Posts Tagged ‘Apologetics’
Introducing New Faith “Perspectives”
There’s a movement in this country that’s making our work in youth ministry very interesting. This movement is trying to make relativism and multiculturalism the norm, demonizing fundamental Christianity for its claim to absolute truth.
With more and more people preaching that there are many paths to God, it’s amazing to me to see so many religions fold under the pressure.
Forgive this over-generalization, but you don’t see many other faiths putting up a big stink about absolute truth. It’s becoming the norm to encourage spiritual interest and explore “faith” in any sense of the word, but it’s becoming very unpopular to suggest that any one religion can claim the title of “truth.”
Nobody seems to truly believe in their faiths deeply enough to stand on their holy books and say, “this is what I believe.” Nobody, that is, except for some Christians. (I say “some” because many Christians have definitely gone the route of relativism.)
Different people, they encounter god differently, and if some people at a certain stage in their life need to focus strictly on Christianity, then that might be appropriate for them, as long as they don’t take anything away from those of us who feel differently.
Different people do not–cannot–encounter God through false belief systems. It’s doesn’t happen! If you think you’re encountering God through a seance, meditation, yoga class or a prayer session, and Jesus is not at the center of it, that experience has nothing to do with the true God.
What really gets me is what this quote implies, and what I think many people believe: That Christianity is a domineering, elitist religion because we’re not willing to fold and say what we believe is just one option on the path to enlightenment.
Your students probably have friends that openly and confidently tell them that Christianity is just one way to get to God, and criticize them if they don’t believe that. I guarantee your public school is filled with students that sincerely believe that they can figure out whatever they want to believe, and that to them, that is “truth.”
And your students aren’t protected just because they go to church a couple times a week. Some of them are probably even afraid to admit that they are followers of Christ, or that they believe there is only one way to heaven. Some students in your youth group are still deciding whether they believe that there is only one way to God.
This is a tough time to be a Christian, and it’s only getting tougher. Youth ministry must:
- Teach absolute truth. There is only one way to God. The truth of scripture is 100% true. Other “truths” are not.
- Focus on worldview. Our paradigm of existence determines everything else we believe.
- Get dirty spending quality time with students. We must listen to truly understand the journey our students are in, and then carefully respond with questions and challenges to help them discover the wonderful reality of Christ.
- Pray!!! Faith is not something we can muster up in our students. We need the Holy Spirit to work through us and even in spite of us.
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The Effects of a Postmodern Culture
My brother sent me an interesting message by Jerram Barrs last week about postmodernism and apologetics. I’m not one to sit back and listen to an entire sermon unless I’m running or biking (I get stir crazy!), but this one came with a transcript so I could just read through that.
He said something that really hit the nail on the head regarding what postmodernism is, and how it plays out in people’s lives.
This is my attempt to enlighten you with two great illustrations of postmodernism from Jerram, and then apply them to the crazy world of youth ministry.
Postmodernism is the Denial of Any Standards
- The band ”2 Live Crew” was on trial several years ago for obscene lyrics. Jerram wouldn’t event quote some of the lyrics “because in the most graphic language possible the lyrics in question were encouraging men to sexually, brutally assault women.” Terrible, terrible stuff. But the charges against them were acquitted.
- A few years later, photographer Robert Mapplethorpe was on trial for blatantly obscene photographs he included in an art exhibition in Cincinnati. Again, the charges were thrown out.
Why were these cases thrown out? Because society could not impose any standards on anyone. In a nutshell, the juries of both cases later said, “I personally thought those lyrics/photographs were obscene. I would never listen to/look at them and I don’t want my children exposed to them. But who am I to say that anybody else should think they are obscene?”
The Effects of Postmodernism
Jerram also shared about a conversation he had with a friend working with InterVarsity at a nearby university. This friend was bewildered by what he saw in the college students and in the local community. He came to Jerram begging for help understanding it.
You see, this friend had spent considerable time getting to know students at the college. These were incredibly bright students, very thoughtful, and very articulate. They were attending one of the top universities in the country.
This friend also spent time with students in the poorest part of town because they often hung around his church office in that area. Many of the students there were involved with gangs and dealing drugs.
Yet this friend saw the same things in both groups of students, and he simply couldn’t wrap his mind around it. He couldn’t help but notice that these students lacked idealism. They were reluctant to commit themselves. They were irreverent to anything sacred and disrespectful to all authority. And they were apathetic, skeptical, and bored.
Students Today
That is what we have in our youth groups today. From prosporous suburbia to the gang-infested inner city, the postmodern lack of standards of every kind has made our students apathetic, skeptical, and very, very bored.
Apathetic - Nothing is worth working for. There is nothing in life truly worth grasping or striving to achieve. Instead, they expect most things to simply be given to them. So our youth minsitry can’t just be a place to “have fun and learn.” We must create a new culture that inspires students’ active engagement in their faith.
Skeptical - Students are skeptical about everything, especially leaders. It’s no longer about showing students that you’re cool. You must first demonstrate that you are trustworthy, and that you aren’t in leadership to boost your own ego.
Bored - I wrote about this in another post, too. This again highlights the need for youth pastors (and parents, for that matter) to give students practical opportunities to practice their faith.
What do you think is the impact of postmodernism on your youth group? How should we respond to this reality of student ministry?
This blows my mind
- More and more Americans agree with the idea that, as President-elect Obama is quoted saying, “there are many paths to the same place,” and that being a Christian is just one of those paths. Now it appears that even our President-elect has not taken heed of Jesus’ words, “No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).
- Many put the Word of God on par with quotes from religious experts. Just like we saw in this interview, they put the words of the Pope and Billy Graham on equal footing with the Bible. Now, I don’t expect someone who doesn’t believe in Jesus to put a lot of clout in the Bible, but this is important for us to realize, especially as we engage in intellectual debates with others and train our students to be effective in sharing their faith. The Word is true and powerful, “living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword” (Hebrews 4:12), and when we debate and discuss our faith, we need to go further than quoting scripture verbatum. We must dig in and work hard to understand the worldview behind what people say so that we can bring Biblical principles to life for them in a relevant way, while at the same time continuing to pray for guideance (Ephesians 6:12).
