What has happened to our youth? (Part 1)

(From the Garfield Christmas special. Garfield dreamt that he was given a special Santa chair that would give him whatever his heart desired.)

A number of studies have come out from reputable sociologists over the past couple of years that have shown the vast ignorance of young Christians in identifying even their basic beliefs. Based on statistics gathered by Christian Smith, the Barna Group, and others, it would seem that the majority of youth who grow up in Christian households deny the deity of Christ, the existence of the Holy Spirit, and the need to believe in Christ for salvation.

Christian Smith, a sociologist at Notre Dame, coined the now popular phrase "moralistic therapeutic deism" in describing the religion of most youth who grew up in Christian homes. Here's what that phrase means:

Deism: The belief in a God who is detached from the world He created. This view was quite popular among America's founders. The most popular illustration of this belief is that of the "divine watchmaker"--God as one who sets the world in motion (winds the clock), and then leaves it to its own devices.

Therapeutic: The belief that the goal of religion is to make you happy. It is a means to an end--your pleasure. This belief basically equates God with Santa or a genie--here to grant your wishes.

Moralistic: The belief that the most important thing is to be a good person. If, on balance, you're a good person (as you define good, which tends to favor you much more than others), you will earn your rightful place in Heaven.

You put all of this together, and this is what many of our youth (apparently) believe: There is a God who is relatively detached from our lives, but wants us to be happy and nice.

This new religion (which is really not new at all--it is what man believes at his very core absent a heart change) is most striking in that it is not a mere variant of the Christianity that many of these young people still claim to believe--it is the absolute antithesis of biblical Christianity.

The Bible, which is the only authority for what man is to believe concerning God and the duties God requires of man, shows us a God who not only created the world, but reigns over it at all times in His providence. He is not simply the divine watchmaker.

It shows us that the chief end of man is not happiness, but to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. In other words, He is not the genie, here to grant your wishes.

It shows us through direct teaching and example that "there are none who are righteous--no, not even one" (Ps. 14; Rom. 3). We have dignity and value by virtue of being created in God's image, but we are not fundamentally good people. God had to, and graciously did, send His Son in human flesh to live perfectly in our place and die for our guilt. That is our only hope of heaven.

So why do we have young adults who are totally out of sync with basic Christian teaching, especially at a time when Christianity is spreading like wildfire throughout much of the third world? Why is it that some 2-3 year olds can confess the basic truths of the Gospel, as well as millions of tribal people with no formal education, but not a large percentage of our youth in this country?

These questions will be dug into more in our next post.