Are Christian Young People Dumber Than Their Secular Peers?

I don’t think so. If they are, I suspect it is not that they lack intelligence, rather they are left without answers, even meaningful dialogue, from their parents and the adults in their lives, including pastors and youth leaders. I personally don’t believe they are dumb or ignorant, perhaps just uninformed, or ignored.

A problem I see is too many adults in their lives seem to discourage the asking of questions. I call this laziness and/or apathy. It’s the “I don’t have time for this, just believe because I said so,” or, “ask the pastor” approach. Imagine, parents discouraging questions, you know, the ones who ask, “when will you be home?” “Who were you with?” “Will his/her parents be home?” and so forth.

I must inject, if a question is important enough to ask, doesn’t it mean the subject matter is important to the questioner? If the questioner is important to you, shouldn’t the subject matter likewise be important to you?

So why, when your child has a question about God, the church, politics, etc., do you not gladly say, “Great question! Have a seat and let’s talk about it.” Do you see where I’m going with this? If it’s important to them, it should be important to you. If it’s important to you, you will want to talk about it.

Another argument that I hear frequently that drives me crazy is, “my/our young people don’t understand …” Listen people, they understand a lot more than we realize. They are asking questions, at least most of them. I think the problem is more, who do they feel comfortable talking too. As a parent, who do you want teaching your child? As a Christian parent, this is an even more meaningful question. I promise you, if you are not willing to engage with your child and encourage discussion, the secular world is waiting to zap any belief in God out of them!

If you asked your boss a question about your job and they blew you off by saying, “Just do it because I told you too,” how would you feel? Chances are, you’ve experienced this, I have. What do we do? A good employee will do it, as long as it’s not illegal, unethical, or against company policy but they will most likely not be passionate about their work. I had a boss tell me once, “Just do it and if you still have a question, ask me later.” I understand that sometimes there simply isn’t time to address questions but it made me feel irrelevant. He had time, he just didn’t want to address my question.

So if parents and those in the church aren’t addressing the questions of our youth, who is?

Well, there’s good news and bad news…                                                                            The bad news is: teachers, professors, friends, various news agencies, and people on the internet that do not share your views. Even if your young person isn’t really asking a lot of questions, they are being influenced by those who are willing to take the time to push their agenda and influence them. Just like with adults, time equals caring.

The good news: there are parents and those who work in the church willing to have meaningful conversations but I see less of them every year. Millions of young people, whether brought up in a religious home or those who come from secular homes, are looking for answers. Many groups have been popping up over the last few years and do a remarkable job of giving facts to some of the hardest questions young people are asking. Ravi Zacharias, of RZIM, speaks at colleges around the world. Both Christians and non-Christians alike flock to hear him speak and ask their questions. There are many apologists, like Zacharias, that speak at colleges and youth groups around the world.

Dennis Prager, while not a Christian apologist, also speaks at colleges and any other platform available to address political concerns. Millions of young people watch his youtube videos and attend his speaking engagements. Candace Owens and Charlie Kirk also speak and answer questions concerning politics from a conservative point of view. There are many more, too many to list here.      

The following is from an email I received from PragerU and starts with a quote from the New York Times:

    

As you know, the left has seized the media, Hollywood, and public education, but PragerU is reaching teens and college students right where they are — online.
“Last year PragerU videos racked up more than one billion views. The Prager empire now has a fleet of 6,500 high school and college student promoters, known as the PragerForce, who host on-campus meetings and gather at least once a year for conventions. And this year, the company is expanding its scope.” - New York Times                                                                                             Even the largest media outlets cannot ignore the impact of PragerU!

PragerU is effectively reaching millions of young people every day. Our videos are an antidote to the left-wing narrative that has been dominating the culture. Teens and college students across the country are embracing American values and sharing these ideas with their peers. Our subscribers and our supporter base are growing exponentially.

Do you still believe young people aren’t talking and asking questions? I’m not exactly a teen, in fact, my kids are no longer teens either, but I love watching PragerU videos. They are about five minutes long and host a wide variety of speakers on topics relevant to today.

While these organizations are doing a wonderful job, there are those who wish to silence them. The ACLU, Southern Poverty Law Center, and others are relentless, and I fear one day they will succeed in crushing free speech once and for all.

I cannot express strongly enough how important this is. Parents, grand-parents, aunts, uncles, pastors, youth pastors, whoever is reading this, please, I beg you, get informed and stay informed. This generation and those that follow will be voting, running for office, and making decisions that impact the road we are to travel. Do you really want to leave it up to the left to shape our future?

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What Is Going On?

