Commending the Christian faith to Gen. Z

[Saint Nod]

Hi parents and youth workers out there. I am particularly interested in how you defend the Christian faith to your youth. It has been said that our youth are the first generation to grow up Post-Christian. They are more convinced by scientists than they are by religious leaders... and yet they are deeply interested in the spiritual realm... cosmology is really popular...

So, what key arguments do you use to answers some of their skeptical beliefs?
How do you commend the Christian faith to them?
And, WHAT QUESTIONS do you ask them to get them thinking about the reality and existence of Christ?
Thanks!

 

[Tolworth John]

As a parent to late teens I've always sought in conversation to ground Christianity in the historical reliability of Christianity and of the bible.

sites I recommend are coldcasechristianity, and for deeper arguments reasonablefaith.

 

[Ada Lovelace]

Depending on how which time parameters are used I either fall into the beginning of Generation Z or the very end of the Millennials. For me, deepening my understanding of the teachings of Christ and using his life to fine tune my moral compass has been the most important to keeping my faith stimulated. The label "social justice warrior" is used as a derisive pejorative today, primarily because much of it is insincere - more about garnering attention on social media and praise for the self rather than effectuating meaningful change. I think Christ is the perfect example of an authentic social justice warrior, someone who courageously and sacrificially advocated on behalf of others. To me in this time when negativity permeates the news and there's much divisiveness not just in America but around the world, having the perfect role model is very important. Finding active ways to emulate his behavior, not just in the everyday life but through things like organized volunteering has given a way to be unified in purpose.

As for science, my faith has never been at odds with it. It's never been a competition between scientists and the religious leaders in my life, because they serve different rather than competing goals. If anything, discovering more facts about the universe and life within it has given me more reverence for God. I've always believed that "faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen," and that it should not entail a rejection of the evidence that we do see. Francis Collins is a respected scientist and a Christian. He's written a few books that were helpful to me in my early teens: The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief: Francis S. Collins: 9781416542742: Amazon.com: Books

Guy Consolmagno is the director of the Vatican Observatory and a priest who is a MIT graduate. He's also written some fantastic books:
God's Mechanics: How Scientists and Engineers Make Sense of Religion: Guy Consolmagno: 9780787994662: Amazon.com: Books

 

[Saint Nod]

Depending on how which time parameters are used I either fall into the beginning of Generation Z or the very end of the Millennials. For me, deepening my understanding of the teachings of Christ and using his life to fine tune my moral compass has been the most important to keeping my faith stimulated. The label "social justice warrior" is used as a derisive pejorative today, primarily because much of it is insincere - more about garnering attention on social media and praise for the self rather than effectuating meaningful change. I think Christ is the perfect example of an authentic social justice warrior, someone who courageously and sacrificially advocated on behalf of others. To me in this time when negativity permeates the news and there's much divisiveness not just in America but around the world, having the perfect role model is very important. Finding active ways to emulate his behavior, not just in the everyday life but through things like organized volunteering has given a way to be unified in purpose.

As for science, my faith has never been at odds with it. It's never been a competition between scientists and the religious leaders in my life, because they serve different rather than competing goals. If anything, discovering more facts about the universe and life within it has given me more reverence for God. I've always believed that "faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen," and that it should not entail a rejection of the evidence that we do see. Francis Collins is a respected scientist and a Christian. He's written a few books that were helpful to me in my early teens: The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief: Francis S. Collins: 9781416542742: Amazon.com: Books

Guy Consolmagno is the director of the Vatican Observatory and a priest who is a MIT graduate. He's also written some fantastic books:
God's Mechanics: How Scientists and Engineers Make Sense of Religion: Guy Consolmagno: 9780787994662: Amazon.com: Books

Hey Standfordella,
I really appreciate your detailed answer... and the books which I would like to have a look at... so thank you so much for taking the time to reply. From what I have seen, I agree, most of the youth I work with want to work for a cause and demonstrate their Christianity in this way. I am intrigued by your social justice warrior metaphor... how do you see this playing out? Have you anything specific in mind? I recently heard of a friend of mine who was researching the land which His church is situated on... apparently it was sold very cheaply by the natives to the church... so he is keen to give them much more recognition than they were when they first sold the land...

 

[inquiring mind]

I’ve always thought the best way to commend Christianity to youth is through example and by exposing them to a good church atmosphere on a regular basis. Some may call that indoctrination, but science is also taught from an early age in schools, and as children age they will ultimately decide for themselves in both cases anyway. My faith has never been at odds between religion and science either.

 

[RaymondG]

How do we know that we are not the generation of the old...walking around in the wilderness, following the leader and the beliefs of those before us. And our children, because they are breaking off from the follower mentality, are destined for the promise land?

 

[Saint Nod]

I’ve always thought the best way to commend Christianity to youth is through example and by exposing them to a good church atmosphere on a regular basis. Some may call that indoctrination, but science is also taught from an early age in schools, and as children age they will ultimately decide for themselves in both cases anyway. My faith has never been at odds between religion and science either.

Haha, I completely agree, we do indoctrinate kids with science from a very early age! Unfortunately kids these days are having far less of a Christian influence outside of Christian homes and even though our Christian kids are being given the good news, social media is such that our kids will be communicating with very skeptical friends. So I am looking at how we can both reach the skeptical youth around us and as best as possible protect our own kids - giving them suggestions on how to engage the skeptical youth around them... thanks so much for your reply!

 

[Milo]

I actually like the new generation. I want to trust that the lot of them will be geniuses. When you think about it the art of thought and philosophy are in question at the moment. I trust they'll do very well.

 

[Saint Nod]

As a parent to late teens I've always sought in conversation to ground Christianity in the historical reliability of Christianity and of the bible.

sites I recommend are coldcasechristianity, and for deeper arguments reasonablefaith.

Thanks John,
Both of these are excellent websites... I do need to have a look thru them again. I think the thing that commends these sites is that they do pose questions as well as provide answers to our teens... I like to get them thinking by asking questions to help them think more widely about the veracity of the Christian faith.... I good question I heard recently, and not a new one, was: " Why did Jesus have to die on the cross, why couldn't He just have waved His arms in the air and say, "I forgive you."?

 

[Saint Nod]

How do we know that we are not the generation of the old...walking around in the wilderness, following the leader and the beliefs of those before us. And our children, because they are breaking off from the follower mentality, are destined for the promise land?

Well, that is a question we have to ask ourselves ALL the time! Are we in the wilderness or actually on the path Jesus would have us be on...which may in fact be the wilderness! But Jesus did say we should expect fruit in our lives as well... I need to keep cultivating my soul in the garden of His word...