Posted on 07/09/2004 10:05:34 AM PDT by maryz
When I'm teaching Sunday school, I'm encouraged by what I hear from the teenagers at my evangelical Christian church in suburban Detroit. They seem to understand--and, more important, to believe--the bedrock tenets that will help them hew to orthodoxy throughout their lives and make them salt and light in the world.
But the hard numbers say otherwise. It turns out that, while they may profess the faith and indeed love Jesus, the vast majority of Christian teenagers in this country actually hold beliefs fundamentally antithetical to the creed. The forces of moral relativism and "tolerance" have gotten to them in a big way. In fact, some leaders believe that mushy doctrine among the younger generation ranks as the No. 1 crisis facing American Christendom today.
About one-third of American teenagers claim they're "born again" believers, according to data gathered over the past few years by Barna Research Group, the gold standard in data about the U.S. Protestant church, and 88% of teens say they are Christians. About 60% believe that "the Bible is totally accurate in all of its teachings." And 56% feel that their religious faith is very important in their life.
Yet, Barna says, slightly more than half of all U.S. teens also believe that Jesus committed sins while he was on earth. About 60% agree that enough good works will earn them a place in heaven, in part reflecting a Catholic view, but also flouting Protestantism's central theme of salvation only by grace. About two-thirds say that Satan is just a symbol of evil, not really a living being. Only 6% of all teens believe that there are moral absolutes--and, most troubling to evangelical leaders, only 9% of self-described born-again teens believe that moral truth is absolute.
(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...
You sound like an excellent teacher!
The article notes that Catholic youth are not exempt from the trends the author describes. He does say more about Protestant youth because he knows that area best.
I'm just some guy from the pews. They asked for volunteers and threw me in there. Considering what Scripture has to say about the responsibility of teachers, I REALLY don't want to be referred to as a teacher. Or a ' minister ' either.
I prefer 'oldest person in the group'.
INTREP - TEENAGERS
Ping
(related info - i.e. "Are our kids more holy than kids 15 years ago?")
From the newest translation (Lk 10:25-37),
There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test him and said, "Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" He said to him, "What!!! You ask about DOING WORKS??? Don't you do nothing, by grace alone ye shall be saved, remember what master Luther sayeth: sola gratia and sola scriptura. Bye-bye now. Next!"
I heard Rush yesterday going on about an exactly opposite article from this one and I was gonna look for it and ping you to it I'll look when I get home I'm on dial up at my Moms right now and I despise searching on a dial up.
The 70's are over... - Darn! It might be bad news to the crowds of "experts" on the youth; they will have to update.
That's one loose translation!
According to the Council of Trent, a Catholic who espouses that so-called "Catholic view" is a state of material heresy:
"If anyone says that, without divine grace through Jesus Christ, man can be justified before God by his own works, whether they were done by his natural powers or by the light of the teaching of the [Mosaic] Law, let him be anathema" -- Decree on Justification, Canon #1, 13 January 1547.
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