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America's Spiritual Decline

Logicman

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I just got through watching a segment on FOX News' "Outnumbered" show and the discussion was focusing on out-of-wedlock births in America and the accompanying increasing financial costs of that in welfare payments. The panel was debating the reasons for the rise in out-of-wedlock births. For the record, out-of-wedlock births total some 40% across the board and is just over 70% for black women.

Latest Statistics on Out-of-Wedlock Births | National Review Online

For five minutes they went on and on and not one of them ever made a single allusion to the decline of spirituality and the exodus away from God and his moral laws. Black FOX News anchor Harris Faulkner was prominent in the discussion.

Taking the highest figure - 72% for black women - is especially curious and disheartening since the overwhelming religious preference for blacks is Christianity. One might well argue they (and many non-blacks) don't practice what they believe - that fornication is a sin and that no (unrepentant) fornicators will enter the Kingdom of Heaven (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).

Many blacks, in particular Bill Cosby, have spoken out on the problems and in a number of cases have been attacked for their views. In churches Black, White, and Hispanic, preachers have also addressed the issue, though some have become politically correct to the point they ignore Biblical admonitions against shack up unions, fornication, and gay marriages.

Although there are other reasons as well for all this, I think there's no doubt that there's a spiritual decline in America. And it certainly doesn't appear to look to be in America's best interests.

Discussion -
 
I just got through watching a segment on FOX News' "Outnumbered" show and the discussion was focusing on out-of-wedlock births in America and the accompanying increasing financial costs of that in welfare payments. The panel was debating the reasons for the rise in out-of-wedlock births. For the record, out-of-wedlock births total some 40% across the board and is just over 70% for black women.

Latest Statistics on Out-of-Wedlock Births | National Review Online

For five minutes they went on and on and not one of them ever made a single allusion to the decline of spirituality and the exodus away from God and his moral laws. Black FOX News anchor Harris Faulkner was prominent in the discussion.

Taking the highest figure - 72% for black women - is especially curious and disheartening since the overwhelming religious preference for blacks is Christianity. One might well argue they (and many non-blacks) don't practice what they believe - that fornication is a sin and that no (unrepentant) fornicators will enter the Kingdom of Heaven (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).

Many blacks, in particular Bill Cosby, have spoken out on the problems and in a number of cases have been attacked for their views. In churches Black, White, and Hispanic, preachers have also addressed the issue, though some have become politically correct to the point they ignore Biblical admonitions against shack up unions, fornication, and gay marriages.

Although there are other reasons as well for all this, I think there's no doubt that there's a spiritual decline in America. And it certainly doesn't appear to look to be in America's best interests.

Discussion -

I saw some goofy television program this morning with a black man re-uniting with six children by four different moms. He had another three who chose not to be on the show. (Only ones with sense, in my opinion.) He was repenting...now that they were grown. Now I don't know how these four different moms supported their families alone...most of the six had multiple siblings...but I know how I THINK they supported them. With government assistance.

Having a family member in the Chicago Public Schools system, she tells us that having a baby is a job objective for most of her girl students. Not getting married. Not even living with the father of the child. These babies are the key to valuable benefits for them. Free education. Free child care. I'm not even sure what all they are, but I know they are plentiful. We don't let unsupported babies starve. And we don't let their moms starve either.

As long as the government incentivizes out-of-wedlock babies and deadbeat dads, the problem will only get worse.

Bring on the accusations of racism. I can take it.
 
Wanna decrease the amount of out of wedlock children? Preach safe sex in schools, on demand access to birth control, condoms, morning after pill, and make abortions more easier to obtain. Bam.
 
I don't like taking this subject and trying to turn it into a race issue. I think that's BS and doesn't mean that everyone else didn't make the same stupid choices with the same results.
 
"Out of wedlock pregnancy" is not the same as a child being born outside of a functioning family.

A modern era family doesnt need married parents.
 
"The ending of the American way of life must be gradual in order for us to succeed. We will start with the school curriculums, we will proceed to crush the family structure, then reduce the God entity top the point of ridicule, introduce and legalize alternate lifestyles and legalize drugs and limit the diet to most unhealthy fatty foods thereby decreasing the ability to quickly raise a standing army".
 
I saw some goofy television program this morning with a black man re-uniting with six children by four different moms. He had another three who chose not to be on the show. (Only ones with sense, in my opinion.) He was repenting...now that they were grown. Now I don't know how these four different moms supported their families alone...most of the six had multiple siblings...but I know how I THINK they supported them. With government assistance.

Having a family member in the Chicago Public Schools system, she tells us that having a baby is a job objective for most of her girl students. Not getting married. Not even living with the father of the child. These babies are the key to valuable benefits for them. Free education. Free child care. I'm not even sure what all they are, but I know they are plentiful. We don't let unsupported babies starve. And we don't let their moms starve either.

As long as the government incentivizes out-of-wedlock babies and deadbeat dads, the problem will only get worse.

