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[Poll]
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What has the greatest influence on our culture?
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| Educational system |
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| Entertainment industry |
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| The Church |
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| Other (Please specify in your post below) |
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Total Votes : 45
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(last vote on : 9/17/2008 9:37:36 AM)
(Poll will run till: -- )
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RE: What has the greatest influence on our culture? - 9/11/2008 10:21:10 PM
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PaleHawkWoman
Posts: 476
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quote:
ORIGINAL: huangshan
History.
Unfortunately most people are ignorant of history, and as Aristotle said some 2500 yrs ago, those who fail to learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat it.
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RE: What has the greatest influence on our culture? - 9/12/2008 1:04:15 AM
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SovereignIsHe
Posts: 5392
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God
_____________________________
John
Proverbs 29:12 If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are wicked.
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RE: What has the greatest influence on our culture? - 9/12/2008 3:20:57 AM
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_sharon
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Interesting question. Going through the options one-by-one, the education system wouldn't top the list. I think the education system does very little. It was probably more of an influence on me than it would be on my kids. The entertainment industry, unfortunately, does have a lot of influence. It was an influence on my generation, it's a big influence on the current generation of kids, and it will remain to be a big influence on generations to come. Religion would top the list for me. You could look at America and say it doesn't have as big an effect as entertainment. Which I partially agree with. But if you look at the world scale. There's no bigger influence than religion. Religion rules the world and always has. Which is both a good and a bad thing.
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RE: What has the greatest influence on our culture? - 9/14/2008 5:28:16 PM
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Pat-rebel_lady
Posts: 670
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I voted for the entertainment industry
BUT I'd like to change my vote to 'Other'; the more I think about this the more I have to say:
The age of money making Technology; which would include the Entertainment industry.
For example: The average American can not buy a TV at a economical price and plug it into and outlet (which uses electric we pay for each month) and have it give nice picture and sound after Feb. 2009. No...., we'll have to get government coupons (2 per household) worth $40.00 towards a converter box and pay around $45.00 - $65.00 out-of-pocket or pay a monthly fee to cable or satellite Co's for a Converter Box for each TV in our home, and maybe different connectors to hook equipment like VCRs, DVD players, camcorders and video games so that they will continue to work with the digital system.
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RE: What has the greatest influence on our culture? - 9/15/2008 6:50:00 AM
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FurGodWurLivin
Posts: 978
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From: Kansas City, MO
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My answer? Fallen man's propensity to sin and raving hatred of God. That is the single greatest natural influence on our culture. All the ills in the entertainment industry and education system are mere by-products of the fact that people hate God. Our American culture is what is left after an ideological demolition derby featuring uber-traditional "Judeo-Christian values", ultra-liberal practical athiesm (aka, the pursuit of happiness), and foreign religions. Add in the residue of various other cultures that have filtered in over the years and you end up with a gigantic cavalcade of opposing viewpoints thrown together like so much dirty laundry.
True enough, the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, but the love of money needs to be partnered with an equally virulent hatred of the Divine One to actually cause the kinds of evil faced in the business world every day. I like having money... it means I don't have to worry about my money. However, I will not do "anything" to get it because I love God way more than I like money.
Adam
_____________________________
I am hyena, Jesus is my Mufasa...
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RE: What has the greatest influence on our culture? - 9/15/2008 11:45:03 AM
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Badger963
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What has the greatest impact on our culture? Our interpretation of the world around us.
Everything is interpretation. No two people will understand the same event the same way.
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RE: What has the greatest influence on our culture? - 9/15/2008 5:33:31 PM
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radiorobert
Posts: 59
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I voted other.
My answer: Comfort.
Comfort, more than anything else, drives our culture today. Comfort manifests itself in many different ways. It can be money, availability of amenities, material things, food, etc.
Everything today is focused around maintaining comfort at all costs. Getting ourselves into or having to endure uncomfortable situations is the last thing anybody wants to do. Even if it often times means personal growth, be it spiritually or otherwise. People will sacrifice whats good for them in the long run to stay comfortable in the near term.
A prime example. Our financial system, rather than allow ourselves to deal with this crisis the tough, but healthy way, we have decided to socialize and bail out our problem through the government. No consequences to our actions and the problem just gets pushed back.
