hmmmm… That wasn’t Luther and Calvin’s view on personal salvation was it? but perhaps it wasn’t their actual belief, but the cause and effect of their split and continued splitting there after.
It just seemed really out of place at a funeral, plus it seemed quite degrading to the Native Americans who were in this area long before any Protestant influence (which I would imagine it took work ethic just to survive), besides if people came to the midwest it was mainly to farm or on their way west for gold, I don’t think it was to spread reformed Christianity (atleast I didn’t think so?)… Either of those occupations required tremendous work ethic, and if they were the first ones here besides the indians, then when wasn’t there work ethic in the midwest prior to Protestant influence… perhaps one could argue that even those early settlers were Protestant, but then he would have been referring only to the indians that were here before them… either way it’s a wierd comment.
SD
Yes, his comment is somewhat offensive and Protestant-centric as the Protestant work ethic isn’t exactly the best work ethic.
A professor of mine commented that churches used to be the center and focal point of European cities, but in the United States - in part because of the Protestant work ethic - shopping malls have begun to replace churches as the centerpiece of modern cities and suburbs.
I know in some Westernized nations, workaholicism and extreme competition is common. I read an article on American students commenting on the differences between American and Italian culture: “Italians work to live, while Americans live to work”. Of course, the tradition of the
siesta in Italy, Spain, Portugal, the Philippines and much of Latin America among other nations, reinforces the differences of thinking between Catholics and Protestants. Some of my Latin American friends also say that time is not stringent in their countries as it is in Western countries. When work is scheduled at 8 AM, for example, it really means 10 AM.
Some claim that the original intention of the
siesta was to allow persons to spend time with family and friends, which brings me to my next point. I think the Protestant work ethnic deemphasizes the value of the family. It is common in the United States for teenagers to leave home once they turn of legal age in order to start their own lives by themselves. I see this way of thinking as manifestations of individualism and the measuring of self-worth by how one is able to work and gain success on one’s own.
In contrast, it is common in the Philippines and Latin America for families to stay intact under the same roof. Often married children and their children stay in the same home with their parents. You are not seen as a “failure” for staying with your family; instead, the family continues to support each other and maintains a close bond. Family is put above the desire to accumulate material success. Everyone is responsible for each other, which may also explain why many Catholics in the United States tend to lean towards Democrat ideologies, which tend to favor using tax money collected from citizens for programs helping others as opposed to the Protestant-influenced Republican ideologies of everyone for themselves - small taxes, small government, individual charities should be taking care of the poor, etc.
In summary, the Protestant work ethic is a mutation/misinterpretaton of Catholic teaching, along with other Puritan values that have shaped our Western culture as we know it today.
? Can anyone fill me in with what kinda logic this pastor was following, or would you all have been as stumped as me.
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irresistable grace; and perseverence of the saints / of the elect.