It is not uncommon and rather typical for some to lay the blame for everything that is wrong with Christianity at the feet of the boomers. As an aging boomer I resemble those remarks. I wish it could be said that everything we great before the boomers and it will be great again after they (we?) are gone. It would put far too much power in the hands of one generation -- no matter which one it is. The Church is always minutes away from heresy, apostasy, unfaithfulness, and corruption -- at least of what we see. Of course, our Lord has guaranteed that the gates of hell will not prevail but He gave no such guarantee that the Church would be (or should be) the mighty majority. Sadly, the Church has always been the long suffering minority in hearts if not in the halls of power.
Yes, we were the post-war generation who sat under our school desks while practicing drills for nuclear holocaust and we ushered in the civil rights movement along with an unhealthy distrust of nearly every institution around us. We grew up with consumer idea of everything and chose experience over substance much of the time. But give us a break. What will be said about the screen generation who holds onto their devices as the true reality? What will become of those who have rejected marriage without trying it, children without having any, and gender without being able to answer what it is or how you know which one you have?
Yeah, I get it. Boomers are bad and cannot die out as a generation quick enough. Or maybe the generations before contributed their own crap to the way things are. Could it be that the Americanization of Christianity began long before the boomers? Could it be that entrepreneurial religion was the uniquely American contribution to Christianity and market driven practices counted before theology even before there were any boomers? Could it be that catholic doctrine and practice has been forced to compete with a culture of Word only worship, low sacramental theology, and a cerebral understanding of the faith long before any boomers were in kindergarten? Could it be that liturgical chaos began long before and continued long after the introduction of the manufactured Common Service of 1888? Could it be that Methodist hymns can be found even in the holy grail of The Lutheran Hymnal -- even in place of Gerhardt and the great Lutheran chorales and their authors? Could it be that the historic lectionary was window dressing for churches whose pastors had long ago switched to preaching from their texts (that had nothing to do with the season of the church year or the Sunday of that season)? Hmmmm.
Boomers learned the song My Way from the generation before them and learned the idealized pursuit of individuality also from those who went before. We were some of the last of those who had math before it was new and history as fact before it was subject to adjustment in favor of historically underrepresented people. We entertained ourselves to death not alone on our smartphones but together with the family while watching Bonanza, Hogan's Heroes, Beverly Hillbillies, and such -- in black and white. We did not take over campuses to demand our little safe corner where we would not be challenged by what we did not want or like but we did care about grades and education and vocational preparation. I am not so sure we were worse than the generation before us (except that we all say the next generation is worse than the current or past). I am ready to take my lumps but guess what -- boomers are paying the bills in most congregations and still there in the pews and volunteering everywhere. We put money away for retirement and will pass on a huge legacy to those who come after us.
Seminary was cheap compared to today but it was not free when I attended. My generation is making it possible for those there now to go tuition free. And we did have a decent work ethic. Nobody ever accused us of being overly sensitive to work/life balance and the places most of us served were improved along the way by our time there. I made many mistakes but two congregations were moved from the edges into the fast lane of catholic doctrine and practice (as the Augustana puts it). I guess what I am saying is that those who lay the blame at the boomers are giving us far too much power along with the responsibility for what ails us. We are a convenient target. That's okay. We are able to take it. But all this attention to the boomer guilt is not necessarily helping to correct what needs correcting out there. Unless I am wrong, it it still about catholic doctrine and practice and catechesis. Pardon me for saying it but it would not hurt to lift your eyes off the screen every once in a while and talk to people.
2 comments:
It is fascinating how the experts decided to denote the “Boomers” as the generation born between 1946-1964. I missed that mark by one year. I was born in 1945, and mine is “The Silent Generation.” (1928-1945 era). But culturally aging Boomers and their not so silent predecessors together managed to change the world. With progress and time comes change, and each generation gets swept along by things largely out of their control, although they are both participants and observers in the unfolding of history. But if one looks to the Bible for wisdom, there is a way to put it all into perspective. Take the first epistle of John, for example. The first two chapters speak about two ways to walk. One can walk in the Light, or walk in the darkness. Fellowship with our Creator is light, while apart from this is darkness. It is a simple. It applies to all designated generations which the experts have handily defined for us. Vs 5 “This is the message which we have heard from Him, and declare to you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.” We can pray that each generation, whether of the silent generation, the boomers, millennials, gen X or Z, would walk in the light. Soli Deo Gloria
It's not the "Boomers" but the Demonicrats from back in FDR's time, through the kakistocracies of JFK, LBJ, Carter, Slick Willy, Traitorobama, and ChiComjoe, who have given aid and comfort to the domestic and foreign enemies of the United States, aided significantly by RINOcrats.
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