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Before we begin, I am not trying to be an evangelical and saying that the West needs a Christian revolution. I myself am not religious, but I noticed that modern Western culture appears to be largely antithetical to Christian values.

For example, the Bible preaches that sex is supposed to be practised at least within a committed relationship, and also not to look at others with lustful intent, but in the West nowadays everything is pornified and it is considered a virtue if a man sleeps with every single woman in sight, not to mention "The Internet is for porn". Virgins and those who do not watch porn are met with derision. Additionally, the Bible does not permit divorce except in certain circumstances, but in the West nowadays it's far from uncommon for marriages to end simply because they're "not into it anymore".

Moving away from sex, I also see that a whole lot of people are hell bent on revenge and will often look down on people who don't support revenge, when the Bible states that vengeance is for God. There is also a large amount of gluttony in at least some of the countries, in which people just eat and eat for pleasure, and just throw away unused portions because it is either not tasty enough. Also, there is a huge amount of materialism and consumerism. And the list goes on and on.

Now, I am not in any way claiming that the Western world nowadays is a bad place, nor am I saying that all people in the West are like this. It is still perhaps the best place on the planet to live, and I was born, grew up and live here. I am only saying that I think that I think despite its history with Christianity and the vast majority of its citizens claiming to be Christian, I think that in practise it is perhaps one of the most un-Christian places in the world. Sometimes when I see other countries and religions that are not Christian historically and nowadays I feel that many there live more "Christian" lifestyles than those we have over here. Yes, I'm aware that there are un-Christian activities elsewhere like female infantcide, rape, live cremation, dowry killing and such, but you get what I'm trying to say.

Does anyone get this feeling these days?

The problem is that Christianity as a practice is supposed to be almost ascetic, with even self-ruinous levels of charity encouraged, and most secular attachments (even to family) eschewed in favour of the Great Work and looking "beyond the horizon" to the Home on the other side. In other words, all those juicy "do this and you do well" type things that Jesus talked about in the synoptics.

As an institution, as seen in early Acts, it's supposed to be a pure communism overseen by a council-style theocracy.

It's not so much "the West," as a specific feature of "the West" (namely marginally restricted if not wholly laissez-faire capitalism) that is incompatible with both of these.

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As for the other not-safe-for-Mennonites aspects of American society? In a way, Christianity as a doctrine is partly to blame; and the institution is built on the doctrine rather than the practice, resulting in a Christianity that hinges on the sin-confess-forgive cycle and living by the death and resurrection of Christ, rather than by the teachings of Jesus.

So it's not that the West is unchristian, but rather that Christianity is that far removed from its 30s CE roots.

wat

Popes don't have cake at parties.
- talk2hand

Did you not read the first paragraph of my post?

Naw. We don't have laissez-faire capitalism at all, and if we had, Christian financial teachings would not be hurt by it.