Could gay marriage debate drive young Christians from church?

MSNBC ^ | July 3 2012 | Becky Bratu

[scottjewell]

As the battle over gay marriage heats up in this election year, one evangelical Christian writer is calling for a truce, fearing that the outspoken opposition to gay marriage among some church leaders could alienate an entire generation of religious youth. . . . A 2011 survey by the Public Religion Research Institute shows the generation gap between young Christians and their elders is large, with 44 percent of white evangelicals aged 18-29 in support of marriage equality compared to only 12 percent of those 65 and older. According to the same survey, nearly 70 percent of young Christians also agree that religious groups are alienating young people by being too judgmental about gay and lesbian issues. “For young Christians, having gay and lesbian friends is just a part of our life,” Held Evans said. “It’s just really hard for us to see them as mere issues to debate, because we’re talking about our friends here.”

[scottjewell]

"To Held Evans, American churches’ attitude toward gay rights will play an important role in the retention of young Christians. In an article she wrote following North Carolina’s recent vote to ban gay marriage, Held Evans points to data mentioned in David Kinnaman’s book You Lost Me, which shows that 59 percent of teens who were raised Christian abandon the church when they become adults. One of the main reasons, the article says, is the church’s attitude toward gay rights." __________________________________ What they fail to mention is that public school indoctrination and media hype have heavily influenced this stance on less than 2 % of the population. This has not been a natural evolution, but a forced one. It has happened alongside a feminist and divorce agenda as well.

[cuban leaf]

I don’t think an anti gay marriage stance would drive young Christians from the church, but it may drive young “church attenders” away.

I’ve been noticing, for the last 20-30 years, that more and more people are getting off the fence and taking a stand for one side or the other. I wondered why prophesy seems to speak of both a great falling away as well as revival in the end times. There may be fewer church attendees, but more of them will be “real” Christians and not cultural ones or people “hedging their bets” regarding the “turn or burn” message.

[Westbrook]

1st John 2:19
They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.

Romans 1

24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:

25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:

27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.

These are NEW TESTAMENT passages.

[NavVet]

Bingo. It may really thin the ranks weeding out people who like to be seen going to church as opposed to actually following the teachings of Christ.

[L,TOWM]

Many churches have done a really bad job of defining Christ’s central message “I love you enough to die for you and nothing you do or can do will stop me loving you.” If we truly follow Jesus, we despise the sin, but love the sinner. When it comes to the whole spectrum of homo behavior, we have stated our positions poorly on the despising the sin side and not really even whispered that we love those that are broken in that way. There is enough condemnation to go around in the secular world without the church getting involved. There is also truly little love being showed from people that are commanded to love EVERYONE, especially their ‘enemies’.

Here’s another thing - it is definitely not helping that condemnation of homo marriage comes from churches with a significant number of their male members having their own issues with porn. Jesus was not lying when he told us to deal with the log in our own eye before dealing with the speck in the eye of our brother. Matthew 5:28 sets a pretty high bar and most men fall short.

Personally, I avoid wasting my time hanging out with a bunch of hypocrites or those that ignore passages in God’s Word, so I cannot blame the youth for leaving churches.

[scottjewell]

Excellent observation.

[Prospero]

"Whoever wants to know what the serious objections to Christianity are should ask us. The unbeliever makes only stupid objections." (#2,017)

"An irreligious society cannot endure the truth of the human condition. It prefers a lie, no matter how idiotic it may be." (#1,139)>

- Don Colacho

[scottjewell]

“Here’s another thing - it is definitely not helping that condemnation of homo marriage comes from churches with a significant number of their male members having their own issues with porn. Jesus was not lying when he told us to deal with the log in our own eye before dealing with the speck in the eye of our brother. Matthew 5:28 sets a pretty high bar and most men fall short.”
______________________________________

I agree; things like porn and adultery, not to mention high divorce rate, make “Christians” feel they cannot afford to judge, or it is safer not to judge ....

[AppyPappy]

Sheep and the goats

[scottjewell]

Thanks for these aphorisms; they are badly needed.

[Cowboy Bob]

Where would the Homosexuals be today if it weren’t for us “breeders” who, (by being forced by Government), gave billions of dollars (through taxes) to fund research to find a cure for AIDS - so that the Homosexuals may continue with their deviant lifestyle...

[TxAg1981]

I don't understand the fear of "losing a generation" because you lied to them. The "mainline" protestant churches, Episcopal, Presbyterian, Methodist, etc. have been trying to become more "culturally relevant" for decades.
As a result of those efforts, their numbers continue to dwindle. Deep inside people is a desire for TRUTH, raw unadulterated TRUTH. All of the efforts to be culturally relevant are seen as just another lie.

The Church is not a numbers game, where the goal is to increase the number of butts in the pews. The Church should be about the business of speaking the TRUTH and LIGHT into darkness.

[scottjewell]

True indeed.

[Doogle]

typically the wrong question from the libtard media.....a backhanded swipe to question your faith

[scottjewell]

Right you are: The “numbers game” seemed to begin in the 1970s, wherein many churches began to try and work feminism and all sorts of nonsense into their teachings, knowing that the “truth and light” would cost them numbers. Had they focused on the truth rather than numbers, they would have succeeded in creating a minority, but a sizeable and significant one, which would have constituted a robust realm of dissent from the general culture. Instead, we have a mess. One hardly knows what it means to be “Christian” anymore: Some churches support gay marriage and just about anything that comes their way.

[WellyP]

Who the Hell wants to go anywhere that you can be subjected to “David and Barry” or “Lizzy and Letty” rubbing shoulders and holding hands?

[tbpiper]

From te article: "Even young Christians who think that gay relationships are not God’s design, a lot of them will still say ‘but I think it should be legal for gay people to get married, because this is America,’

From the bible: Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin condemns any people Proverbs 14:34 NIV

These young Christians really have no idea about the Christian foundations of this country.

[buck61]

70 percent of young Christians also agree that religious groups are alienating young people by being too judgmental about gay and lesbian issues

70% young Christians aren’t Christians if they hold that homosexuality is ok.

[scottjewell]

Yes, and they have underestimated how much the agenda in the public schools and the whole indoctrination by the media have increased confusion and have caused this moral mush culture.

[Adder]

fearing that the outspoken opposition to gay marriage among some church leaders could alienate an entire generation of religious youth. . .

Seems like the elders didn’t teach the youngsters very well. The yoots can’t be too religious if they do not heed the lesson of Sodom and Gamorrah.