Puritans saw the world in terms of individual sin and in terms of principalities and powers. They always saw themselves as being part of a larger, more important cosmological story. They knew, without a doubt, that every knee would bow, every tongue confess . . . With the rise of Lockian rationalism and its emphasis on individual rights, supported so vigorously by men like Thomas Jefferson, Americans privatized its faith and morality. Morality was defined according to each individual preference and Americans avoided static moral structures–as that which is given in the Bible. For the first time in American thought, man’s agendas were more important than the Word of God.

Transcendentalism is a sad commentary on the failure of American Puritanism. By the end of the seventeenth century Puritanism was declining because of a lack of conversions and a disrespect for authority. As a result of this demise, American society lost a strong sense of community. Some thinkers, like Peter Berger argue that one of the features of our modern day has been the loss of mediating institutions, so that we now have increasingly atomistic individuals and a powerful state, with no buffers in-between. Berger also argues that we Americans have lost all sense of community. Puritans rarely talked about themselves–they just lived their lives in the community of the Lord. We talk about community so much because we experience it so little in our life. The church ceased to be a mediating institution like it was in Puritan New England. And, as a result, Christianity lost credibility as a viable institution.

As a result, I wonder if we were ill-prepared for the present onslaught against Christian culture. What do you think?