I don't have any confidence in the MAGA movement's to turn the tide that's been building for over a century. The leftists have dominated society to such an extent that hardly anyone now even believes that America was great. They've rewritten our history and emptied our libraries of classical books. Their education establishment has nearly made reading extinct. The media/entertainment industry has become a deluge of immorality and lies that is hard to resist. Movies and TV shows are more akin to pornography than to reality. Church services resemble 1960s and 70s rock concerts. There are hardly any traditional families anywhere. Marriages are more like revolving door temporary sexual transactions than committed relationships. Children are as quickly outsourced to government nannies as possible and for longer periods, well into their twenties.
Stop taking the blackpill and touch grass. And I'm not saying that to be a jerk, I'm saying that if you spend a lot of time on the Internet you're going to get a skewed view of how things are, because the people who are on the Internet are disproportionately dysfunctional.
Maybe I live in a bubble, but most of the people I know are in stable, married, traditional relationships, they're raising their own children, and the church services aren't concerts of any kind, much less rock ones.
Thanks for highlighting that piece on reviving ELCA churches. I strongly agree with your points about evangelicals not giving the issue of central spaces enough attention, something I have had a lot of conversations about locally.
But I wonder about this:
>My impression is that in denominations like the Lutheran ELCA church that ordain women, female clergy tend to get the less prestigious jobs.
Not saying you're wrong, but it would be surprising to me if ELCA was able to systematically discriminate against female clergy on purpose, even for rational, revenue-maximizing reasons. If the Mainlines were rationally concerned about revenue, they would stop digging the hole they're in and pivot at least somewhat rightward theologically. And wouldn't the discrimination in itself be a scandal? Couldn't female clergy organize and get the "bigoted" bishops fired who insist on relegating them to the worst spots?
Though I'm sure there's some self-selecting that takes place. A certain kind of person prefers pastoring a moribund church in NYC or SF over a relatively healthy church in a conservative suburb, and it wouldn't surprise me if that kind of person is more likely to be female.
1. Regarding religiosity and attitudes towards adultery, I think the trend often goes the other way--people move away from religion as they try to justify libertine sexual attitudes, rather than developing more libertine sexual attitudes as they become less religious.
2. Part of the problem with the numbers cited in the WSJ article is that A. I'm not at all convinced that the government's inflation numbers reflect the reality on the ground, partially due to the fact that B. housing prices are insane right now, especially for people who are trying to get started. I'm about to close on a thousand square foot condo about twenty minutes from downtown in a major Texas metropolitan area, and I'm looking at paying close to $2,000 a month, albeit with some utilities and flood insurance paid for. (Also: that's with a 20k down payment on a $150k sales price.)
Further, this whole "30-somethings need to temper their expectations" schtick isn't complete nonsense, but the fact is that starter homes aren't to be found for love nor money once you get out of the backcountry--and while a lot of times it's easy to find a job there if you're thirtysomething, good luck finding a spouse.
Not sure how old you are, but it seems like the present housing affordability crisis is more of an issue for Gen Z than Millennials (other than, I suppose, the youngest Millennials). I'm a Millennial who was relatively late to home ownership but still have my 3% 30-year mortgage locked in on what is my second house, after making a tidy profit on my first house.
Of course, the longer the housing crisis goes on, the more it means that today's 20-somethings will have even more trouble moving out of mom and dad's house than today's 30-somethings did.
I just turned thirty two, and for various career- and life-related reasons I had to ditch my thirty year 2.75% mortgage right when interest rates spiked. Made a tidy profit on it, at least.
The WSJ article has the same vibe as the “millennials are killing the diamond industry” article. Let’s find a few outliers and dance around the fact that the economy is tanked and that “we” have made it harder than ever to get ahead, get married, etc. Nobody is really holding out for mansions and a jet setting lifestyle, it’s just a scramble to find basic economic stability. As long as money printing, taxes, regulations, and infinity migrants drive down wages it’s going to be a grind.
