Posted on 07/03/2012 4:26:09 AM PDT by 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.”
(Excerpt) Read more at usnews.msnbc.msn.com ...
What I have seen in discussions between youth and pastors is this: Many teens today have been persuaded that the most awful thing you could possibly do is to judge, to not respect the opinions and freedoms of others. For them, this has become the only sin. So there is no morality there, because you don’t dare presume to judge or to ask anyone to restrain themselves in any way. So right there, it is pointless even to have any kind of religion or Christianity, unless it fits in with this “mush culture” they have all been spoon fed. They have been deprived of any moral compass. And when someone tries to give them one, they have been taught that its all wrong.
“So there is no morality there”
Whose fault is that?
My church is far from perfect but I know there are some damn fine kids there. Yes our church has all the modern conveniences like inside bathrooms, music, electricity and so forth. So far its the adults who take the time to teach the kids that have made the difference.
You mean like that whole premarital sex thing a few decades ago was supposed to do?
TBH, what rustles our jimmies and aggravates us is what our parents and grandparents did to this country and what we are going to inherit i.e. debt and high taxes and more government in our lives(less freedom), loss of jobs etc. This is the area we are conservative in. My gf is in the medical field....and works with many gays..does not bother her but Obamacare sure does. Might sound selfish but we are the ones that is going to pay for this financially not most of you. You guys had the gravy train...... We are ticked off we will probably never get SS (Though paying into it-my gf has a 6 figure income and I'm close) and we will not be able to retire at the age most of you have.
Face it, the gay issue has been lost and if conservatives keep pushing this the Republican party and conservative movement is lost with the younger generation. No, we are not necessarily agreeing with gays and condoning it..just that we think there are way more important issues to worry about.
This anti gay push is a major turn off to younger people as we think there are way more important issues out there. I'll probably be flamed over this but just giving the facts.
Yes, that is exactly what’s needed. I was basically framing it from the general public purview of youth within public schools and the prevailing mentality - in an attempt to show why the polls may read as they do. Of course there are still good adults teaching fine kids.
I don’t know how to begin to respond to this. You cannot seriously claim that if all can be well financially and fiscally ( and I do not blame youth one bit for their anger and their cynicism) then the social and moral fabric does not matter?
(It sounds like distraction which has been hoisted on your generation, I know. I am nothing if not sympathetic on that score. )
The GOP actually has strong incentive and a real advantage over this SSM issue, but choose to throw it away.
Public schools are the church of secularism.
This is not about politics, but about God’s Truth. His Truth, is unchanging. Politics will always be there. Each generation will have their own bad things to deal with. That has always been, and always will be until Christ returns. The only true peace, the only way to truly not to worry about whatever the current issue is to be set free by Christ Jesus.
The gravy train, as you call it, is not being able to retire at a certain age, or having a nice income. Instead, it is about a peace in your heart and your soul and your mind that is a sure constant, no matter what the economics or politics of the day. Standing for God’s Truth and proclaiming it IS the most important issues. All other issues will fade away, but the Word of the Lord stands forever.
This is not about politics, but about God’s Truth. His Truth, is unchanging. Politics will always be there. Each generation will have their own bad things to deal with. That has always been, and always will be until Christ returns. The only true peace, the only way to truly not to worry about whatever the current issue is to be set free by Christ Jesus.
The gravy train, as you call it, is not being able to retire at a certain age, or having a nice income. Instead, it is about a peace in your heart and your soul and your mind that is a sure constant, no matter what the economics or politics of the day. Standing for God’s Truth and proclaiming it IS the most important issues. All other issues will fade away, but the Word of the Lord stands forever.
MSNBC using the propaganda goebles words of “equality” instead of the accurate homosexual based marriage.
There is no equal to an unequivalent act.
this is just the homosexuals of msnbc wishful thinking.
I agree adults have done a poor job for decades. The war with sin is never lost. More people just need to say what they think and quit being so PC.
Gay marriage isn’t about marriage, its about bringing down our culture. When you phrase it in those terms, and show its connection to the bigger picture I’ve found that younger people pay more attention.
Yes, “equal marriage” was a clever choice of words over “same sex marriage”.
isn’t this the rev. lefty Wallis group?
these are probably one homosexual in an executive space (or deleware po box) with just a fancy name for BS goebling.
It is important we have a Biblical understanding of love, NOT a worldly understanding.
The only ones that truly loved me were the ones that took the time to correct me and set me on the right path. It didn't look like love at the time but it was the HIGHEST expression of it.
There is a big element of truth in the word love and it offends the world greatly.
—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.”—
I confess that since I moved to a dry county in Kentucky and go to a baptist church I have some challenges there. I’m a student of prohibition and what a travesty it was. Its impact is still being felt all over the country. In fact, where I live, it gave rise to the Cornbread Mafia. Look it up.
So my pastor, whom I know fairly well now, speaks of the sale of liquor as though Jesus himself condemned it and it is proof of how the country is falling away. Meanwhile, what he doesn’t know is that I’m joining in our town to make the town wet. I need to share that with him.
But this homosexual thing needs to be treated like all sins. I often will tell homosexuals that I treat HOMOSEXUAL BEHAVIOR like any other sexual sin. i.e. it is a SIN and nothing to be proud of. And homosexual marriage is an oxymoron. Literally.
People who are looking for a reason not to attend church are going to find it.
If you love the fags so much then take your young, liberal self elsewhere. You are obviously more liberal than you realize.
LOL, when I was your age, I knew it all, too.
How is that different from any other sin?
I had friends in college who were shoplifters.
I have friends today who are adulterers.
I have friends who are liars.
Still sin.
Still friends.
I’m still a Christian.
Exactly, I don't understand how young Christians can't reason that they don't need to leave the Church because they have friends who engage in sex outside of marriage, pornography (and let's not go into how the men of the Church struggle with that), and profanity and can't include homosexuals in that. It seems as if they've been brainwashed into thinking that this is the one thing that isn't OK to list as a sin.
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