On December 20, 2019, Todd Starnes had Franklin Graham on his radio program addressing an article in Christianity Today, a magazine his father, Billy Graham, started. In the article, Mark Galli argued that President Trump should be removed from office and invoked Billy Graham’s name, as if to legitimize his claim. Franklin addressed this article on Starnes’ program with the assertion that Christianity Today has become a leftist magazine and that his father would not approve. He further stated that while he has never spoken publicly about how his father voted, he felt compelled to share that his father knew President Trump and had indeed voted for him.

Franklin Graham: Christianity Today is Leftist Magazine

https://www.toddstarnes.com/show/franklin-graham-christianity-today-is-leftist-magazine/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social-pug&fbclid=IwAR2EQWhO-BnREhLqgrQGa867YcXMJwy8VipsU-Jeaf_QbveQzxOS70wltQo

Trump Should Be Removed From Office

https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2019/december-web-only/trump-should-be-removed-from-office.html

My argument here is not to be political. It is about those who claim to be Christian but their words and actions do not align with truth.  

Why are so many abandoning conservative Christianity and looking more like the world? I believe the answer can be found in 2 Thessalonians, chapter 2. Here, Paul talks about the man of lawlessness and people being deceived. Satan has always tried to covertly usurp God’s authority. In the Garden of Eden, the serpent, that is the devil, asked Eve, “Did God really say…?” (Genesis 3:1). He tried to twist God’s Word and he succeeded, leading to the fall of man.    

Jesus also talked at length about those who appear to be saved but are not, causing dissention in the church (Matthew chapters 7:15,13:1-43; Acts 20:29). He warned His followers that there would be those who would mislead, or attempt to mislead, His people.  

What can we do?

Pray and study God’s Word daily. Don’t just read a few verses, a chapter, or a daily devotional. Study God’s Word for yourself. It’s okay to use resources that help explain God’s truth but pray and allow the Holy Spirit to guide you.  

I pray for each of you as you seek to know the truth. Do not grow weary but pray for strength and guidance and He will make Himself and the truth known to you.

God bless~

EVIL

Continued thought on the subject…

What is the definition of Evil?

According to Mirriam-Webster.com, Evil is, “morally reprehensible : sinful, wicked.”

Wikipedia.org states that evil, “in a general sense, is the opposite or absence of good.”

As a rule, I generally agree with Mirriam-Webster, but in this case, the definition given above (there are more as well) lacks a foundation. One might ask, who or what determines what is morally reprehensible, sinful or wicked? In this case, Wikipedia, not generally a favorite source of mine, gets closer to the root.

My personal definition is: the lack of good, or better still, the lack of God. 

You see, apart from God, there is no such thing as good. God is the absolute standard by which we measure what is good or evil. Some would argue that society measures what is good, moral, or evil but one must ask, which society? In some societies, it is okay to eat your enemy while in others, this practice is highly frowned upon.

In the movie Nuremberg, a movie about the trial of Nazi war criminals after WWII, a Jewish psychologist, U.S. Army Capt. Gilbert, is brought in to ensure the accused are fit, mentally and physically, to stand trial. While talking to the prisoners, he tries to get into their minds to understand how they could do the atrocious things they were accused of, mainly torturing and murdering millions of Jews. At one point, he makes the statement, “Evil, I think, is the absence of empathy.”

While his assessment sounds good, I think it falls short. He fails to base his conclusion on a set standard and relies on personal feelings. Some of those accused felt empathy but they still carried out their orders, out of devotion or fear but that is irrelevant. This destroys the basis for his conclusion.

When I heard his conclusion, I went back and listened to it a couple of times. I knew it was lacking and immediately, the thought came to my mind, God is love. Then I began to think about passages in the Bible that support this claim.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” -John 3:16 (NKJV)

“But God demonstrates His love towards us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” -Romans 5:8 (NKJV)

A holy God, who created us and everything around us, who has the right to do anything according to His will, chose to take human form so that He could live a perfect life and then voluntarily suffer and die to pay for our sins, that’s love. Then He rose from the dead, conquering sin and death, giving us the hope of the resurrection, and now sits at the right hand of the Father, waiting to bring us into complete communion with Himself and the Father. It’s almost too good to be true.

God is the only answer to sin, evil, and suffering.

Friend, if you have not yet experienced the peace and joy of a relationship with Jesus Christ, why not make this decision today? Call upon Jesus and He will hear you, forgive you of your sins, and give you new life.

If you make this decision, I encourage you to get a bible and begin reading the Gospel of John. I promise, you will never regret it. Then find a church that teaches truth found in the Bible and continue to read it for yourself daily. Spend time each day praying, simply talking to the Lord.

Feel free to ask any questions in the reply section of this post and may God richly bless you~