I have found that in my lifetime, the most crucial factor determining people’s behavior is how they feel. I’m not saying I am glad about that, but that is what I have observed.
This explains what is happening today in our political process. Many of our elections and much of our public policy are rooted in the emotions that people feel.
Two critical novels were written in the first half of the 20th century. One was by Aldous Huxley, and the other was by George Orwell. Huxley wrote Brave New World, and Orwell wrote 1984.
Huxley’s vision has won. In recent years, efforts have been made to make Orwell’s vision come true. This is reflected in the woke agenda and the attempts to suppress free speech. But Huxley’s vision of people operating by feelings and pleasure describes our experiences over the past few decades. Indeed, Dale Carnegie wrote that people like to consider themselves first and foremost as rational human beings. In reality, though, Carnegie declared that men and women are emotional creatures.
One of the most important books written in the latter half of the 20th century was Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman. This book’s appearance was timely when it arrived in 1985. It has been timeless ever since. Postman traces the history of persuasion through ideas. He demonstrates that colonial America was remarkably literate. People read more widely than today even though they could afford less reading material. This trend continued into the 1800s and continued throughout the 19th century. Because culture was more analytical and less sensory, citizens could process many more abstract ideas than today.
Postman convincingly argues that the remarkable debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas would never be attempted today, and he would be right. Citizens in various Illinois towns would stand outside for hours listening to Lincoln and Douglas argue the issues. Subjects such as State Rights, slavery, and the meaning of the Constitution would be assessed from various sides. And the people listening were not typically college valedictorians but farmers, grocery clerks, laborers, and other everyday “common” citizens.
The same was true about the media, which was primarily print. While newspapers were usually biased in their political slant (that’s why they carried names such as The St. Louis Globe-Democrat), they also contained a great deal of serious reporting and information. Postman compared it to the news media of the 1970s and 80s and found it lacking. During this period (1982), Don Henley wrote his song Dirty Laundry. This catchy tune was lamenting the tabloidization of the news, especially television. Of course, that era is the golden age compared to today.
These factors influence our culture, morality, and even our churches. That’s why I argue that now more than ever, churches need to root their teachings in a biblical context. A lot of hot air is out there, blowing like the wind. Churches need to be tethered to the solid rock of scripture. Christians need to study God’s word and think. Otherwise, we will be blown away.