But at least we're comfortable. 
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RE: What has the greatest influence on our culture? - 9/16/2008 1:09:09 AM
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aslouie
Posts: 629
Joined: 5/15/2005
From: Los Angeles, CA.
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Personally, I would vote entertainment, given how much have been said of the dumbing down of not only U.S. Culture, but even international culture (any scholars on sexy European TV, or asinine Hong Kong melodramas?  ). but also as someone who's a fan of Idiocracy and Videodrome (see the rampant, Marshall McLuhan references), I can't help but think of how much entertainment has seeped into our news media, as in the rise of tabloid news in more respectable, high brow news sources (remember that Anna Nicole Smith circus on CNN?).
And while I'm at it, maybe I should recommend everyone to watch that Sidney Lumet satire, Network, to sort of get what's really going on in our entertainment media, telecom-centric industries!*
*global corporations that make cheesy entertainment out of news, current events, though that will lead me to a separate, prospective thread on who the real mainstream, corporate-owned media is! 
_____________________________
With fame I became more and more stupid, which of course is a very common phenomenon.
--Albert Einstein
That's hot.
--Paris Hilton
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RE: What has the greatest influence on our culture? - 9/16/2008 7:56:10 AM
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Pat-rebel_lady
Posts: 670
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quote:
ORIGINAL: radiorobert
I voted other.
My answer: Comfort.
Comfort, more than anything else, drives our culture today. Comfort manifests itself in many different ways. It can be money, availability of amenities, material things, food, etc.
Everything today is focused around maintaining comfort at all costs. Getting ourselves into or having to endure uncomfortable situations is the last thing anybody wants to do. Even if it often times means personal growth, be it spiritually or otherwise. People will sacrifice whats good for them in the long run to stay comfortable in the near term.
A prime example. Our financial system, rather than allow ourselves to deal with this crisis the tough, but healthy way, we have decided to socialize and bail out our problem through the government. No consequences to our actions and the problem just gets pushed back.
But at least we're comfortable.
Good Post; Very Interesting insight!!
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RE: What has the greatest influence on our culture? - 9/16/2008 3:36:42 PM
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davemiller7
Posts: 1032
Joined: 3/5/2008
From: NC via NY
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I voted "other" because I believe it depends on whether or not one is a Christian. For a true Christian, the answer would have to be The Holy Ghost. For non-Christians the answer would probably be mainly the entertainment industry and to some extent, the "educational" system.
The Christian would not be that influenced by the entertainment industry and should be smart enough to wade through the garbage that passes for education these days, and help their children and grandchildren to recognize truth from fiction.
The non-Christian, not being immersed in The Holy Spirit, not caring about spiritual things, would be more inclined to follow the wide path of fun and games, drugs, drinking, and debauchery. He/she would also be more susceptible to the secular atheistic teaching of the public schools and colleges.
Just my opinion, for whatever it's worth,
-Dave
_____________________________
-Dave
The Prayer of Protection
The light of God surrounds me,
The love of God enfolds me,
The power of God protects me,
The presence of God watches over me.
Wherever I am, God is.
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RE: What has the greatest influence on our culture? - 9/16/2008 5:04:47 PM
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buckifn
Posts: 1760
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Other
I say parents.. in 1 of 2 ways...those who either model a Godly life and lead their kids to Christ by example, or those who abandon their responsibility and teach their kids the value of everything but a relationship with Jesus Christ.
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RE: What has the greatest influence on our culture? - 9/17/2008 1:01:57 AM
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zamdad
Posts: 1664
Joined: 4/8/2005
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I voted other. Then, as soon as I hit the vote button, I link entertainment industry and media together. I was going to say the media. And as I think about it, the news is no longer media, it’s entertainment. Each and every newscast is filled with a few facts and then more pontification and commentary by the “experts.”
I find it interesting that the church is listed as an answer. Because I have been arguing in these forums for quite some time that the church has lost it’s influence in the culture as the church seems to be influenced more by the culture than vice-versa. The one thing that nearly all of us have in common whether we attend church or not is the media. Whether it’s through TV, print, radio or the internet, there are certain people in charge of companies that decide what we will see. The they provide “experts” to tell us how they think, thus convincing us how we should think.
