Welcome to Breakpoint, a daily look at an ever-changing culture through the lens of

unchanging truth.

For the Colson Center, I'm John Stone Street.

H. Al-Minkin famously defined Puritanism as, quote, the haunting fear that someone somewhere might be happy.

However, judging by the mental and emotional condition of the children of secularism today,

it's not Christianity, Puritan or otherwise, that's making people unhappy.

Never before have so few Americans identified as Christians or attended church.

Many are quick to blame Christianity and its moral demands for that decline.

After all, the story goes, Christians are outdated, they're spoilsports.

Biblical morality deprives people of freedom and self-expression, and much of the church's

teaching, especially about sexuality is harmful and

abusive.

In contrast secularism with its so-called sexual liberation, well that's sold with the promise

of allowing people to be free and happy.

Secular thinkers vowed to bring about human progress and flourishing.

The 20th century, however, proved that these thinkers were not able to deliver the goods at least on

a civilizational level.

All of the promises they made about civilizational progress,

at least, had clearly failed.

In response, in the middle of the 20th century,

postmodern thinkers like Foucault and Dareda

announced the death of secularism's utopian dreams but kind of held out hope

...