Odysseus said:I know this is the internet, but look around. Christians are mocked quite liberally on this forum and many others, and it's not too hard to imagine the same thing going on to various degrees out in the real world. Sure, it's not the historical persecution that turned many Christians in the young church into martyrs, and it doesn't rival the obstacles that many Christians have to face in other nations today, but society certainly isn't friendly to Christian values and belief structures.
It's pretty much political suicide for a candidate to publicly come out as a non-christian. Candidates are elected by majority vote, so put 2 and 2 together.Odysseus said:I know this is the internet, but look around. Christians are mocked quite liberally on this forum and many others, and it's not too hard to imagine the same thing going on to various degrees out in the real world. Sure, it's not the historical persecution that turned many Christians in the young church into martyrs, and it doesn't rival the obstacles that many Christians have to face in other nations today, but society certainly isn't friendly to Christian values and belief structures.
Maxwell House said:Wait, I thought the whole purpose of the Christian church originally was to gain power.
"...the Christian church..."AdmiralViscen said:Chrisianity existed long before the establishment of the Church.
Thank you for making this point. Christians can moan and bitch all they want about being "persecuted" and having to hide their faith in public, but atheists are really the ones who put themselves at risk (in the professional world at least) for coming out for coming out with their (non)beliefs.You must live in a different America than I do. I work for a 100+ person medium-sized business where people post their Jesus claptrap all over their cubes and the lunchroom (and even 'witness' to people on break time), and the atheists are totally closeted because people of no faith are really looked down on and it would affect our careers here.
And it's been that way the vast majority of places that I've worked, including one multinational with tens of thousands of employees, and also at several Fortune 100 companies for which I've contracted. You don't wear your atheism on your sleeve in the US of A, but you can certainly wear your Christianity.
PepsimanVsJoe said:I dunno. I deliver pizza to this Church every now and then and it looks pretty cool.
They have X360s, arcade games, pizza parties every Sunday, Christian sluts, etc.
Course I'm 25 now so it doesn't do me any good.
Say what you want but Church is 10x cooler than it was when I was young.
That doesn't mean it's cool, it just means it was 10x cooler than it was, which doesn't mean cool, oh nevermind.
White Man said:So basically, you would've been totally gay for Jesus. . .if there was a 360 in the deal? MS has got to try to fit this into a marketing campaign.
Why do your long-ass stories always start off with how you were homeschooled?PhoenixDark said:Personally I think that's sad, because I've seen this problem brewing for more than a decade. I was homeschooled from 3rd grade to 9th grade, and during that time I also played bastketball at a Christian private school. To this day I'm still in contact with many of these people.
IMO some of the article is pure bullshit; the exact percents...wtf. As if they know exactly who isn't going to be a Christian in the future. They also fail to take into account the mere idea of teenage angst. Even Christians go through that, and eventuall they grow up. We saw this happen in the 80's when MTV first came out and teen media became more...secular. Well now the Christian kids who were "seduced" by Madonna and Van Halen are teaching Bible class and pastoring.
Back on topic: this problem has nothing to do with the media's superior influence over kids, it has to do with parents. I'm not convinced that many of you, or the writers of this article, realize how fanatical many Christian parents are towards the media. All secular movies, music, books, and ideas are demonized by the most fundemental Christian parents.
I remember a few weeks after Spiderman first came out; I went to see it with my parents, and I was blown away by the movie. Well the next day at basketball practice I told my friends about it. Some of them told me they planned on seeing it soon, but others had a different answer. They couldn't see the movie because it had "sex" in it. When I asked them to explain this (considering Spiderman doesn't feature any "sex" scenes), they mentioned the scene where Spiderman kisses Mary Jane upside down. That one scene dirtied the entire movie, according to their parents. It was a "sinful" movie. We all know Spiderman covers many moral issues in a spectacular way ("with great power comes great responsibility..."); most people, whether Christian or non-Christian, find those morals to be quite positive. Yet these people could not watch the movie because of a kiss scene.
This one example sums up the problem that has been created by these Christian parents. They have raised their children to see the world in a very black/white view. Something is either all good, or all bad. So things like Spiderman are no different sex outside marriage, or abortion, etc. I hope you see where I'm going now. This type of mindset is brewed at a young age, and it's re-inforced throughout childhood. But when this person gets older and more independant - during the teenage years - this meticulously structured mental barrier begins to crumble. When that teen sees Spiderman for himself, perhaps at a friends house or in a college dorm, and sees how tame the movie is, what happens mentally? Subconsciencely? This is a person who has been told his entire life that petty things are demonic and sinful; when he realizes that's not the case, what happens? Rebellion. I see nothing wrong with Spiderman. If there's nothing wrong with Spiderman...
