Contradictions identified...

[StormyOne]

From Spectrum online the question was asked, why are young people leaving the church? Here was one comment that I thought summed it up nicely...

imagine you're a senior in sda academy again:
in physics class you learn that SN87a blew up some 150,000 yrs ago...and we know it is that many light years away by simple optical triangulation, and that the Orion Nebula is a gaseous "cloud" about 1500 light yrs away.
while in Bible class, you hear that the universe was created less than 10,000 yrs ago, and that there is a hole in Orion thru which EGW's Holy City will "descend"....soon...and then God will burn to death most of your friends at public school who seem to be having way too much fun. You can only pray that the 2nd coming is deferred until you too can know the love of a woman.
in shop class, you learn to never sign for long term payments on a car without trying it out first and getting some guarantee....but in Bible class you learn that test drives are forbidden with your girlfriend. At least with the bad car, if it quits working, you can either sue the seller, the maker, or walk away and find another one...no court ordered papers required. and people don't look down on you as a failure (to love and maintain the car). and the car doesn't nag you to death forever for having turned it over to the next owner.
in history class you learn the Egyptians were building pyramids before the alleged flood....and in Bible class you hear that the flood cudda bypassed the pyramids...or the date is wrong....or whatever....but just read this and believe.
in geography class you learn there is oil and bitumen in Iraq, but not along the Nile....in Bible class you learn that's why Moses reed basket raft trip had to be waterproofed with pine pitch, while outside of class, surfing the web for "Sargon of Akkadia", you find the story probably was plagiarized from a thousand year older tale in Iraq, and the reed basket could therefore have been waterproofed with bitumen.
on friday nights your friends go to the movies. or the sock hop....your parents expect you to go to vespers and stop listening to Elvis or the ballgame...except you can call your relatives out on the left coast who can still listen to the game for three hrs after you have to give it up.
on saturdays, your neighborhood friends do sports and enjoy the present...
while, you, after squirming thru a hr or more on a hard bench with a tie cutting the circulation to your brain, hearing why sin is bad, after a meal of cold beans (so as not to light a fire on sabbath), you visit the shut ins and nursing homes and contemplate your future unless Jesus hurries up and comes back soon.
on sat nights, your friends go dancing...maybe even drinking and "necking".....you go roller skating,with the sponsors making sure that nothing touches other than your hands.
back in school on monday, your friends learn in biology class why marine mammals swim by flapping up and down..unlike fish which flap sideways....evolution says that at one time, whales were land animals, breathing air, and using legs to walk....in your biology class, you learn that flowers and mountains are pretty, and that evilution is bad, and leads people away from the truth.
near graduation, your friends plan their prom night, where yourfriends will really "graduate" into adulthood; but you, with your parents permission, you invite the shy gal with the skirt safely below her knees to the "formal" (dinner), where fri chick will be the closest thing to getting any.
after graduation, your friends apply to their best college choices, and some get accepted. you apply to the same schools, and admissions writes back asking...."where did you go to school?? and what are all those bible classes about?
so you apply to an sda college, where they accept mediocrity and scientific unpreparedness.
after marrying that shy gal with the long skirt, you later find out to your chagrin that religion actually DIVIDEs people..it rarely brings them together...but it does provide income for shrinks and divorce lawyers.
and later, when your own kids hear how poorly you were prepared for life, based on a faith based education, they transfer to the public school for a real education!!! and they stop going to church....where the scientifically willfully ignorant argue endlessly about dogma and who has the right belief, and whom God will burn to death later.
my worry? will the kids at least visit me in the nursing home on sabbaths?
Posted by: John Alfke

Thoughts?

 

[mva1985]

baloney comes to mind.

there is quite a bit of untruth in that comment.

 

[StormyOne]

baloney comes to mind.

there is quite a bit of untruth in that comment.

If nothing you are consistent... there is more truth to what the person shared than you care to admit...

 

[Avonia]

baloney comes to mind.

there is quite a bit of untruth in that comment.

Fair enough. And where do you see truth in the comment?

 

[sentipente]

I think that a better use could have been found for those words. I hope this is not his best effort.

 

[StormyOne]

I think that a better use could have been found for those words. I hope this is not his best effort.

Ever the optimist... time will tell...

 

[Sophia7]

From Spectrum online the question was asked, why are young people leaving the church? Here was one comment that I thought summed it up nicely...



Thoughts?

I've always been glad that I didn't go to academy.

 

[Princessdi]

Oh my! I was glad that I only went for three years in elementary school. Well, John's experience was definitely unpleasant to say the least.....cold beans? Wow!!

Truth is you do feel as if you are missing out. For me it was Soul Train and cartoons on Saturday morning........sigh............ Once we got to high school my parents(Mom SDA, Dad not) did not forbid us from attending dances, games, proms. We did all of that. My Mom said, after 15 years of teaching you wrong from right, you were either stupid and determined to do what you wanted to do any way. They turned over those types of decisions to us, and I am grateful. As I ended up going to Oakwood, and saw first hand the issues with those who were thougsands of miles from home and had not one decision making skill.

BTW, Stormy is right. There is a lot of truth in that statement. I know people like this.

 

[StormyOne]

I've always been glad that I didn't go to academy.

As Avonia pointed out somewhere else, it is that weird tension... emphasis on education on the one hand, and emphasis on willful ignorance on the other... makes for some mixed up folks...

 

[Joe67]

Rom 8:20
20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, KJV

Joe

 

[Avonia]

As Avonia pointed out somewhere else, it is that weird tension... emphasis on education on the one hand, and emphasis on willful ignorance on the other... makes for some mixed up folks...

Years ago I was on the board of our local SDA school and realized there was no (or very little) sex education - even for 9th and 10th grade. It was like pulling teeth to get something going. We ended up with just a basic course taught by an Adventist healthcare provider on sexually transmitted diseases. The course didn't even cover birth control.

It's a bit like not teaching people how to avoid catching their house on fire because you would prefer their house not catch fire.

 

[Byfaithalone1]

and then God will burn to death most of your friends at public school who seem to be having way too much fun.

This reminds me of a comment made by a Sabbath School teacher in my local SDA church. When learning that a 3rd grade pupil had moved from the local SDA school to a public school, she expressed to the pupil her deep sadness at hearing the news and indicated her hope that the parents would someday realize the importance of a Godly education.

You can only pray that the 2nd coming is deferred until you too can know the love of a woman.

In my area of the world, this one is widespread.

your parents expect you to go to vespers and stop listening to Elvis or the ballgame...except you can call your relatives out on the left coast who can still listen to the game for three hrs after you have to give it up.

It's amazing that I never even questioned this.

on saturdays, your neighborhood friends do sports and enjoy the present...
while, you, after squirming thru a hr or more on a hard bench with a tie cutting the circulation to your brain, hearing why sin is bad, after a meal of cold beans (so as not to light a fire on sabbath), you visit the shut ins and nursing homes and contemplate your future unless Jesus hurries up and comes back soon.

Yup.

after graduation, your friends apply to their best college choices, and some get accepted. you apply to the same schools, and admissions writes back asking...."where did you go to school?? and what are all those bible classes about?
so you apply to an sda college, where they accept mediocrity and scientific unpreparedness.

Hey, there's always junior college!

after marrying that shy gal with the long skirt, you later find out to your chagrin that religion actually DIVIDEs people..it rarely brings them together...

True. However, God really does bring people together. Such was the case with me and my shy gal.

Thought provoking thread!

BFA