My Take: Culture Wars, Millenial Angst, and a Dose of Perspective

05/17/2012

The last few months have highlighted a supposedly growing trend among young Christians who are fed up with Christianity as they know it— apparently they don’t want cultural battles; they want peace. They don’t want religion; they want Jesus. They don’t want Church, they want community. And while there is still the reasonable debate as to whether this new-found angst actually signals something distinct or is simply the result of ours being the first generation wired for sound without having to work within the confines of the establishment, this much is obvious: young people don’t want the Christianity of their parents.

So when I ran across the following in the preface of John Stott’s Basic Christianity, it sounded eerily familiar.

“‘Hostile to the church, friendly to Jesus Christ.’ These words describe large numbers of people, especially young people, today.

They are opposed to anything which savors of institutionalism. They detest the establishment and its entrenched privileges. And they reject the church—not without some justification—because they regard it as impossibly corrupted by such evils.

Yet what they have rejected is the contemporary church, not Jesus Christ himself. It is precisely because they see a contradiction between the founder of Christianity and the current state of the church he founded that they are so critical and aloof. The person and teaching of Jesus have not lost their appeal, however. For one thing, he was himself an anti-establishment figure, and some of his words had revolutionary overtones. His ideals appear to have been incorruptible. He breathed love and peace wherever he went. And for another thing, he invariably practiced what he preached.

But was he true?

An appreciable number of people throughout the world are still brought up in Christian homes in which the truth of Christ and of Christianity is assumed. But when their critical faculties develop and they begin to think for themselves, they find it easier to discard the religion of their childhood than make the effort to investigate its credentials. [emphasis added]

As true (and timeless) as Stott’s observations are about the relationship between young people and the church, what struck me more was the fact that he wrote them first in 1958--the generation of our grandparents—and then reissued them in 1971--the generation of our parents.

Trust me, I’m not dismissing the concerns of millennials, just trying to offer a bit of historical perspective and the caution that maybe we’re not as special as we think we are. Maybe we’re not the first generation to have metaphysical angst and maybe, just maybe, the very people we are fighting against have a bit more perspective than we think they do.

Comments

Truth Unites... and Divides

05/17/2012 5:50pm

<i>"the very people we are fighting against have a bit more perspective than we think they do."</i>

Whaaaaa---? Young adults fighting and rebelling against the parents and grandparents that love them?

Naaaaaah.

Hannah link

05/17/2012 6:17pm

I'm not sure it's simply rebelling, but I do think there is a great lack of recognition that previous generations struggled through their own crises of faith. When we assume that our grandparents and parents are monolithic, one-dimensional fuddy-duddies, we reveal our own lack of maturity, and in the end, undermine productive conversation.

Dean Peteet

05/17/2012 6:22pm

These are interesting observations. But with that said the one thing I think that perhaps helped to bind 1958 and 1971 together was wisdom and maturity gained through marriage and parenthood. This was often the tool God has used to lead people back to a potential Biblical and orthodox faith and church life. But the problem is now many millennials are either postponing marriage, opting out of it for cohabitation, or forgoing any kind of monogamy entirely. Plus even the married millennials are either putting off parenthood as long as possible or choosing not to have children at all. So with the millennials we see that putting off serious commitments and responsibilities for desire for perpetual adolescence which could mean any return to an orthodox/Biblical faith and church life could take longer or it just may not happen at all this time.

Hannah link

05/17/2012 7:54pm

Absolutely. I know for myself that marriage and parenthood have shaped and matured my faith in ways that I didn't know possible. And I've often wondered how the extended adolescence of this generation might interact with spiritual growth. But I've always hesitated to make that observation lest it come across as somehow "judgmental" of individual choice or hit sensitive issues of infertility, unwanted singleness, etc. But in the end, there is something about taking life-long responsibility for other people that matures you.

Dean Peteet

05/17/2012 8:33pm

Yes I don't want to come across judgmental either, I am mostly speaking from experience. Neither my wife nor myself have yet to have children and at times this has been for the same reasons and struggles that I mentioned above.And we are not millinials but Xer's. So it isn't just a Millinial thing.

