Why do teenagers and young adults hate Christianity ?

[MehGuy]

Some alternative spiritual paths are shallow, that's true. But it's also its true that some are not. There seems to be a spiritual hunger that Christianity isn't able to nourish with the youth so they go searching elsewhere.

Is it? I really can't think of a moral God.. unless this God is significantly less powerful than most people think of as a God.

When I was spiritual myself I tried to make it make sense by thinking suffering was divine and had meaning. I eventually realized that meant nothing.

Changing the very nature of suffering itself seems like the best bet. But when one can see through that, nothing is left.

 

[RoBo1988]

But 'sin' as a metaphysical reality only really means anything if you already believe in God. The question from to the OP is why young people are turned off by Christianity. Unless you already believe in God and Hell exist there is no value proposition in believing in it.

So when a young person who does not already believe in God gets told they are evil, abominations, deserve eternal punishment if they don't love Jesus, and by the way don't be LGBTQ+ and do follow set of rules that seem arbitrary at best is it any surprise that they say "yeah, no"?

It still comes down to A-B-C-D no matter what approach is used:

Admit you are a sinner
Believe that Christ died for your sake
Confess to Him your sin
Decide to follow Christ in Spirit and Truth

Repentance IMO, is an ongoing thing in the life of a believer. There are instances of some who are immediately delivered from sinful behavior, for others it may be a process over time. The "rules" (law) has been fulfilled through Christ's obedience - we need to follow Him.

 

[dlamberth]

Is it? I really can't think of a moral God.. unless this God is significantly less powerful than most people think of as a God.

When I was spiritual myself I tried to make it make sense by thinking suffering was divine and had meaning. I eventually realized that meant nothing.

Changing the very nature of suffering itself seems like the best bet. But when one can see through that, nothing is left.

I hate to say, but I'm not seeing how any of that looks at the spiritual hunger of the youth who are find themselves looking elsewhere. What I see is your path and what's important to you, which I understand, But that's not addressing the youth and what they are looking for.

 

[MehGuy]

I hate to say, but I'm not seeing how any of that looks at the spiritual hunger of the youth who are find themselves looking elsewhere. What I see is your path and what's important to you, which I understand, But that's not addressing the youth and what they are looking for.

I am just responding to the posts here claiming the youth wants to find a morally enlightened God.. when the concept is just ridiculous.

I'm sure some youth are looking for a God who questions female gender roles but not men's. Some are also probably yearning for a God who's openly sadistic.

Not sure how much depth the youth is actually looking for compared to the old out of touch spiritually conservative people.

 

[MehGuy]

Always amazed me.. even when I was a Christian myself as a kid.. people looking at the state of reality and concluding that the one responsible for all this must be all loving.

I sure was gaslighted enough.. even though I saw through it even if it was hard to openly express at times. Sadly even though I could see through it.. I could never quite put together what love actually is despite the idea of love being constantly shoved down my throat.

As an adult.. I refuse to be gaslight that the youth are earnestly looking for it.

 

[Hans Blaster]

All you atheists and non-Christians on this site already know the evidence.

Of course we do. That's why we don't believe it.

 

[All Becomes New]

Of course we do. That's why we don't believe it.

What a joke.

 

[dzheremi]

This thread is exhausting. It's like listening to principled vegans and meat eaters try to convince each other of the moral 'rightness' of each other's diets. Why? Who does this help or strengthen?

 

[RDKirk]

Is it? I really can't think of a moral God.. unless this God is significantly less powerful than most people think of as a God.

Or is operating at a higher dimension of morality. Mister A. Square of Flatland cannot comprehend a 3-D universe.

This is a good animation of a very trippy story written in the 1880s (remarkable in its contention!) that might give you a headache trying to grasp its ramifications. I struggled through the book back in 1969.

 

[Akita Suggagaki]

Changing the very nature of suffering itself seems like the best bet. But when one can see through that, nothing is left.

That is the scandal of Christina faith: a God who suffers. I still ponder that mystery.

 

[Hans Blaster]

What a joke.

