This article might be a bit over-the-top prediction-wise, but it does make some important observations about Evangelicalism in America. The author is on the doom-and-gloom side, to be sure. Nevertheless, I think his concernsabout the faith/theological/philosophical/educational underpinnings of the current evangelical movement are valid.
In predicting a coming collapse of the movement, he lists several reasons why this will happen. I'm not sure if his predictions are going to be right, but I do think his diagnosis of problems is solid. One that really caught my eye is the following:
We Evangelicals have failed to pass on to our young people an orthodox form of faith that can take root and survive the secular onslaught. Ironically, the billions of dollars we've spent on youth ministers, Christian music, publishing, and media has produced a culture of young Christians who know next to nothing about their own faith except how they feel about it. Our young people have deep beliefs about the culture war, but do not know why they should obey scripture, the essentials of theology, or the experience of spiritual discipline and community. Coming generations of Christians are going to be monumentally ignorant and unprepared for culture-wide pressures.
Billions are spent in the Christian-media realm. It has virtually no relevance on society at large. We are, literally, preaching to the choir in this regard. At the same time, developing people who know little about their faith, other than how they feel about it, buys into society's 'self esteem' movement. I might be OK with the billions spent if young Christians, (even while "feeling better" about themselves) benefited from these dollars by understanding and spreading their faith to the nations. I'm afraid, however, that it is primarily allowing Christians to stay at home, listening to happy-clappy music, and feel good about their family heritage ("I come from a Christian family, so I listen to...") We need to invest our talents wisely. You can read the entire article here.
On the verge,
Thomas More
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