Once that barrier is broken loose, the repression ends and the experimentation starts. This person's entire look on morals has been flipped upside down, and now they start looking into things themselves, trying to see if they're really "that bad". I've seen this happen for more than a decade. The kid I talked about earlier who couldn't watch Spiderman now? Well, he's grown up now, and almost unrecognizable. He smokes, he drinks, he parties, etc. This has happened to many of my friends from that school. Once they were given freedom, they endulged at every oppurtunity in order to "make up" for lost time if you will. I remember having a conversation with one of them.
Josh: Hey man, I just heard this awesome song
Phoenix: Really..
Josh: Yeah man, it's pretty cool. It's called Brenda's Got a Baby by Tupac
Phoenix: That's a good song
Josh: Yeah, it has a great moral message to it as well. Is it really that different than the shit we hear in Bible class? *laughs*
If you were raised to believe all secular music was demonic, and then you heard that song or any other song that deals with social issues, your previous way of thinking would be altered. And this is what's happening to the teenagers of the Christian movement. They are beginning to think for themselves finally as teenagers, and they are also rebelling against their parents. There have been studies that suggest that kids who drink before going to college are less likely to binge drink and drink heavily (and dangerously) than kids who were never exposed to alcohol. I feel this is exactly what's going on in the current Christian teen demograpy. And the root of that problem goes directly to the parents.
demon said:Why do your long-ass stories always start off with how you were homeschooled?
PhoenixDark said:Because that helped me understand a lot of things better. It also sucked. It's directly related to this issue
Wollan said:The faster religions of all kinds vanish the better I would think.
White Man said:But it had no relation to the story you just told!
The faster religions of all kinds vanish the better I would think
PhoenixDark said:Did you pay attention to the entire thing? It explains the root of this problem (teens leaving the Christian camp in droves), which has to do with fundemental parents. Homeschooling is a pretty Christian based thing. I went through the exact same process
Personally I think that's sad, because I've seen this problem brewing for more than a decade. I was molested by carnies from age 9 to 14, and during that time I also played bastketball at a Christian private school. To this day I'm still in contact with many of these people.
Personally I think that's sad, because I've seen this problem brewing for more than a decade. I had a primarily Christian education, and to this day I'm still in contact with many of the people I met.
:lol Hollywood Hay Zeus, awesome.bjork said:![]()
Religion is too sweeeeeet
Not to mention that no matter how much they "lose their way", the faith has taught them they can just come back and everything will be hunky-dory. That's a pretty big loophole that leads to some laughably contradictory values. Some of the most devout and uptight current christians I've met were some big-time hell-raisers in hs/college. "Do as I say, not as I do..."PhoenixDark said:If you were raised to believe all secular music was demonic, and then you heard that song or any other song that deals with social issues, your previous way of thinking would be altered. And this is what's happening to the teenagers of the Christian movement. They are beginning to think for themselves finally as teenagers, and they are also rebelling against their parents. There have been studies that suggest that kids who drink before going to college are less likely to binge drink and drink heavily (and dangerously) than kids who were never exposed to alcohol. I feel this is exactly what's going on in the current Christian teen demograpy. And the root of that problem goes directly to the parents.
This is the problem, their idea of what it means to be "bible-believing" and leaving no room for disagreement or thoughtful exchange. They want kids to sit down, eat up everything they're told, not think about it and grow up to become their parents. If someone has a disagreement, do they want to thoughtfully discuss it and actually consider their opinion? No, and most of them don't even know how to discuss things rationally and view a conversation with higher criticism to know where people are coming from. Thing is, that's not just the adults, but it's the teens also aren't even fully sure how or why they disagree.Their alarm has been stoked by a highly suspect claim that if current trends continue, only 4 percent of teenagers will be Bible-believing Christians as adults. That would be a sharp decline compared with 35 percent of the current generation of baby boomers, and before that, 65 percent of the World War II generation.
