I came of age
during the tumultuous sixties. The Vietnam War began in the middle of that
decade. Prior to this, America was immersed in a promising rise in economic
power. The middle class’s growth was the engine that powered the American
economy after decades of depression and wartime economies.
Along the way,
America seemed to lose its soul. Social protests marked the latter end of the
sixties and became a cultural undercurrent against racial injustice,
materialism, and a war far from home. This undercurrent created a spiritual
vacuum, and nature abhors a vacuum. It was quickly filled with a myriad of
philosophies, religious movements, and lifestyles. The range was staggering—eastern
religions and philosophies, a resurgence in witchcraft, experimentation with
illicit drugs, communes, and along came the Jesus Movement that challenged the
traditions and status quo of Christianity.