I don't have any confidence in the MAGA movement's to turn the tide that's been building for over a century. The leftists have dominated society to such an extent that hardly anyone now even believes that America was great. They've rewritten our history and emptied our libraries of classical books. Their education establishment has nearly made reading extinct. The media/entertainment industry has become a deluge of immorality and lies that is hard to resist. Movies and TV shows are more akin to pornography than to reality. Church services resemble 1960s and 70s rock concerts. There are hardly any traditional families anywhere. Marriages are more like revolving door temporary sexual transactions than committed relationships. Children are as quickly outsourced to government nannies as possible and for longer periods, well into their twenties.
Stop taking the blackpill and touch grass. And I'm not saying that to be a jerk, I'm saying that if you spend a lot of time on the Internet you're going to get a skewed view of how things are, because the people who are on the Internet are disproportionately dysfunctional.
Maybe I live in a bubble, but most of the people I know are in stable, married, traditional relationships, they're raising their own children, and the church services aren't concerts of any kind, much less rock ones.
Thanks for highlighting that piece on reviving ELCA churches. I strongly agree with your points about evangelicals not giving the issue of central spaces enough attention, something I have had a lot of conversations about locally.
But I wonder about this:
>My impression is that in denominations like the Lutheran ELCA church that ordain women, female clergy tend to get the less prestigious jobs.
Not saying you're wrong, but it would be surprising to me if ELCA was able to systematically discriminate against female clergy on purpose, even for rational, revenue-maximizing reasons. If the Mainlines were rationally concerned about revenue, they would stop digging the hole they're in and pivot at least somewhat rightward theologically. And wouldn't the discrimination in itself be a scandal? Couldn't female clergy organize and get the "bigoted" bishops fired who insist on relegating them to the worst spots?
Though I'm sure there's some self-selecting that takes place. A certain kind of person prefers pastoring a moribund church in NYC or SF over a relatively healthy church in a conservative suburb, and it wouldn't surprise me if that kind of person is more likely to be female.
A couple of thoughts here:
1. Regarding religiosity and attitudes towards adultery, I think the trend often goes the other way--people move away from religion as they try to justify libertine sexual attitudes, rather than developing more libertine sexual attitudes as they become less religious.
2. Part of the problem with the numbers cited in the WSJ article is that A. I'm not at all convinced that the government's inflation numbers reflect the reality on the ground, partially due to the fact that B. housing prices are insane right now, especially for people who are trying to get started. I'm about to close on a thousand square foot condo about twenty minutes from downtown in a major Texas metropolitan area, and I'm looking at paying close to $2,000 a month, albeit with some utilities and flood insurance paid for. (Also: that's with a 20k down payment on a $150k sales price.)
Further, this whole "30-somethings need to temper their expectations" schtick isn't complete nonsense, but the fact is that starter homes aren't to be found for love nor money once you get out of the backcountry--and while a lot of times it's easy to find a job there if you're thirtysomething, good luck finding a spouse.
Not sure how old you are, but it seems like the present housing affordability crisis is more of an issue for Gen Z than Millennials (other than, I suppose, the youngest Millennials). I'm a Millennial who was relatively late to home ownership but still have my 3% 30-year mortgage locked in on what is my second house, after making a tidy profit on my first house.
Of course, the longer the housing crisis goes on, the more it means that today's 20-somethings will have even more trouble moving out of mom and dad's house than today's 30-somethings did.
I just turned thirty two, and for various career- and life-related reasons I had to ditch my thirty year 2.75% mortgage right when interest rates spiked. Made a tidy profit on it, at least.
The WSJ article has the same vibe as the “millennials are killing the diamond industry” article. Let’s find a few outliers and dance around the fact that the economy is tanked and that “we” have made it harder than ever to get ahead, get married, etc. Nobody is really holding out for mansions and a jet setting lifestyle, it’s just a scramble to find basic economic stability. As long as money printing, taxes, regulations, and infinity migrants drive down wages it’s going to be a grind.