See, this is exactly what I'm talking about. Surely there is some stuff in our culture that is garbage, that it could be healthy to replace with something better, but where is the discernment in this? Where is there any teaching of how to think morally and work out life values? Where are the healthy things and practices they are going to replace it with, as surely simply reading your bible and praying isn't enough to fill one's entire life? I assume they want the kids to switch it to christian cultural garbage? Plastic smiles and shining white blindfolds to the realities of life's difficulty? This isn't the gospel, it is exchanging Jesus and his teachings about a real spirituality before God and dealing with real problems in humanity for a religious opiate. That's disgusting and hypocritical.The next morning, Mr. Luce led the crowd in an exercise in which they wrote on scraps of paper all the negative cultural influences, brand names, products and television shows that they planned to excise from their lives. Again they streamed down the aisles, this time to throw away the cultural garbage.
Shig said:Not to mention that no matter how much they "lose their way", the faith has taught them they can just come back and everything will be hunky-dory. That's a pretty big loophole that leads to some laughably contradictory values. Some of the most devout and uptight current christians I've met were some big-time hell-raisers in hs/college. "Do as I say, not as I do..."
White Man said:Yes, and I read it again after I read this post in case I missed something. And no, the story still has the same value if the homeschooling bit was removed. Would it have been any less meaningful if it was either of the following two:
or
The home schooling bit is a superfluous detail. And home schooling isn't near exclusively a christian thing.
This right here is why these people get made fun of all the time. They are so out of touch with reality that they think any and everything is going to lead their children down the "path of sin." If they had their way, we'd all grow up doing nothing but reading the bible in a room with nothing but a bed and a rosary.The next morning, Mr. Luce led the crowd in an exercise in which they wrote on scraps of paper all the negative cultural influences, brand names, products and television shows that they planned to excise from their lives. Again they streamed down the aisles, this time to throw away the cultural garbage.
Trash cans filled with folded pieces of paper on which the teenagers had scribbled things like Ryan Seacrest, Louis Vuitton, Gilmore Girls, Days of Our Lives, Iron Maiden, Harry Potter, need for a boyfriend and my perfect teeth obsession. One had written in tiny letters: fornication.
Link said:This right here is why these people get made fun of all the time. They are so out of touch with reality that they think any and everything is going to lead their children down the "path of sin." If they had their way, we'd all grow up doing nothing but reading the bible in a room with nothing but a bed and a rosary.
Ironically enough, I can bet that kids raised that way turn out way more screwed up and socially awkward than kids who are "damning" themselves by watching Harry Potter and owning a Louis Vuitton handbag.
It's like you're reading my mind.Dice said:This is the problem, their idea of what it means to be "bible-believing" and leaving no room for disagreement or thoughtful exchange. They want kids to sit down, eat up everything they're told, not think about it and grow up to become their parents. If someone has a disagreement, do they want to thoughtfully discuss it and actually consider their opinion? No, and most of them don't even know how to discuss things rationally and view a conversation with higher criticism to know where people are coming from. Thing is, that's not just the adults, but it's the teens also aren't even fully sure how or why they disagree.
I'm very serious about following Jesus, but a lot of churches would disqualify me from being a "bible-beliving christian" or possibly even a christian at all with my openness to certain theological possibilities. And you know what? Where I'm at right now is something that would certainly be very difficult for anyone who gets here. You don't have the outright acceptance of the evangelicals OR the secular. If you know your stuff then it's a constant battle to bring understanding, reason, tolerance and openness despite disagreement into the picture. If you don't know your stuff you'll be lambasted both ways. And if you are a teen in the latter, you might be strongly pressured to throw away all notions of spirituality and morality that you received from the christian worldview, but there is actually a lot of value to be found there.
I don't know, it's all very odd for a person like me. Christians I get along best with are either highly intellectual people within a mainline denomination, like a couple presbyterian and episcopal friends of mine, or a very select few from this "emerging chruch" phenomenon that are taking it as more than novelty or an excuse to believe what they want without thinking. Then the people I get along with second best are actually from other religions, I guess since the expectation of different views is already there so the approach is as it should be.
Link said:This right here is why these people get made fun of all the time. They are so out of touch with reality that they think any and everything is going to lead their children down the "path of sin." If they had their way, we'd all grow up doing nothing but reading the bible in a room with nothing but a bed and a rosary.
Ironically enough, I can bet that kids raised that way turn out way more screwed up and socially awkward than kids who are "damning" themselves by watching Harry Potter and owning a Louis Vuitton handbag.
Dragona Akehi said:Those are only for those godforsaken catholics. IDOLATRY! HEATHENS! SINNERS!
