> there is deep wisdom in the Bible that absolutely can provide us clear moral guidance in our modern problems
Of course there is. It’s a text that has survived two millennia. Almost anything that old is interesting due to selection effect.
The problem is not only has the book survived, but so have several political institutions and ways of thinking around it. Not from the time of Jesus. But from the centuries and millennia emperors and kings. That has resulted in our modern experience of Christianity, particularly in the West, as an antagonist to social progress. Pick a social issue fifty years ago, take most institutional church’s positions, and they’re pretty consistently wrong. (There are notable exceptions, of course.)
Religious texts contain deep wisdom. I’m much more sceptical of men of cloth, men who track the careers of politicians and CEOs yet, somehow, with even less accountability.
Maybe we need a new prophet for the modern world. One who tells of the Kingdom of Heaven having been voluntarily relinquished for a Republic. (The Bible was written in the shadow of Rome’s republic. It enshrines that era’s imperial tradition because if it hadn’t, it wouldn’t have survived.)
> Pick a social issue fifty years ago, take most institutional church’s positions, and they’re pretty consistently wrong. (There are notable exceptions, of course.)
According to what definition of wrong? What is decided by popular vote? Although democracy in America has a Christian foundation (congregational churches), Christians pretty much defer right/wrong to the biblical tradition where a materialistic society has strayed from the teachings of Jesus. Whereas secular society has run away from home and suggests right/wrong is somehow simultaneously subjective and determined by popular culture.
I don't stake a claim either way, but it's important to note that many Christians would make this argument.
I would make the claim that many individual Christians over the past fifty years have made amazing life choices precisely because of their faith.
> Maybe we need a new prophet for the modern world. One who tells of the Kingdom of Heaven having been voluntarily relinquished for a Republic.
Well, I assume you know what Christians would say to this one... It's a lot of pain before it gets good.
> According to what definition of wrong? What is decided by popular vote?
According to what most people would consider wrong today. Supporting Mussolini. Interracial marriage. The right for gay people to exist.
(This is partly due to religion and the right having been allies in our modern history. So whenever there is a cultural clash where churches must take a position, it's usually with the conservative right. And the last century has been one where, on social issues, the conservative right has been wrong more than correct.)
> you know what Christians would say to this one... It's a lot of pain before it gets good
There is a lot of pain being caused by Christian institutions today. It’s why religiosity, particularly Christianity in America, is on a multigenerational slide [1]. (It could reverse. Young men, particularly on the far right, appear to be reversing course. And Christianity has thrived for millenia because it's particularly adaptable.)
We can learn from holy books and practice a faith without giving its institutions in the mortal realm power. Or at least, not putting them above reproach.
The strictly Christian response would be "wrong" is what goes against the words of Christ, and they could have flipped from "right" in the past to "wrong" now, or vice versa, or even from "wrong" to "wronger".
I don't think that is the Catholic response. Also, the words of Christ are only known as was given by third party recollections, and sometimes contradict themselves.
Of course there is. It’s a text that has survived two millennia. Almost anything that old is interesting due to selection effect.
The problem is not only has the book survived, but so have several political institutions and ways of thinking around it. Not from the time of Jesus. But from the centuries and millennia emperors and kings. That has resulted in our modern experience of Christianity, particularly in the West, as an antagonist to social progress. Pick a social issue fifty years ago, take most institutional church’s positions, and they’re pretty consistently wrong. (There are notable exceptions, of course.)
Religious texts contain deep wisdom. I’m much more sceptical of men of cloth, men who track the careers of politicians and CEOs yet, somehow, with even less accountability.
Maybe we need a new prophet for the modern world. One who tells of the Kingdom of Heaven having been voluntarily relinquished for a Republic. (The Bible was written in the shadow of Rome’s republic. It enshrines that era’s imperial tradition because if it hadn’t, it wouldn’t have survived.)