Wes

06/11/2012 11:40am

I completely agree that getting married and having kids matures you in unique ways. I've seen it first hand with my brother. But there isn't just one kind of maturity. And I would challenge any of you who are married and have been for a long time to deal with the difficulties and challenges that a single Christian faces. You go home (hopefully) to a partner who seeks to encourage, improve, and support you. I go home to an empty apartment - every. single. night. Believe me, it forces spiritual maturity very quickly, if you are going to maintain a relationship with Christ.

And, by the way, as a soon to be 33 year old single practicing Christian, you have no idea how insulting the above discussion comes across. I understand people who have been married since their early to mid twenties can't really comprehend being single and in your 30s, but the idea that I somehow postpone being a "real" adult until marriage is absurd.

Pat

06/11/2012 1:14pm

HA! Try being 47 and single, Wes. I guess I'm REALLY immature by these standards. :)

Hannah link

06/11/2012 1:33pm

Maybe, I can offer a bit of clarification. You are absolutely correct that maturity comes in different forms and that marriage and parenting is only one specific path toward growth. My concern was directed toward millenials who have actively chosen to forgo these avenues of growth because of an overarching trajectory toward extended adolescence. Knowing you personally Wes, I would never place you in this category.

And obviously there are different reasons that people are single as much as there are different reasons that people marry. In both cases, some are worthy and some are not. I hope I would never assume that someone who is single or does not have children isn't mature anymore than I would assume that someone who is married or has children has necessarily allowed those things to mature them. Anyone who works for CYS can offer multiple examples where it has not.

Ultimately I believe, like my father always taught me, that you become a mature adult when you assume responsibility for other people--and that can happen in a variety of ways, including the work I see you doing with your students. Again my issue was directed toward our peers who are avoiding this type of binding relationship whether it's in a familial or ecclesiastical context.

BJC

05/18/2012 10:14am

“Many in such a position, discontent with what they have been taught and rebelling against their past, have the tendency to reject the whole system of their upbringing because of the fallacies they observe in it. This is indeed the classic pitfall of youthful revolt in all ages. Carried away with challenging hypocrisy that rightfully should be corrected, young rebels wrongly allow the pendulum of change to swing too far in the opposite direction and succeed only in erecting a new system, just as intolerant (albeit differently) as what they rebelled against in the first place. Throughout the ages, men and women, fed up with the sham they have witnessed in their superficially religious parents, teachers, priests, and pastors, have mad the lethal mistake of discarding Christianity itself rather than the emptiness of a few of its feeble adherents. They raise up an imaginary version of Christianity based on their misconceptions, and then proceed to tear it to shreads [sic], never bothering to look at the real thing itself.” -George MacDonald

Hannah link

05/18/2012 10:45am

This (among many other reasons) is precisely why I appreciate you so much. - H

Pat

05/21/2012 10:28am

And maybe the people doing the fighting have some legitimate points that we need to consider so as to avoid some of the same pitfalls with future generations.

Hannah link

05/21/2012 11:42am

Absolutely, Pat.

There must be healthy conversation about what needs to change and how we can work toward that together. My concern though isn’t the difficulties of the conversation but the way that my generation is engaging in it. More often than not, we lack historical perspective, have a sense of enlightened elitism, and fail to respect the successes of our parents and grandparents because we are so busy pointing out their faults. We are a generation shouting “Grace, Love, and Acceptance” at the same time that we won’t extend it to them.

If we want the Church to change, this much change first.

Wes

06/11/2012 11:30am

You make a fair point about the unwillingness to extend the things we are advocating for to the preceding generation. But I think a large part of that trend (which I agree is incorrect), is because we have to stand up, screaming until we are red in the face, before the preceding generation even admits that there is a problem, or that another perspective is a valid view of Christianity. I grew up in an extremely conservative church that has only recently begun to focus on the need to reach out to the community around it, not build walls to keep them from getting in. And that change only happened because younger people pushed, prodded, and eventually stepped out of the normal hierarchy and *pulled* the church leadership towards a more caring application of Christ's love to the world.

If we want the church to change, you have to somehow get the people comfortable with the current institution to realize that change is even necessary.

Hannah link

06/11/2012 1:38pm

I agree that there are some very difficult conversations that we need to engage in--even ones that we must bring up because the previous generation obviously has blind spots. But I hope we can approach them, as Paul advises Timothy, as "fathers and mothers" instead of enemies. And I do think that the previous generation must also be willing to hear and listen to us with the same love that parents should have for the concerns of their children. But I can't speak for them; I can only speak for myself.