Is the General Population routinely breaking the First Commandment by feeling pressured into conforming to Pop Culture's "Norms?"

[ManOnFire]

Do people realize, care, or think about this? Some people say they can’t / won’t follow the Church’s rules because of **pressure to conform to pop culture’s “norms.” **Who are they? They’re nobody. Now who’s close minded? We went from Church’s Norms to pop culture’s Norms. What a regression! Now we can be peer pressured into the individual selfishness of seeking stimulation of the pleasure centers of our brains via shallow amusements, drugs, gasms, gambling, violence instead of deep romantic love. Unbelievable. When and how will things improve?

 

[flyingfish]

Do people realize, care, or think about this? Some people say they can’t / won’t follow the Church’s rules because of **pressure to conform to pop culture’s “norms.” **Who are they? They’re nobody. Now who’s close minded? We went from Church’s Norms to pop culture’s Norms. What a regression! Now we can be peer pressured into the individual selfishness of seeking stimulation of the pleasure centers of our brains via shallow amusements, drugs, gasms, gambling, violence instead of deep romantic love. Unbelievable. When and how will things improve?

You don’t need peer pressure to get people to seek pleasure, we do this on our own without prompting.

I don’t see what it has to do with the first commandment though.

 

[PlipPlop]

I don’t agree with a lot of what happens in pop culture, but to be fair the Church wasn’t a whole lot better. Look at the Middle Ages in Europe, when everyone paid attention to what the Church said. Witch hunts. Torturing heretics. Religious wars. Inquisitions. The halting of scientific progress.

I’m not bashing the Church, just pointing out that that if the current pop culture were to be destroyed it wouldn’t automatically fix all of our problems.

EDIT: also, Christianity is the largest religion in the world. Most who live in the Western aren’t being pressured to avoid it. Maybe a rival Church, but not Christianity itself.

 

[rwoehmke]

I don’t agree with a lot of what happens in pop culture, but to be fair the Church wasn’t a whole lot better. Look at the Middle Ages in Europe, when everyone paid attention to what the Church said. Witch hunts. Torturing heretics. Religious wars. Inquisitions. The halting of scientific progress. /QUOTE]

Wasn’t the Middle Ages when the Church founded the first Western Universities and produced saint Scientists like Albertus magnus(St. Albert), and monasteries introduced the population to improved agricultural and animal husbandry methods. It was a monk, Mendel, who started the science of plant genetics. Halting scientific progress? Hardly!

 

[the_Assyrian_1]

Do people realize, care, or think about this? Some people say they can’t / won’t follow the Church’s rules because of **pressure to conform to pop culture’s “norms.” **Who are they? They’re nobody. Now who’s close minded? We went from Church’s Norms to pop culture’s Norms. What a regression! Now we can be peer pressured into the individual selfishness of seeking stimulation of the pleasure centers of our brains via shallow amusements, drugs, gasms, gambling, violence instead of deep romantic love. Unbelievable. When and how will things improve?

My understanding of Scripture says: “Do not be yoked with unbelievers” - 1

2 - “Friendship with the world is animocity (hatrid) towards God”

3 - Christ said “be in the world but not OF it”

Case closed.

“Make friends for yourself through unrighteous mammon” - i.e. giving

We should also “filter” what we watch as Christians, no violence/porn/horrors/blasphemous tv - this is in the word also but I cant think of the verse…

You have a part to play in your salvation said Paul I think…

I quiet agree, good point well made, if I can help anyone be less worldly I shall be more than honoured to help X

 

[ManOnFire]

You don’t need peer pressure to get people to seek pleasure, we do this on our own without prompting.

I don’t see what it has to do with the first commandment though.

I’ve heard a few Catholics leave the Church because they said our rules are too difficult. That is, they feel pressured because the rules are too difficult relative to pop culture’s norms. It seems a few people have left in search of a church’s teaching that fits pop culture instead of vice versa. “If your arm causes you to sin, cut it off.” If pop culture creates selfish individualists who are independent of God’s laws, and this leads to more broken homes, then we ought to turn off more pop culture.

 

[flyingfish]

I’ve heard a few Catholics leave the Church because they said our rules are too difficult. That is, they feel pressured because the rules are too difficult relative to pop culture’s norms. It seems a few people have left in search of a church’s teaching that fits pop culture instead of vice versa. “If your arm causes you to sin, cut it off.” If pop culture creates selfish individualists who are independent of God’s laws, and this leads to more broken homes, then we ought to turn off more pop culture.

I would agree with you that Catholics may leave the Church because they consider the rules too difficult. But I still don’t agree that it has anything to do with peer pressure.

Take birth control say, do you think Catholics may leave the Church to use birth control because their neighbors are using it? Or because they think it would be more convenient to use it themselves?

Or take divorce, do you think people would want to divorce and remarry because their neighbors did, or because they want to?

Or take someone who wants to live with a homosexual partner, do you think they would want this because of peer pressure or because it’s what they desire?

 

[ManOnFire]

I would agree with you that Catholics may leave the Church because they consider the rules too difficult. But I still don’t agree that it has anything to do with peer pressure. Oh, I guess I’m just imagining all the glorificiation of love-less sex and drugs in pop culture and the associated peer pressure on people that goes with it. Yes, I wish people were strong enough NOT to give in to these temptations while being constantly bombarded with these messages.

Take birth control say, do you think Catholics may leave the Church to use birth control because their neighbors are using it? Um, no, I think more marriages would stay together if more men found the strength to use NFP.Or because they think it would be more convenient to use it themselves?

Or take divorce, do you think people would want to divorce and remarry because their neighbors did, or because they want to? Or maybe if they hadn’t cheated on their spouse thanks in part to the love-less lust being promoted by pop culture.

Or take someone who wants to live with a homosexual partner, do you think they would want this because of peer pressure or because it’s what they desire?

 

[puzzleannie]

Do We went from Church’s Norms to pop culture’s Norms.?

who is “we”? speak for your self. A general population does not sin, individuals sin. the answer to sin is always the same: goodness, that is, modelling oneself on Goodness, conformity to Christ and submission to the will of God and obedience to His commandments. the conversion of a general population begins with conversion of individuals, beginning with oneself. Take up your cross daily and follow Christ if you wish to influence anyone else.