Just for fun, let's assume that Francis Schaeffer was right...

Forty years ago he was cranking out some thoughts on how ideas move from the writings of European university philosophers, which then affects the art community, which affects the musicians (eventually moving through the other academic disicplines) and, eventually, the average Joe changes the way he thinks. Then, the mores and behavior of a society change. These changes take place over time (about 30 years to influence behavior in the US), across geography (starting in Europe and then over to the US, which speeds things up worldwide) and through disciplines (and yes, those disciplines influence each other in a "two-way street" kind of thing). That's the Reader's Digest version, so before all you Francis Schaeffer fans (both of you) send me hate mail...

Knowing this, I asked some Dutch Christian teens about whether it was harder have a worthy walk with Christ in Holland or in America. One person said, "Holland, definitely. Because in America, people at least pretend to be Christian and hold to Christian values, theoretically. In Holland, we've stopped pretending."

So, some coffee house (American style...so no marijuana) questions for the day: Are we "pretending" in America and what changes await our society if we stop? What is the average Christian's response right here, right now?