Bring on the accusations of racism. I can take it.

don't see the racist aspect to your comments with the possible exception of showing only the black percentage of unwed births. they have climbed for all races
graph unwed births by race.jpg

as to the OP, i see no decline in spirituality. if anything, i see an increase over my 60+ years
but an interest in organized religion does appear to be experiencing a downward trend
being spiritual does not require a belief in organized religion
 
Wanna decrease the amount of out of wedlock children? Preach safe sex in schools, on demand access to birth control, condoms, morning after pill, and make abortions more easier to obtain. Bam.
while that would certainly help
the government incentives to have out of wedlock births is still present
a young mother can receive her own mail box money and housing only because she elected to have a child out of wedlock
 
"The ending of the American way of life must be gradual in order for us to succeed. We will start with the school curriculums, we will proceed to crush the family structure, then reduce the God entity top the point of ridicule, introduce and legalize alternate lifestyles and legalize drugs and limit the diet to most unhealthy fatty foods thereby decreasing the ability to quickly raise a standing army".

best-of-funny-consipracy-keanu-meme7.jpg.pagespeed.ce.kv4WH_tYh6.jpg
 
Wanna decrease the amount of out of wedlock children? Preach safe sex in schools, on demand access to birth control, condoms, morning after pill, and make abortions more easier to obtain. Bam.

They do that in Holland, the country with one of the lowest teenage pregnancy rates in the world.
 
Realities of life's needs outweigh any reverence for some ancient book of fables. Teens and young adults are horny and unmarried. Black women can't afford birth control or abortions at the same rate, and some even go thru the birth mostly hoping for child support to bail them out.

This is why saying this is "Christian nation" is nonsense. Hardly any are Christian enough to make any sacrifices, even the most basic expectations like going to church or reading the bible. It's so easy to say one is Christian that it's like saying you'll be rich one day. It doesn't mean anything.
 
"Out of wedlock pregnancy" is not the same as a child being born outside of a functioning family.

A modern era family doesnt need married parents.

Well it's no longer scandalous to have a kid out of wedlock, but other than that i'm not sure how things are easier for the family. It's probably easier for one parent to up and 'escape' the situation and move far away, leaving the kids with single parent, often before birth. Being pregnant out of wedlock also indicates they're getting pregnant at younger age and before financially stable. That's hardly ideal
 
“America has turned its back on God. It mocks God. Instead it worships a twentieth century Baal, incarnated in sensuality, materialism, and immorality of every kind.” - Carl Henry
 
Yes, the good ol' "minorities-are-so-spiritual" routine. I've heard it from Liberals in the North and Conservatives in the south. Martin Luther King was a Christian. The Hispanics add so much to our Catholic church in New England. Everyone likes spiritual minorities rather than individualism. Just dont punish people who merely want to expand their minds outside the narrow confines of folk religion, many of whom are adults that have never had children. Teen pregancies in my experience growing up in Georgia generally come from poor teens who actually are religious or come from poor religious families, so dont try to lie about it.
 
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If African Americans were freed from religion, it would be the best thing ever to happen to them since the abolition of slavery.
 
I saw
Having a family member in the Chicago Public Schools system, she tells us that having a baby is a job objective for most of her girl students. Not getting married. Not even living with the father of the child. These babies are the key to valuable benefits for them. Free education. Free child care. I'm not even sure what all they are, but I know they are plentiful. We don't let unsupported babies starve. And we don't let their moms starve either.

As long as the government incentivizes out-of-wedlock babies and deadbeat dads, the problem will only get worse.

Bring on the accusations of racism. I can take it.

I've literally listened to young women discussing how to increase their government bennies by having more babies- it's like a freaking family planning strategy, and these were young white women- the issue has nothing to do with race, so accusing you of racism would be completely ridiculous.

This is my stance and position on this and similar issues. I am a hard-ass woman when it comes to being able to deal with stupidity and slothful behavior. I raised a son that required the tough love approach to get his **** together when he was young. I voluntarily pushed him out of the nest and made him learn to fly the hard way, because the easy way was making him worse. It was turning him into an ungrateful spoiled brat of a human, and he reached the point of being a habitual liar and thief in my home.

If these young women are so stupid and oblivious to the needs of their own precious children, that they can sit by passively and let their children go without, then I can certainly stomach watching it. I had absolutely nothing to do with getting them pregnant, and I had nothing to do with making them have babies. We have way too many people without even basic good parenting instincts having babies, so what do we do to remedy the situation? We reward them. We have it all bass-ackwards.
 
“America has turned its back on God. It mocks God. Instead it worships a twentieth century Baal, incarnated in sensuality, materialism, and immorality of every kind.” - Carl Henry

?

Baal is a god of the ancient levant who was worshiped by the ancient asyrians, phoenicians and cartheginians.
 
If African Americans were freed from religion, it would be the best thing ever to happen to them since the abolition of slavery.

Actually, if they followed basic Christian principles instead of throwing them under the bus, they'd be better off.
 
Well it's no longer scandalous to have a kid out of wedlock, but other than that i'm not sure how things are easier for the family.