Not a joke. It was the "evidence" for Christianity that lead me away from it. (Or rather how unbelievable I increasingly found it.) It had nothing to do with denying my "sin" or rejection of the church's politics or any of these other notions floated by various posts and materials in this thread. I can't discuss how it leads me away from religion due to the rules of the board.

 

[All Becomes New]

Not a joke. It was the "evidence" for Christianity that lead me away from it. (Or rather how unbelievable I increasingly found it.) It had nothing to do with denying my "sin" or rejection of the church's politics or any of these other notions floated by various posts and materials in this thread. I can't discuss how it leads me away from religion due to the rules of the board.

You are truly deceived.

 

[RoBo1988]

All you atheists and non-Christians on this site already know the evidence. It is not the same thing as some street preacher yelling ostensibly at passers-by. You come here of your own volition. You engage with our content. You have been told. You have been given good reasons. Still, you bury your head in the sand to the plain facts. Ever a nay-sayer never making a positive case of your own. Simply denying what is there.

A.W. Tozer was converted by The Lord using a street preacher (although that was in the early 1900's) from Wikipedia:
"Tozer hailed from the tiny farming community of La Jose, PA in Western Pennsylvania. He was converted to Christianity as a teenager in Akron, Ohio: While on his way home from work at a tire company, he overheard a street preacher say, "If you don't know how to be saved ... just call on God, saying, 'Lord, be merciful to me a sinner.'" Upon returning home, he climbed into the attic and heeded the preacher's advice."

The saying: 'let me write the songs of the world, and I'll care not who writes its laws" strikes a tone with me; the arts and music may be the only way to reach young people today.

But I'm not talking about the contemporary "7-11" songs, but even secular songs that deal with life's meaning. John Mellencamp's song "Check it Out" deals with a meaningless life ("and this is all that we learned about livin ')
I feel that most of society knows no meaning to life, and will go to any port in a storm. The church needs to be that "haven of rest" (another song).

 

[2PhiloVoid]

Not a joke. It was the "evidence" for Christianity that lead me away from it. (Or rather how unbelievable I increasingly found it.) It had nothing to do with denying my "sin" or rejection of the church's politics or any of these other notions floated by various posts and materials in this thread. I can't discuss how it leads me away from religion due to the rules of the board.

.... it's interesting how people can see different things in the same "evidence," because I can honestly say that it was the evidence that lead me toward accepting Christianity, and I was surprised to find it to be believable after thinking it was merely a collection of ancient children's level stories.

Oh well. Different quarks for different folks as they say! (Or something like that ... )

 

[2PhiloVoid]

Or is operating at a higher dimension of morality. Mister A. Square of Flatland cannot comprehend a 3-D universe.

This is a good animation of a very trippy story written in the 1880s (remarkable in its contention!) that might give you a headache trying to grasp its ramifications. I struggled through the book back in 1969.

Somehow, I'm now appreciating the shorter Carl Sagan version so much the more ......

Thanks for sharing this, RD!

 

[Bradskii]

This thread is exhausting. It's like listening to principled vegans and meat eaters try to convince each other of the moral 'rightness' of each other's diets. Why? Who does this help or strengthen?

It highlights the problem that is raised in the OP.

There are a few people on this forum - Christians, who I get along with very well. They seem genuinely nice people. If they lived locally to me I'm sure I'd make the effort to look them up personally. And there are some...well, let's just say that I have taken steps to avoid reading what they write because they are not nice people. At times they have posted something so derogatory about others, on occasions about my family members and my personal friends that I have stopped reading their posts. If I continued to read them then at some point I'd find it difficult not to load for bear and respond with both barrels. Then I'd get into trouble with the mods.

What they might say about me is the proverbial water off the proverbial back of the proverbial duck. I've been around the block a few times and being called 'deplorable' for example is not going to raise my hackles. It barely raises a quizzical eyebrow.

What I do find a little frustrating however is the implication that I haven't studied religion to any great extent. That I haven't considered whether it's true. That I am being almost flippant in my unbelief. Whereas I have spent quite a few decades, from my early thirties onwards (i.e. half a lifetime) constantly checking my position against all arguments that might show that I'm wrong. And I'm not talking about whether Adam ate an apple or Noah built a boat, I'm talking theology. For those who have come to a different position than mine, I respect their faith. Whatever religion they might be.

