Peek behind the curtain of some “progressive” or “hip” evangelical churches, past the savvy technology and secular music, and you will find more than just a contemporary worship service. You’ll find faith leaders encouraging young evangelicals to trade in their Christian convictions for a gospel filled with compromise. They’re slowly attempting to give evangelicalism an “update”—and the change is not for the good.
It’s painful for me to admit, but we can no longer rest carefree in our evangelical identity—because it is changing. No doubt you have seen the headlines declaring that evangelicalism is doomed because evangelical kids are leaving the faith. It is no secret that there is an expanding gulf between traditional Christian teachings and contemporary moral values. But the sad truth is that the ideological gulf between America’s evangelical grown-ups and their kids, aka the millennials, seems to be widening too.
Somehow the blame for this chasm is being heaped on traditional churches. They are accused of having too many rules as well as being homophobic and bigoted. Yes, we’ve heard those false claims from popular culture in its desperate attempt to keep Christianity imprisoned within the sanctuary walls. But now popular culture is being aided by Christ-professing bedfellows whose message to “coexist,” “tolerate” and “keep out of it” is more marketable to the rising generation of evangelicals.
(Read the rest of the rest of the article here.)
Comment by Douglas E Ehrhardt on January 6, 2021 at 6:56 am
Thanks great article . The only thing I would add to it is the power of the demonic . When I mention Satan many people can’t believe I would even consider such a thing. That coexist bumper sticker should include Satan.
Comment by Palamas on January 6, 2021 at 1:35 pm
This is an excellent article, Chelsen. I especially appreciated your treatment of Sunday School, and the deficiencies in the teaching of biblical truth to be found in all too many of them. You’re also correct about the cultural impact on young evangelicals. One item you only very briefly touched upon, however, and that’s the pervasive influence of public elementary and secondary education. While the decay of higher education into leftist indoctrination is well known, the parallel decay of the public schools into indoctrination camps has been sadly overlooked. The SJWs terrorizing college campuses didn’t suddenly morph into such when they took their first class at Wossamotta U. They were carefully instructed by teachers beginning in kindergarten that a leftist way of viewing the world was the only way. Because far too few parents monitor what their public school children are learning there, they are surprised to find them advocating for unlimited abortion and same sex marriage, and proclaiming the bigotry and homophobia of their churches, when they are seniors in high school.
Comment by David on January 6, 2021 at 2:04 pm
“While the decay of higher education into leftist indoctrination is well known.” This might be the motto of American anti-intellectualism. Places of higher learning are called evil and the absent-minded faculties live in “ivory towers” remote from “real” life. In reality, there are very few occasions were religion enters into college courses. Certainly, these do not include STEM or business classes. The whole sounds like a giant conspiracy theory which are so popular among certain people.
I was pleased to see the article mentioned “cafeteria-style Christians,” but it failed to mention other objectionable features of the New Testament such as slavery (Colossians 3:22 and Ephesians 6:5) and the divine right of all governments (Romans 13:1 ). The fact is that morality has moved beyond that of two millennia ago and there is no reason to support things in the past that were barbaric. This is not to say that evil things do not still happened, but the general trend is of improvement.
If big government serves to improves the lives of people, there is nothing wrong with it, Countries with national health insurance have longer lifespans than that found in the US. Our infant mortality rates are terrible, indeed in three counties, they are worse than that of Bangladesh. Private charity is certainly laudable, but government is better organized to provide services than a patchwork of private efforts. Too often the objection to national tax-supported benefits is that they are going to “those people.”
Comment by Gary Bebop on January 6, 2021 at 10:22 pm
The militant, illiberal Left continues to stalk evangelical-identified articles to plant its doctrinaire narrative. But many of us have had enough of these hectors. They aren’t kind, they aren’t tolerant, they aren’t persuasive. The lockdown they want to impose on evangelical thought and expression is abundantly clear. Chelsen Vicari tells the truth.
Comment by Diane on January 15, 2021 at 10:17 pm
As a retired educator with decidedly progressive religious views, I intentionally and lawfully did not teach or entertain any theology or God-talk in my role. If any student chose to pray during the daily “moment of silence” or bow and ask a blessing before eating lunch, I did not intervene (it was their right to do so). I’ve always wondered what some think will be accomplished by “putting God or prayer” back in public schools. Not all teachers subscribe to Christianity or an orthodox approach to it – do folks really want to have the teacher lead a prayer that starts with, “Mother God”? Of course not. It is the responsibility of parents to raise their children in the way they choose (as long as they’re not breaking the law, as in being abusive, neglectful, etc).
One remark in the article was interesting – so, if we don’t talk about abortion with young evangelicals, hows a young evangelical girl going to explain the alternative of adoption when her friend discovers herself pregnant? Do we think the young pregnant girl doesn’t know about adoption? Kids aren’t that clueless. Better we make contraception free and accessible and every young woman be educated in that regard (which does not equate, studies show, with encouraging teen sex, the rate of such is thankfully dropping). We might also make parents aware of the harm their threats may cause. I’ve known parents who told their daughters, “don’t ever come home and tell us you’re pregnant…we’ll disown you” ….that threat is an incentive to abort.