Are you serious? Up until the early 1980s it was even illigal in Switzerland to have a child out of wedlock and until the 1970s women who had become pregnant out of wedlock in Switzerland were forced to have an abortion and "repeat offenders" were even forcefully steralised. Having a child out of wedlock has meant being the subject of horrible social stigma and social isolation for a long time. Not because people thought it was bad for the child, but because of ideals on social norm.
Having a child out of wedlock today does not come with the amount of social stigma that it use to - easier on both child and parents.

It's probably easier for one parent to up and 'escape' the situation and move far away, leaving the kids with single parent, often before birth.

Thats a different issue.

Being pregnant out of wedlock also indicates they're getting pregnant at younger age and before financially stable. That's hardly ideal

Not true.

I know a couple that has been together for more than 40 years and has 3 children, the youngest of which is 21, the oldest 27, and neither of the parents are married. In fact I know several of such couples, including my parents, who could only get a civil union because they were of different religions.

Not being married but being in a releationship simply has to do with the couples attitude towards marriage, or due to the different confessions of the couple.

I myself, think it is a pompus and rather pointless waste of money. If she insited I would agree to it, but I do not see the point of somehow affirming my releationship through some festivity, which is essentialy nothing but showing off. A friend of mine who got married justified it by just saying "I was princess for a day", which makes it sound even more pathetic.

And I really dont see how this suposedly benefits a child in any way. A married couple can be just as horrible parents, as an unmarried couple.
 
?

Baal is a god of the ancient levant who was worshiped by the ancient asyrians, phoenicians and cartheginians.

The Caananite tradition is that he was the son of El and Asherah. El (as mentioned in the Bible) was also known as Yahweh, according to the Mesha Stele.
 
Are you serious? Up until the early 1980s it was even illigal in Switzerland to have a child out of wedlock and until the 1970s women who had become pregnant out of wedlock in Switzerland were forced to have an abortion and "repeat offenders" were even forcefully steralised. Having a child out of wedlock has meant being the subject of horrible social stigma and social isolation for a long time. Not because people thought it was bad for the child, but because of ideals on social norm.
Having a child out of wedlock today does not come with the amount of social stigma that it use to - easier on both child and parents.

That's what i said...it's no longer scandalous, at least in most families. Now of course, in US you still have some parents who will disown their daughter for getting pregnant if she won't marry but it's less common.

I know a couple that has been together for more than 40 years and has 3 children, the youngest of which is 21, the oldest 27, and neither of the parents are married. In fact I know several of such couples, including my parents, who could only get a civil union because they were of different religions.

Not being married but being in a releationship simply has to do with the couples attitude towards marriage, or due to the different confessions of the couple.

I myself, think it is a pompus and rather pointless waste of money. If she insited I would agree to it, but I do not see the point of somehow affirming my releationship through some festivity, which is essentialy nothing but showing off. A friend of mine who got married justified it by just saying "I was princess for a day", which makes it sound even more pathetic.

And I really dont see how this suposedly benefits a child in any way. A married couple can be just as horrible parents, as an unmarried couple.

Things work differently here. Black couples in US are disproportionately religious and would not have kids out of wedlock by total choice. It's a variety of pressures that leads to that situation, like poverty, no birth control or abortion access, rape, wanting to collect child support. Look at that graph. I don't know if totally accurate but 30% white out of wedlock births vs 70% black...

Yes a married couple can suck as parents. But the dad running out, as so many black fathers do, even before birth to avoid paying child support or the responsibility, means *one* parent. If they were married it might be more difficult to do that or at least it would mean higher odds the couple is financially stable (many wait until they have career to marry cause it's seen as a big permanent commitment). So to see 70%+ out of wedlock births among a more religious racial group doesn't bode well for them.
 
That's what i said...it's no longer scandalous, at least in most families. Now of course, in US you still have some parents who will disown their daughter for getting pregnant if she won't marry but it's less common.

I guess there was a misunderstanding then.
Things work differently here. Black couples in US are disproportionately religious and would not have kids out of wedlock by total choice. It's a variety of pressures that leads to that situation, like poverty, no birth control or abortion access, rape, wanting to collect child support. Look at that graph. I don't know if totally accurate but 30% white out of wedlock births vs 70% black...

Yes a married couple can suck as parents. But the dad running out, as so many black fathers do, even before birth to avoid paying child support or the responsibility, means *one* parent. If they were married it might be more difficult to do that or at least it would mean higher odds the couple is financially stable (many wait until they have career to marry cause it's seen as a big permanent commitment). So to see 70%+ out of wedlock births among a more religious racial group doesn't bode well for them.

The issue of assholes who run away and leave their partner alone with a child is however not solved through marriage.
 
Parents who are overly involved in their daughters marriage partner, who are too critical, and who threaten to disown, tend to wreck their daughters' minds. I've seen it. Daughters of such religious parents can become alcoholics, suffer from depression, etc. I've seen this trend from women in the american south whose parents were too religious and whipped them.
 
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