Short story. My wife and I wanted to get our son into the local Catholic school. Purely on the basis that it was by far the best in the area. But they only took 10% of boys who weren't from a Catholic family. My wife was going to put Anglican on the application even though she's never been to a service in over 50 years. I was going to put n/a, as honest as I could really be. It was touch and go. So, without telling me, she went to the local Catholic church one Sunday and spoke to the priest after the service. She told him she wanted to become Catholic.

He sat her down and asked why. What had happened in her life that she now felt drawn to the church. And she's at least honest. She said 'because I want to get my son into the Catholic school'. He obviously explained to her that that was not a good reason to take up the faith.

When she told me some time later I was as angry with her as I had ever been. She was treating people's faith as if it was simply a membership deal. That you could sign up and use the credits you got to benefit your family. We didn't talk for a couple of days. But I did try to explain to her that you cannot treat people's beliefs so lightly. That she was showing a great deal of disrespect, not just to Catholics, but to everyone who had faith.

She actually knew all this. She's a smart woman. But her desire to get the best for our boy overrode her common sense. And hey, he got into the school anyway.

So the point of that? Well, I'd like a little respect for my beliefs as well, if that's not too much trouble.

 

[Hans Blaster]

.... it's interesting how people can see different things in the same "evidence," because I can honestly say that it was the evidence that lead me toward accepting Christianity, and I was surprised to find it to be believable after thinking it was merely a collection of ancient children's level stories.

Until after college, I knew almost nothing of the bible, early Christian history, etc. Though it wasn't the only source, at the same time I was reading anti-creationist literature (having recently been shocked to learn creationism was still a thing) I watched this pretty regularly on A&E:

Mysteries of the Bible - Wikipedia

With its collection of biblical scholars, theologians, archeologists and historians. The more I saw the more human and less devine the whole Christian edifice seemed.

Oh well. Different quarks for different folks as they say! (Or something like that ... )

I'm 40% strange quarks.

 

[2PhiloVoid]

Until after college, I knew almost nothing of the bible, early Christian history, etc. Though it wasn't the only source, at the same time I was reading anti-creationist literature (having recently been shocked to learn creationism was still a thing) I watched this pretty regularly on A&E:

Mysteries of the Bible - Wikipedia

With its collection of biblical scholars, theologians, archeologists and historians. The more I saw the more human and less devine the whole Christian edifice seemed.

I'm 40% strange quarks.

I guess we're cut from a similar cloth, Hans.

 

[All Becomes New]

Until after college, I knew almost nothing of the bible, early Christian history, etc. Though it wasn't the only source, at the same time I was reading anti-creationist literature (having recently been shocked to learn creationism was still a thing) I watched this pretty regularly on A&E:

Mysteries of the Bible - Wikipedia

With its collection of biblical scholars, theologians, archeologists and historians. The more I saw the more human and less devine the whole Christian edifice seemed.

I'm 40% strange quarks.

The age of the earth does not make Christianity true or false. The resurrection of Christ does.

 

[Armchair Apologist]

Why does anyone hate Christianity? What saith the scriptures?

John 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.​

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Romans 1:19-21 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.​

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1 Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.​

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2 Corinthians 4:3-4 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.​

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Ephesians 2:1-3 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.​

An unconverted man (or woman) is naturally hostile (or averse) towards the things of God and for obvious reasons. They are dead in their sins, fugitives from justice, and are subjects of wrath! Think about it, if you were on FBI's "Ten Most Wanted" list, would you want to hang out with law enforcement personnel who would likely find you out and bring you to justice? It is only by the POWER OF GOD that one turns to (rather than fleeing from) God in repentance and faith!

The problem with many so-called "Churches" these days is that they often try to "reinvent" Christianity to make it more appealing and desirable to the masses. This may fill some seats at least temporarily but what use is there in a gospel message that has no transforming power? Liberal congregations appeal to the "goats" in the interest of acceptance and inclusion only to find that if the goats remain, they will ultimately take over and run off the sheep!

Stop trying to get the teenagers and young adults to "like" you! They need to have the devil preached out of them and those who do come will do so when they see the transforming power of the gospel working in your life first and foremost!