America - Then and Now

Not exactly. Don't forget, this was also the McCarthy era. In the 1950's, there was abundant lip service given by the US to God, as part of the fight against "godless communism". We did not have "In God We Trust" on our money, or "Under God" in the pledge prior to that.

One should not confuse lip service to Godliness.

 

We did not have "In God We Trust" on our money, or "Under God" in the pledge prior to that.
</font>[/QUOTE]On the pledge issue, you are correct.
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On the money issue, it's not so clear.

" was found that the Act of Congress dated January 18, 1837, prescribed the mottoes and devices that should be placed upon the coins of the United States. This meant that the mint could make no changes without the enactment of additional legislation by the Congress. In December 1863, the Director of the Mint submitted designs for new one-cent coin, two-cent coin, and three-cent coin to Secretary Chase for approval. He proposed that upon the designs either OUR COUNTRY; OUR GOD or GOD, OUR TRUST should appear as a motto on the coins. In a letter to the Mint Director on December 9, 1863, Secretary Chase stated:
I approve your mottoes, only suggesting that on that with the Washington obverse the motto should begin with the word OUR, so as to read OUR GOD AND OUR COUNTRY. And on that with the shield, it should be changed so as to read: IN GOD WE TRUST.
The Congress passed the Act of April 22, 1864. This legislation changed the composition of the one-cent coin and authorized the minting of the two-cent coin. The Mint Director was directed to develop the designs for these coins for final approval of the Secretary. IN GOD WE TRUST first appeared on the 1864 two-cent coin."

SOURCE

 

Then I guess long running shows like "Touched by an Angel" were simply a figment of my imagination?? And "The Passion of The Christ", "Jesus of Nazareth", "The Prince of Egypt" and "The Miracle Worker" were not about God at all?? Should I even begin to mention the upcoming "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe??"

But the bottom line is that you're using a single movie to litmus test society. I did not see GOd at all when I saw "Them", "Attack of the 50 Foot Woman", or "On the Waterfront".

Oh, yes, many of the same shows where the husband and wife slept in separate beds? Or where bathrooms had no toilets? Not normal at all.

I think it's safe to say that there are plenty of people whose life growing up in the 50's was more akin to West Side Story than Mayberry RFD.

Have you seen some of the Christians today?? They seem to worship Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson more than they worship God. I think the biggest reason Christians today get so offended at comments about Christians is because many of those comments are, unfortunately, true. Perhaps we should learn to take criticism a bit better.

 

Ah yes, the good old days. The 1950s.

Segregation in schools, restaurants, housing and public transportation. Women knew their place, and it wasn't outside the home. Polio ravaged children, crippling them for life. Innocent people were blackballed from their careers because of the red baiting McCarthy.

No thanks. Different decade, different problems.

 

I was a teen in the 50's, and things WERE different then.

Sure there was adultry, murders, homosexuality, drunks, etc., ad infinitum; but all these were frowned on by society.

Also there was none of this "you can't judge", or "truth is relative", or "God didn't mean---"!

Black was black, and white was white in moral issues; very little gray! If you partook of any of these sins, you tried your best to keep it IN THE CLOSET simply because society as a whole didn't condone or excuse.

If you parked downtown & went to a movie (affordable then ) & you forgot to lock the car doors, it was no big deal. Didn't get overly upset if you forgot to lock your house either. Didn't mind walking down a long dark street cause there was nobody waiting to mug or murder you.

Yes people were the same, sinners all, but there was a sense of morality that even the "un-godly" respected.

One of the most outstanding that I remember was in the barbershops. Usually several guys inside waiting either for their turn or their favorite barber & usually a shady joke or two being bandied about. Then the local Baptist or Methodist or whatever preacher walks in; first thing one of the barbers always did was to loudly greet him by "Hello Preacher---, how you doing today!

That, of course, was the cue to keep the conversations clean from that point on.

Hypocrites? Maybe, but still the office of GOD'S MAN was respected.

Are things different today from then---you betcha'; take it from one who's lived it!

The one aspect that I find superior today vs then, is that it's easier to spot a true bible believing Christian in the workplace now that the restraints are gone, than it was then when EVERYBODY wanted to appear "christian" even with a lack of belief!

 

You just lost a fair amount of objective credibility.

 

And my post was a bit of sarcastic hyperbole or something like that!

 

I must apologize. The quote was clearly by another person and in the realm of sarcasm.

Sorry about the misunderstanding.

You clarified: "Most Christians, as far as I know, believe a woman's MAIN concern should be God, and then her home. While we don't object to women working, we DO believe her first duty is NOT that job."

I agree, but I think that applies to both the husband and the wife. It is the duty of both the husband and wife to concern themselves first with God, then the home. A person's job should never take precidence over the home. Never.