Posted on 08/03/2013 7:10:24 AM PDT by ReformationFan
Christianity is not just about being happy and feeling good and being liked by others
What’s at the root of this movement to back away from moral issues? Here’s what I think is the problem. When you advocate for moral causes like protecting the unborn, or school choice, or freeing the slaves, a bunch of people are not going to like you. Christians in the time of Jesus knew that being bold about their Christian convictions would make a lot of people think bad things about them – they expected it. But young evangelicals have gotten the idea that being a Christian should not involve any sort of unhappiness and unpopularity. They wouldn’t have learned this from the Bible, because the Bible emphasizes suffering and unpopularity as part of the normal Christian life. It is their experience of church (and the hedonistic culture around them) that is likely to reinforce that view.
What young evangelicals learn in many churches is that religion is something that is centered on the Bible and the church building – it is not something that flows into real life. They learn that you can’t find out anything about God from the Big Bang, the DNA, the fossil record, or even from the peer-reviewed research on abortion, divorce, or gay marriage. They learn from the Bible that helping the poor is good, but then they never pick up an economic textbook to see which economic system really helps the poor. What you learn about in church is that religion is private and has no connection to reality whatsoever. This fits in with their view that Christianity should make them happy, because they’ve learned that it doesn’t involve any studying to connect the Bible to the real world.
(Excerpt) Read more at theaquilareport.com ...
The headline contains the answer: They’re young.
Prefrontal Cortex insufficiently developed
If God is the Author both of Scripture and of Nature --- and above all, human nature -- then there must be truth embedded IN US which shows that God's Law is real, infinitely good, and valid for everybody.
That requires more than a wave of the hand and a "Tell it, Sistuh." It requires the hard work of thinking natural things all the way through, to where they open (by God's grace) onto the possibility of contact with the Presence of God.
I agree, good article.
bookmark
Because what is important to them is how mega their church is and the operating hours of the Starbucks in its basement.
Amen and Amen!
[Why Do Younger Evangelicals Put Happiness and Popularity Over Morality and Truth?]
Because that is what the ADULTS in their society did.
Because our President puts Happiness and Popularity over Morality and Truth.
Because every form of media communication they use puts Happiness and Popularity over Morality and Truth.
Because every commercial sells Happiness and Popularity at the cost of Morality and Truth.
Because every movie and TV show they watch puts Happiness and Popularity over Morality and Truth.
Temptations?
Plain and simple it’s the choice of God’s commandments vs sin, heaven vs hell, Jesus vs Satan . . . . for EVERYONE!
They learn by watching their elders. This is not a NEW problem.
I agree - because they’re young, and because they live in a society where about the worst thing that’s happened to them is being told “No” by their parents, not making a team, or not being invited to a cool party. This is generally true for young people whether they’ve been well-taught as Christians or not.
Eventually, life will kick them in the teeth, and then they’ll either seize hold of faith, morality, and truth ... or they won’t. But if they don’t the first time, God will keep giving them opportunities, right up to their last breath.
(Tax-chick, who got kicked in the teeth *and* whomped upside the head with a brick.)
The young? Lots of oldsters do too.
tv
They learn by watching period! Elders, siblings, teachers, media figures, etc. etc. etc.
Everyone should ask the questions? “Who is watching me? Who is being influenced by my actions good or bad.”
You just never know, sometimes until many years later, the lives you have impacted.
Thank you for posting this. It is becoming more and more evident that demanding that religion be relegated to the private sphere is one of the tactics in the culture wars. Christians should not be aiding the enemy in this.
It must be emphasized that being Christian is not like wearing a cloak that we take on and off; it is who we are and our world view and interactions with the world are formed by it. It means being a servant of the Truth, even to the risk of our lives-let alone to our popularity.
Christians should carry the sacred within them wherever they go. It is a challenge in a profane culture that props up so many idols. Our certain hope in Christ must never be forgotten.
I am Catholic and I know what happens when people profess a loyalty to a faith out of cultural or habitual comfort. They end up doing their best to twist it to meet the values of the world in order to be relevant. Don’t let that happen to these young Evangelicals. Fight for them. Remind them always of the Cross and why they believe. Remind them that Christ is the Truth that all other truths must be measured against. If it does not conform to Him, even if it may be factual, we must accept that it is not true.
Ours may be the last generation in this country to remember what religious freedom really meant. We must not make it easier for those who want that freedom to end.
Instant gratification.
Lack of parental supervision and guidance on these matters. We can’t leave it all up to the ministers and the priests.
In fact, it should be required reading for all young men and women.
And...Remember. Nearly every teacher in this nation from pre-K through graduate school was trained by godless Marxists in godless Marxist run schools.
Could **that** possibly be the reason that the rest of the culture that you listed is so rotten?
By the way, Christians and conservatives are **STONE COLD OBLIVIOUS*** to the danger the above poses to the eternal souls of their children and to this nation. I doubt God will save this nation when even Christians and conservatives do this to their children and allow this EVIL to continue.
This is **exactly** what happens when children attend godless K-12 schooling ( private or government). They learn that their faith is something that is checked in at the door of their public life. Children in godless schooling will learn to think and reason godlessly. They must just to cooperate in the godless classroom. How could it be otherwise?
Well, most young evangelicals interpret what their pastor is telling them as “our flavor of ice cream” or “our cultural preference”. They don’t link Christianity to the real world, they don’t think that it’s true for everyone.
I wonder. How many spouses of ministers work in the godless government schools? How many ministers are afraid to bite the hand putting money in the collection plate? In my county, godless government schooling is the largest single employer, with the largest payroll. Then there are all the vendors to the godless schools and their employees. No other industry in our county comes even close.
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