I'm a high school teacher, and I think this is partially true and partially untrue.
There is, of course, the constant young person striving for identity and figuring one's self out, and I agree that things like social media have accelerated this. I also think that individualism, especially as driven by American Capitalism and branding, has become its own faith.
Where I disagree is that kids are doing this just to be different or primarily to be non-conformist; kids still respond to peer pressure and judgment and many kids do not try to push back. Many who do are taking advantage of a new, more permissive environment to assert themselves in ways they wouldn't before - like gender and sexuality. These things were always present, but are easier to bring forward now.
The issue, as I see it, for the Church is that especially in America many Evangelical Churches are part of this hyper individualism, which ironically makes them really tough on these kinds of kids because the hyper-individualism enables a open and withering disdain towards those on the margins.
Furthermore, since the Church itself should be a locus of community, connection, and healing, it should actually welcome these kids feeling disconnected by individualism; however, the decommunalized "personal savior" style of Christianity rampant in America cuts this approach off too.
You hit the nail Dr. Bird. The gospel of the crucified and risen Jesus provides identity and meaning, a sense of belonging to something extraordinary and bigger than life itself, to be part of an infinite plan that extends beyond the wildest imagination, and participation in a life changing hope for the future.
When I read Mark, for instance, I picture the original readers facing difficult political times, an amalgam of religious beliefs and philosophical ideas, social justice issues affecting the poor, the sick, and foreigners. The gospel that provided a radical answer to the ancients is the same gospel that provides a radical answer today because humans may have changed the way they do things, but those things are the same and human nature remains intact and unaffected by time.
You really have me thinking!! Maybe there is a tie-in with the fact that Jesus was considered a radical in his time. He was revolutionary in part. He was outside the norm and the traditionalists of his day.
I'm a high school teacher, and I think this is partially true and partially untrue.
There is, of course, the constant young person striving for identity and figuring one's self out, and I agree that things like social media have accelerated this. I also think that individualism, especially as driven by American Capitalism and branding, has become its own faith.
Where I disagree is that kids are doing this just to be different or primarily to be non-conformist; kids still respond to peer pressure and judgment and many kids do not try to push back. Many who do are taking advantage of a new, more permissive environment to assert themselves in ways they wouldn't before - like gender and sexuality. These things were always present, but are easier to bring forward now.
The issue, as I see it, for the Church is that especially in America many Evangelical Churches are part of this hyper individualism, which ironically makes them really tough on these kinds of kids because the hyper-individualism enables a open and withering disdain towards those on the margins.
Furthermore, since the Church itself should be a locus of community, connection, and healing, it should actually welcome these kids feeling disconnected by individualism; however, the decommunalized "personal savior" style of Christianity rampant in America cuts this approach off too.
Thanks for sharing Luke, that's very interesting. The mixture of endless possibilities and peer pressure is a curious mix of forces.
Great insight Luke. Thanks.
You hit the nail Dr. Bird. The gospel of the crucified and risen Jesus provides identity and meaning, a sense of belonging to something extraordinary and bigger than life itself, to be part of an infinite plan that extends beyond the wildest imagination, and participation in a life changing hope for the future.
When I read Mark, for instance, I picture the original readers facing difficult political times, an amalgam of religious beliefs and philosophical ideas, social justice issues affecting the poor, the sick, and foreigners. The gospel that provided a radical answer to the ancients is the same gospel that provides a radical answer today because humans may have changed the way they do things, but those things are the same and human nature remains intact and unaffected by time.
You really have me thinking!! Maybe there is a tie-in with the fact that Jesus was considered a radical in his time. He was revolutionary in part. He was outside the norm and the traditionalists of his day.