Exactly.ronito said:It's like you're reading my mind.
As I said before so much of evangelical christianity has become about exclusion, not only excluding gays ands liberals, but even excluding other chrisitians who might not hold the same opinions. It is hardly surprising that now they are being themselves excluded.
There's a good book called, "Why Christianity must change or die." Written by a Bishiop That addresses this pretty well. And I truly hold that for Christianity to grow in the future, it must change, because this fundie brand we got going now isn't going to do it.
Guileless said:Obviously most of you didn't read the article before breaking out your sanctimonious anti-religion screeds. It's not about anti-Christian persecution at all, it's about the difficulties experienced by people who still want to raise children according to traditional morality. And for the purposes of raising a child, it does matter what society at large is exposed to and finds important unless you are Amish and completely isolated from popular culture.
While this article focuses on Evangelical Christians (and in the process makes many of you see red--or is that blue?--and instinctively start bashing Bush), the problem is equally felt by some non-Christian religious believers and immigrants. Fragammemnon is right about the virulent nature of American popular culture. Everbody who mocks the "they hate us for our freedom" line should think about it.
Chairman Yang said:Basically, parents want to be able to control everything a child experiences so they can indoctrinate them with their own belief system? I think it's GOOD that it's getting harder to do that. Children should be exposed to all kinds of information, not brainwashed with one version of reality, and they should be able to make up their own minds as they grow older.
Ah, the good ol' "we have to burn this village to save it!" philosophy. I don't really think 'legitimate' is the right word to associate there...White Man said:Eh, there're legitimate, belief-based reasons for behavior like that. Certain hardcore Jesuits believe that one shouldn't commit to religion until they've experienced all they can in the world "good" and "bad."
Guileless said:You are using pejoratives to describe religion--"control" and "brainwashing" and "indoctrination." Evangelical Christians (among others) believe that popular culture is doing the same thing and would apply the same terminology. Popular culture promotes consumerism and personal gratification as ends in themselves. Some people don't believe that is healthy in the long term regardless of how attractive it is in the short term, and that children aren't equipped to place what they see in context in order to make an informed choice or "make up their minds" as you put it.
That said, focusing only on sex is childish and can make Evangelicals sound fairly ridiculous. If they, or those who criticize them, just reduce it to that when you look at what is a complex problem you aren't being honest.
Shig said:Ah, the good ol' "we have to burn this village to save it!" philosophy. I don't really think 'legitimate' is the right word to associate there...
True.White Man said:The idea behind it is you can't make an adequate choice about how to lead your life without actually trying to live it. It's a more open-minded viewpoint than the shit most Christian sects would put forward. Evangelicals would be too terrified to give their flocks such freedom. They wouldn't trust their people to come back.
Guileless said:You are seriously marginalizing the issue when you reduce it to a kid choosing between "sinful Spiderman" and reading the Bible. Popular culture is pervasive and affects everyone, especially children. Children form their own consciences based on the moral order around them, which is formed by a million events and habits. I think you are underestimating the cumulative effect of a popular culture completely at odds with traditional religion. Like Fragamemmnon said, traditional religion is no match for the seductiveness of American popular culture, especially when you add the element of teen peer pressure.
I recommend Chuck Klosterman's chapter on The Real World in his book Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs in which he posits that the target audience of that show now consciously emulates Real World character archetypes in order to relate to their peers. I have seen this phenomenon and believe that it exists. Regardless of what you think about organized religion, how is that a good thing?
Guileless said:Everyone (again except extreme examples like the Amish) will be exposed to the real world eventually. Some people want to impart their moral code/belief system on children at their formative stages before they go out into the real world. I assume even you would have some limits, e.g. you're not going to show hard core porn to your 5-year-old. People will come to different conclusions about where those limits are based on their own sense of morality and what they want their children to become.
Guileless said:If you are completely indifferent about what conclusions about morality your child reaches, this isn't a problem, but obviously that isn't the case with traditional religious believers and can hardly be said to be the case with anyone. I understand the theory of what you're saying, and in a perfect world that would be great, but I think if you have a child eventually you will see that in practice it is very different.
Link1110 said:Maybe the teenagers are realizing just how blasphemous their religion is. Let's see, they support a war, support the rich over the poor, support oppression of certain children of God just because of things that aren't choices (Gays,) support TORTURING other people.
What about this religion is Christian again (Other than their lip service to the Bible?)