Why does Minnesota seem particularly Crazy?

Why does Minnesota seem particularly Crazy?

There is a great paradox which exists today:

1. Minnesota has a very strong spiritual presence, with stronger "Religious Freedom" protections then any other state in the union, more thn the US constitution.

2. Minnesota is similtanteously a bastion of governmental tyrrany, wicked laws, and corruption.

Minnesota has become crazy.

As a native Minnesotan, I have wrestled with this and while there are certainly more contributing factors, I would posit that this cannot be examined without understanding the types of Churchs' of which our state's majority immigrants brought from the Europe.

Minnesota was not populated by the British, nor Southern or central Europe, but by immigrants from northern Scandanavia .

Therfore, Minnesota is dominated by Scandanavian Lutheran churches, Ev. Free, Covenant and General Baptists (Converge). There are roughly a dozen small Reformed Presbyterian congregataions (PCA/OPC), and, at one time recently, Minnesota had the smallest foothold of Southern Baptist Churches in the US.

The Defining mark of these Scandanavian churches, both mainline and evangelical, was and is Pietism.

"Scandinavian Pietism was a spiritual revival movement within Lutheranism, spreading from Germany, that emphasized a heartfelt, personal faith and holy living over mere ritual, focusing on individual conversion, Bible study, small prayer groups (conventicles), and practical Christian service, deeply influencing Nordic churches and leading to new denominations and broader Protestant movements like Pentecostalism"

What this means is that the Minnesota church culture is dominated by a personal, yet not necessarily public expression of religion, a individual yet not very authoritarian church structure, and private but not necessarily political view of Christianity.

As a result, Minnesota is known by "Minnesota Nice," which is the encapsulation of the fruit of pietism: Be Nice to others, but not offensive. Deeds, not creeds was a popular slogan. Congrgational church government is on steroids here, thus church switching is pandemic, even expected. Pastor's get run out easily.

At one time, we had the highest population of "mega church's" in the US, which is a result of the pietistic movement, which emphasis a high committment to Jesus, but low committment to church membership. Church growth technicques are adopted and promoted with almost no hedge of discernment. Minnesotan's react against church authority and God's law, particularily at the altar of personal autonomy. "Judge Not" is on steroids.

Ok, but how does it bring us to today? What happens when the Pietistic worldview is forced to contront CRT, Feminism, Marxism, Totalitarianism, LGBT, etc? Because of the private and personal-only emphasis, Pietism tends to be paralyzed by fear and false guilt that to stand against these things would feel "unkind" and "unloving?" The Pietism, unmortified, leads to easy guilt manipulation and "peace faking" in relationships, and worse, It has no framework against Liberalism and bows to it in the fear of man.

Governor Walz is a proud member of his Lutheran (ELCA) church. The mainline pietistic church's, under the banner of "kindness and compassion," have been the driving force and provided "spiritual authority" to much of our recent "foreign invation" through their NGO/Social service wings.

During 2020, despite being a religious state and having a heritage of unrivaled religious legal freedom, the pietistic-dominant churches and demoninations (particularily the "reformed and evangelical," with tragically rare exceptions) were the leaders in shutting down, spiritualizing the jab, and taking government money. None of the demoninations leaders or mega-church pastors seemed to stand up against the woke invasion nor the injustice of the 2020 riots, they spiritualized it. They became complicit.

Minnesotans still claim to love Jesus, but which Jesus? The therapist Jesus, the chaplain Jesus, the social justice Jesus, the non-jugemental Jesus are very popular and even dominant. What is rare is allegance to the Jesus who is the Savior and Judge, the creator and authority over all aspects of our lives. The Jesus, who not merely affirms us, but demands that we repent to him to enter his Kingdom.

Where does this leave us: With a ton of guilt. Real guilt over a failure to act by faith and suseptible to the false guilt of being called racist, anti-immigrant, or the like. Of course, there is hope, but it will not come without wholescale repentance unto the Gospel, and a committment to God's law under the Lordship of Christ over more than our hearts, but our hands, our work, our church's, and our government.