Young Far More Hostile to Christianity
In a recent post Undernews reports on a recent Barna study with some very interesting results. Of course the commentary varies slightly from one website to the other so for the purpose of this post I will stick with the Undernews site as it is more provocatively written (well from a Christian stand point).
Some of the results and comments are as follows:
just 16% of non-Christians in their late teens and twenties said they have a “good impression” of Christianity.
I am not intending to defend these statements but more to provoke further thought – where do they get their impressions from? I know quite a few young people who know that they don’t like church and that is why they have never been. How do they know?
The study also spoke to young church goers – they weren’t always favourable either:
Half of young churchgoers said they perceive Christianity to be judgmental, hypocritical, and too political. One-third said it was old-fashioned and out of touch with reality.
I suppose the question as to the source of their thoughts hits closer to home. Maybe we can take a moment and ask ourselves – am I judgmental, hypocritical, too political? Am I old-fashioned and out of touch with reality? Again I must be careful not to simply assume these young people are attending churches that don’t have a youth ministry – that could be considered a ‘cop out’.
And finally (from me at least)
When young people were asked to identify their impressions of Christianity, one of the common themes was “Christianity is changed from what it used to be” and “Christianity in today’s society no longer looks like Jesus.”
For me that one is a mixed blessing – well to be more precise I am glad Christianity has changed. YFC used to have a saying that their ministry to youth was ‘geared to the times but anchored to the rock’. So the message never changes but the delivery stays fresh and contemporary. And whilst refraining from wondering what Jesus they think we don’t look like – I still need to examine myself and ask not only What Would Jesus Do – but What do I do with the life I live.
