]

The book is on the way! Can't wait to read it.

 

 

[Bob58]

"As to our culture as a whole I see the Church being refined and true Biblical doctrine being a growing focus. Having said that, our pastor was forced into resignation. The reason boils down to this statement made by one of the deacons, "you people focus too much on the word". That statement will tell you why we left. We left a SBC church, and while still in the SBC, we are more along the line of the Founders Movement and consider ourselves in line with much of the doctrine of Reformed Baptists. "

 

 

Littlecanoe -

 

Is your new church an "Acts 29" church? see http://www.acts29network.org/

[littlecanoe]

That's the first I'd heard of that organization. The simplest way to describe us is to say that we are a group of people who understand Sovereign Grace as taught by Christ, Paul and as rediscovered by Luther, Calvin and the rest of the reformers. To my knowledge, only 2 of about 12-15 men are from a Sovereign Grace background.

 

Hope that explains it but if not, fire away with questions.

 

lc

[Jimro]

The roaring twenties were tempered by the Great Depression and WWII.

 

It seems another generation has the War on Terror and the current economic crisis. Unfortunately for a true tempering to strengthen the spines of Americans it would require much more deprivation than a simple economic downturn and a war fought by volunteers. It would require a downfall of the current system of welfare government and a breakdown of social services.

 

Jimro

[Dr.Hess]

I agree, Jimro. The question is: Is that coming this time? Hard to say. I put it at a 30% chance. Our politicians have sold us out to the big money and payed us off to keep us quiet with handouts from our own pockets and promises from the future. It can't go on forever. Everyone knows is. Just like Social Security. I'm the year that they keep bumping up and point to when they say "It's gonna fail and we need to 'fix' it." In other words, I'm the year they are gonna screw the most. Without some serious "change", the downfall will come. And not the "change" that has been promised lately. Anyway, if boolits are dollars, we'll all be rich. I gotta feeling that dollars ain't gonna be dollars this next time.

 

[FC]

When we crash hard, and it will happen, there will be one obvious choice- a central world government, and a central world currency. That will be the end of America in functional reality. And who will be the leader in this new world? Well, how about the messiah, Obama, loved all over the world?

[littlecanoe]

FC,

 

I've read the first chapter and "can't wait" to get into the rest of the book. This growth into immaturity has been in my mind for some time and I can give circumstantial examples from a Christian perspective but it amazes me that the book is written from a secular point of view with documentation coming from secular studies. I'd also recommend this as a must read, especially for anyone with children still at home. It's a great read for anyone though as it will help you understand, or at least view, cultural trends from a point of view that you may not have considered.

 

I'll step out on a limb and say that one modern trend that would support the authors claims is the "Harley" phase that people are going through. I still don't understand this drive to reclaim something that was never there. It could be seen as mass individualism, the drive to be different and self-defined only to copy what everyone else is doing. (I have my nomex on so that I can resist the flame on this one LOL).

 

Tony. Think about our nations obsession with retirement and "living the easy life". Does this trend in thinking fit in with what Mrs. West was writing?

 

lc