Why is America so hostile?

The world has become a dangerous place. While I try to stop for somebody on the side of the road IF I am alone, I would not dream of it with my family with me.

We have become cynical because of the way the world is. It may not be right but it is true I think.

If we do not try to make changes, nobody will. I think we are supsto do just that.

I have not been a Baptist long enough or in an area populated by Baptists long enough to know what Baptist culture is. Apperantly it has something to do with pot luck lunches, corn bread, sweet tea (whatever that is) and not dancing. If that is the case it is improving. :thumbsup:

 

I agree Deejay, I also think times may not have changed as much as we would like to think. But the exposure of evil is more visable through TV or the media. There are more crime related shows than anything else I see on TV. So the more we hear about kidnapings, rapes and murder it's a wonder we help anyone.

Being a women, I help women or women and children in need more then men. I will only help women and children on the road.

 

Can you say....
"Because iniquity shall abound the love of many will wax cold"?

End times brethren. End times.

Simplistic answer. But true nonetheless.

 

I agree. I mean, think about it, violence was around all the way back starting with Cain and Abel. It's nothing new. All throughout history there has been severe violence, theft, scams... all kinds of stuff. There just happens to be alot more people in existence now, and every violent story makes it on TV... and for some reason we glue our eyes to it and soak up every word. I think the biggest thing that has changed is that we're addicted to the drama that is portrayed in the media.

 

I used to pick up hitchhikers, but it's too dangerous any more. I've heard too many horror stories of what hitchhikers sometimes do. I once read about a 12-year-old boy who would get himself picked up by a man who was alone, and then he would tell the man he would yell rape on him if the man didn't give him money. That's a dangerous game for the boy too since he could get picked up by a man who would just kill him. They all gave him money, however. After all, the boy would be believed. There's no such thing any more as innocent until proven guilty. Where a sexual charge is concerned a man is guilty until proven innocent. How can you do that when it's your word against a child, and people tend to believe the child even when they're lying. I was a pathalogical liar as a child and know how children can lie. There is so much anger and violence in this country, and I believe that Television has a lot to do with that. Children grow up on TV violence and see it as normal behavior, and they emulate it.

 

“Do not say, “Why were the former days better than these?” For you do not inquire wisely concerning this.” Ecclesiastes 7:10, NKJV.

It is always easier to look back and think that days were better. People have always done this, and the Bible says it is unwise? Why?

Because lostness has not changed. I once did a study on offensive material in television shows and stumbled on something interesting. Many people look at tv today and notice the sexual humor and think how horrible things have gotten. Yet, if you look at the old classics, you will find things that would never be allowed today in a sitcom (eg. spousal abuse as comedy.)

Last year, people were up in arms over a movie that showed a homosexual relationship between two cowboys, yet the old classic westerns frequently portrayed prostitution, drunkenness, and murder. It seems we're just picking sins.

I am using television and movies to make a point. Satan would love for us to get caught up in a cutural war, because culture does not add to the kingdom. Sure, at one time in this country a majority of people claimed to be Christian and lived in a christian-influenced culture. And if the word of God is to be believed, many said "Lord , Lord!" and were never known to Christ.

I'm sure that if we try, we could change things for a breif while in our country. I say brief, because we all know how it ends. But what would be gained? Are we of this world, sent to change this culture? Or are we of the Kingdom of God, sent to change eternity?

I wish things were different in this country, but there is only one thing that will changed that: the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are trying way too many things that are just poor substitutes and have no eternal value.

 

What he said. :type:

 

I agree with this post, I just saw the thread and was looking for this very scripture when I saw Jim's.

 

Interesting reads:

http://www.alternet.org/story/36149/


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitchhiking#Crime


Crime
The safety of hitchhiking varies from country to country. In the United States, where hitchhiking had been a fairly common means to travel from one location to another well into the 1970s, particularly among the young, the practice has greatly declined in the past several decades and is extremely rare today. This may be because of the theory that it is unsafe. It can also be noted that many rural areas now have extensive local bus systems.

There have been very few efforts to objectively study the safety of hitchhiking. Two notable efforts include:

California Crimes and Accidents Associated with Hitchhiking, Operational Analysis Section, California Highway Patrol (CHP), 1974 [3] Conclusion: the results of this study do not show that hitchhikers are over-represented in crimes or accidents beyond their numbers. When considering statistics for all crimes and accidents in California, it appears that hitchhikers make a minor contribution.

Anhalterwesen und Anhaltergefahren, BKA-Forschungsreihe, Sonderband, Wiesbaden, 1989 Conclusion: The current study has demonstrated, that the potential danger while hitchhiking is significantly lower than it is estimated to be and therefore the sharing of rides by and with strangers can very well be included in transport planning.

Neither work was highly publicized. The authors of the German study, easily the most recent and comprehensive study, suggest very real efforts to suppress and discredit their results. Such is the apparent strength of the conviction that hitchhiking must be unsafe, that objective evidence is anything but popularized and lauded.

In summary: there is a dominant belief that hitchhiking is dangerous, but every effort to find actual evidence of this danger objectively has been unable to do so.

 

I am probably a bit older than most on here and have witnessed a time when a higher percentage of people were more trustworthy in America than now.
I attribute this to the ever declining percentage of solid Christian people in America. Americans keep electing too many ungodly people and our secular schools from start to finish are becoming more and more secular, filled with more and more opposition to biblical principles and Christianity in general, turning out people that are morally confused. Moral confusion also fills too many of us proclaiming to be part of the Church causing all kinds of truth twisting.

Without a solid foundation in the things of God people will always do as their sin nature dictates. America is as it is because the bad behavior the sin nature dictates is far more prevalent today than in years ago, and this will continue to grow as the percentage of dedicated Christians drops.

The solution -- share the Gospel more and pray enough come to Christ to reverse this trend. Unfortunately, that probably ain't a gonna happen, so the Second Coming will remedy the problem permanently.

Yep-- "end times."

 

You make some good points, but I don't see things as either/or as you seem to be saying.
Re: the movie last year, a key difference is that it showed that relationship in an approving manner. Old shows may have showed murder, etc., but not approvingly.

No, we are not meant to engage in cultural wars as an end in itself. But when people are changed for eternity, that DOES impact culture. And should.
And there are some things worth struggling for. I have been involved with prolife work for quite a while. Some things are just very important and will not be handled in the short term but should still be dealt with.

William Wilberforce struggled for decades in the English Parliament to overturn slavery. He was a Christian and did so out of strong Christian conviction. I suggest that he was right to do so. And he succeeded, finally. That was a cultural war worth fighting. And it actually had spiritual impact on untold numbers of people.
So I just am not seeing a neat separation here. Christ is Lord of all of life. (No, I am not some kind of theonomist or Reconstructionist - don't read that into it.)

 

corndogggy,
On OK interstates, there are Department of Transportation signs that say not to pick up hitchhikers because they may be escaped convicts.

 

Amen! We need to share the gospel with everyone we can and let God change hearts. That should be our priority.
I don't see nothing wrong with causes but so many times you see people doing their causes without sharing the gospel with people.

Why is America so hostile? Because it's filled with sinners.