On Sep 20, 2009, at 11:53 AM, Michael McIntyre wrote:
> Well, there can be a minimalist aesthetic. Think Shaker furniture.
> And don't forget that part of the Protestant austerity was
> egalitarian. The absence of an altar literally puts minister and
> congregation on the same level. But, most importantly of all, you're
> omitting Protestantism's musical side. Luther wrote hymns. Bach was
> a Lutheran.
I said *American* Protestantism. Neither Luther nor Bach qualifies (though Bach drew some on the Latin liturgy, e.g., The B Minor Mass).
But big chunks of the American Proddie tradition are anti-aesthetic and anti-intellectual. Sarah Palin didn't come out of nowhere.