Look at the youth of our churches. Who do they emulate? Are they trying to dress and act like heroes of the faith? Far too frequently it seems they are trying to mimic the stars they identify with on TV. Add to this the ever increasing technology with computers and cell phones. We cannot go anywhere, even church buildings, without being inundated by the media. Is it any wonder we, the church, have lost our influence? We consume more media than scripture and wonder why the world is not thirsty for our message?
_____________________________
“A dead thing goes with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it.”
G.K. Chesterton
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RE: What has the greatest influence on our culture? - 9/17/2008 9:29:21 AM
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Pat-rebel_lady
Posts: 670
Joined: 4/12/2005
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quote:
ORIGINAL: zamdad
I voted other. Then, as soon as I hit the vote button, I link entertainment industry and media together. I was going to say the media. And as I think about it, the news is no longer media, it’s entertainment. Each and every newscast is filled with a few facts and then more pontification and commentary by the “experts.”
I find it interesting that the church is listed as an answer. Because I have been arguing in these forums for quite some time that the church has lost it’s influence in the culture as the church seems to be influenced more by the culture than vice-versa. The one thing that nearly all of us have in common whether we attend church or not is the media. Whether it’s through TV, print, radio or the internet, there are certain people in charge of companies that decide what we will see. The they provide “experts” to tell us how they think, thus convincing us how we should think.
Look at the youth of our churches. Who do they emulate? Are they trying to dress and act like heroes of the faith? Far too frequently it seems they are trying to mimic the stars they identify with on TV. Add to this the ever increasing technology with computers and cell phones. We cannot go anywhere, even church buildings, without being inundated by the media. Is it any wonder we, the church, have lost our influence? We consume more media than scripture and wonder why the world is not thirsty for our message?
Yeah, The older I get, the faster and more that Technology; especially in the Entertainment/Media area; advances and takes over influencing our culture; the more I want to convert and become Amish/Mennonite. Only problem with that is I wouldn’t have any knowledge or tools to see or know what is going on in order to reach across these lines and do I Peter 3:15-16 and Jude 20-25. As it is I feel so out of touch with those of this generation because of the newest of technology rushing forward; computers, i-pods, cell phones (texting) and the ‘digital age’ being forced upon us; it all makes my head spin. 
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RE: What has the greatest influence on our culture? - 9/17/2008 9:44:57 AM
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JimboFletch
Posts: 6628
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I voted Education (public or secular). The changes I've seen since the 60s & early 70s when I went to high school & college have been subtle. A lot of values have been undermined with simple, repeated statements from the authority teachers naturally have.
The effects of the humanistic values presented as factual have steadily changed the world view of many people without any fanfare. It's been similar to the old story of the frog placed in cool water in a pot on the stove with the temperature gradually increased until it has been boiled alive without noticing.
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RE: What has the greatest influence on our culture? - 9/17/2008 11:03:19 AM
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zamdad
Posts: 1664
Joined: 4/8/2005
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quote:
ORIGINAL: JimboFletch
I voted Education (public or secular). The changes I've seen since the 60s & early 70s when I went to high school & college have been subtle. A lot of values have been undermined with simple, repeated statements from the authority teachers naturally have.
The effects of the humanistic values presented as factual have steadily changed the world view of many people without any fanfare. It's been similar to the old story of the frog placed in cool water in a pot on the stove with the temperature gradually increased until it has been boiled alive without noticing.
I agree with you Jimbo. Yet, while education has tremendous influence, educators are just as influenced by the media. Look at the global warming/climate change principles and the green movement that has developed. Our kids are being taught in school that we are destroying the planet. They hear the same message in the media. Media reports are often used as teaching points. Teachers gain their worldview from the information they recieve. And, where do we all get most of the information we recieve?
I look at the global warming issue as one of those humanistic values that has steadily changed the worldview of most people. If the earth is as old as scientists and educators say it is, how can we rule out cyclical changes in atmospehric conditions. Just becauze scientists and people with heavy influence say global warming is real does not make it so. Seems to me that the water being heated in our cultural pond is mostly electronic now in that we get most of the information we fill our minds with is in the form of TV, internet and radio. The more we hear and see, we don't feel the increasing heat that's cooking us.
_____________________________
“A dead thing goes with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it.”
G.K. Chesterton
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