The Mature Christian Response To Individualism Is To Be

from generation to generation while others are written and are still being taught to this day.

Individualism is often viewed as a positive trait in America, suggesting a certain level of personal confidence. American society tends to reward independent thinkers and those who decide autonomously. To this end, individuality has become a value in many American homes. Although individualism is widely received and respected in American culture, it is not as well respected in other cultures. One culture in particular which frowns on individualism is the Asian culture.

Going back to the definition of tradition, centuries later and specially today in the 21st century, tradition is no longer defined by just the Apostolic interpretation and the rule of faith. Today tradition includes, but is not limited to, conciliar statements, writings of church fathers, liturgy, iconography, and iconography. Some would argue that it is limited to that, and some even say that I provided a very broad definition of tradition. However, looking at the progression of tradition we can see that it

“Individualism is the idea that the individual’s life belongs to him and that he has an inalienable right to live as he sees fit, to act on his own judgement, to keep and use the product of his effort, and to pursue the causes of his choosing.” My take on individualism, is basically that we can control ourselves, we can do what we want with restrictions to keep those that stand by us safe. Individualism is a way of a society. Now, on the other hand there is collectivism, “the idea that the individual’s life belongs not to him but to the group or society of which he is merely a part of has no rights, and that he must sacrifice his values and goals for the group’s greater good.” My take on this is “idea” is that you are completely controlled when put under this way of society. Having read the book Anthem by Ayn Rand collectivism is for sure something that I would not want to be a part of.

Traditions are common part of culture and religion in the world today; almost everyone has a tradition that they follow. The traditions you practice can be new and only just have started with your generation or the generation before yours. The traditions could also have been old, spanning many generations before your generation and your parents’ generation. Some traditions could be small and last for a few generations; an example of this would be like a yearly family cookout. One would invite their families to their house or local park to have fun and eat. It could be something small

Tradition is the next aspect of the Quadrilateral. Wesley recognized that traditions that the biblical followers of God and Christ developed are of extreme importance and we should embrace, emulate and teach them to each of our generations. Traditions allow us to remember where we came from and the heritages that were developed and shaped us. Traditions like baptism and communion are examples of actionable traditions that keep us aware and focused on Christ and that He is alive in our hearts and minds. He also realized that man-inspired traditions make the Word of God ineffectual and we should not fall prey to recognizing them as having merit.

The Great Depression was coined as the Great Depression for a reason. When the stock market crashed in 1929, many factory workers lost their jobs, the economy suffered severe inflation of prices, and the usual commodities, such as food and shelter, became harder to obtain. Hunger, poverty, and unemployment ravaged the broken economy and forced many out of their homes and into slums and on the streets. People struggled just to survive even to the next day. In addition to the already difficult proletarian life of the working class, the ever expanding realm of factories and machines forced skilled workers to become obsolete. Fordism and the Industrial Age caused the average working man to be highly replaceable. For example, if a worker sustained an injury on the job, and was no longer able to work, he would be sacked and a new man would be hired on the same day. These conditions created a cycle of poverty, which was nearly impossible to escape. Another side effect of the growing technological advances was the dehumanizing effects of the machine on man. As the Great Depression drew on, millions of Americans were sent into poverty and left unemployed and hungry. Many actors and filmmakers took it upon themselves to address these conditions. Charlie Chaplin was one such icon whose silent film, Modern Times set during the Great Depression Era, criticize and the effect of machine on man and individualism during the Industrial Revolution, and the rampant poverty in the

Traditions, a colossal part of a culture, affects views by showing what you should believe in, what is right and wrong, who you

Christians do all their things under the guidance of the Ten Commandments that God gave to Moses on Mt. Sinai (Exodus 20:1-17). Here God gave Moses a stone tablet that contained how God wishes his people to live on earth. The following are the Ten Commandments:

Habits of The Heart create a vision of the middle class American life with all its good, bad, strengths and weaknesses. Its examines the conflict that exists between individuality and community in this country, as well as how these conflicts effect our ability to form relationships with others, whether it is in a public arena or our own intimate relationships with family and friends. The very word individualism means to look out for number one, it implies a me society that has lost it’s way from the way it use to be. The title “Habits Of The Heart” creates images of love, faith, hope and commitment to others, a sense of belonging to something larger than yourself. Does individualism really

As Catholics, we give full attention to what the Scriptures reveal to us, and to the “application” of these Scriptural truths and values to problems and challenges in our world. These “applications” are known as tradition.” We follow traditions to keep our newer generations in contact with the Lord, and not only the Lord, but to ourselves, our past, present, and future. IF we keep the tradition alive, then our spiritual concepts and teachings can never die out. A tradition is meant to live on, through us and our actions. The tradition must be passed down or handed down to others, just as the Greek meaning of the word tradition explains. The following of a tradition will help us to develop faith is something we cherish so dearly, such as our religious values. Following tradition will help to believe in our faith more and more and never let us give up on it. This is what will help those in their journeys to be a true Catholic, and then look forward to an eternity with God.

The first trait of individualism in my belief is nonconformity, to be different from what society does in a “normal” fashion, and being a man of yourself or holding your own ground. An example of nonconformity in American literature is from Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Self-Reliance” which he writes “Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist.” (PG. 208) This is a perfect example of how Ralph believes in nonconformity. This let’s me know that Ralph believes that a man must be loyal to himself and they should be

Understanding individuals, as being separate from their condition is crucial for effective ministry in the long run, without this distinction, we are likely to only scratch the surface without getting to the heart of incarnational ministry.

It is the collective knowledge of generations of Christians faithfully seeking through the Holy Spirit to participate in the transformational work of God. Tradition can include a variety of source including non-scriptural reading from pastors and theologians, interpretations of scripture, and the practice of the people of faith who have gone before and engaged in this same theological task. This is not to say that tradition cannot be wrong or never changed but that we can ask why things have been done in a certain way. We say that tradition illumines Christ because it shines a light through scripture by the understandings of the past that we continue to carry with us now.

Individualistic cultures tend to favor feeling free and less responsible for the members around them. In class, we discussed our own experiences of living in an individualistic culture. For example, if a parent were to become ill and more dependent, it is not uncommon for the children to send the parent to a nursing home. The ill parent would feel embarrassed if their child had to help them use a restroom or bathe themselves.Whereas, in a collectivism