Author: More teens becoming 'fake' Christians

[SedesDomi]

(CNN) – If you’re the parent of a Christian teenager, Kenda Creasy Dean has this warning:

Your child is following a “mutant” form of Christianity, and you may be responsible.

Dean says more American teenagers are embracing what she calls “moralistic therapeutic deism.” Translation: It’s a watered-down faith that portrays God as a “divine therapist” whose chief goal is to boost people’s self-esteem.

Dean is a minister, a professor at Princeton Theological Seminary and the author of “Almost Christian,” a new book that argues that many parents and pastors are unwittingly passing on this self-serving strain of Christianity.

She says this "imposter’’ faith is one reason teenagers abandon churches.

“If this is the God they’re seeing in church, they are right to leave us in the dust,” Dean says. “Churches don’t give them enough to be passionate about.”

 

[Milesius]

Most of the adults are following the same fake Christianity so the children have no chance, and the adults will be answerable for the souls of the children when they kneel before the just judge.

 

[Barbkw]

Well He is a “Divine therapist”.

However, His goal was to be our personal Savior, to remove our sins, to set captives free.

Not to “boost people’s self-esteem”.

 

[Byzantine_Wolf]

Is it any wonder when the emphasis these days seems to be on “feel-good” emotions rather than sound doctrine and a sincere heart change? Many religious leaders don’t even know what it is to be a true Christian, and so it ends up being the blind leading the blind.

 

[freerf]

Better a fake christianity than no christianity.

 

[Byzantine_Wolf]

Better a fake christianity than no christianity.

Actually, in some regards, a fake Christianity is worse than no Christianity.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” [Matthew 7:21]

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness.” [Matthew 23:27]

“So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.” [Revelation 3:16]

 

[Harpazo]

(CNN) – If you’re the parent of a Christian teenager, Kenda Creasy Dean has this warning:

Your child is following a “mutant” form of Christianity, and you may be responsible.

Dean says more American teenagers are embracing what she calls “moralistic therapeutic deism.” Translation: It’s a watered-down faith that portrays God as a “divine therapist” whose chief goal is to boost people’s self-esteem.

Dean is a minister, a professor at Princeton Theological Seminary and the author of “Almost Christian,” a new book that argues that many parents and pastors are unwittingly passing on this self-serving strain of Christianity.

She says this "imposter’’ faith is one reason teenagers abandon churches.

“If this is the God they’re seeing in church, they are right to leave us in the dust,” Dean says. “Churches don’t give them enough to be passionate about.”

Ah yes, the products of the “Reformation” bearing their toxic fruit.

In Christ,
Andrew

 

[coolduude]

Good article.

I see what this author is saying. I see this kind of stuff on high school retreats.

‘Fake Christianity’. An interesting concept indeed.

 

[SirThomasMore]

“Author: More teens becoming ‘fake’ Christians”

Hmmm…I thought I read teens were NOT becoming LDS

 

[Milesius]

Better a fake christianity than no christianity.

A fake Christian is no Christian and is even worse than an openly none Christian as their deceitful appearance may lead other Christians astray. False prophets are worse than no prophets at all.

 

[Nine_Two]

This isn’t really anything new. Groups have been teaching for quite a while that as long as you believe in Jesus (whatever that means) you’re saved (whatever that means).

 

[Califman831]

nothing new under the sun here, just another wave of the protestant deformation. We must pray for all the lost sheep so that they may return to mother church.

 

[Libertarian_FL]

I’m glad this is happening many are now finding out how worthless, money grubbing and power hungry the denominations and orthodox churches are and coming to the truth - God and God alone is the one that matters.

Its Christian Anarchism in its purest form individual spirituality guided by the words of Jesus and His life and the power of the Holy Spirit to be our sole teacher - no men, no women and no mortal authority should be in between.

And our faith is supposed to be SIMPLE folks: Accept Jesus and His sacrifice for our sins, try to live by the teachings of Jesus and honor God in our hearts. Your denominations, churches and leaders muck this up.

And yes I believein Christian community I’m here am I not, that doesn’t mean organized meetings with leaders over us. Just talking and spending some time with other Christians like this or talking over lunch will do.

 

[Redbaron998]

I agree this is largely the toxic fruit of the Protestant Heresy. But I have no doubt there are Catholics and EO Christians that are going through the same thing due to poor insturction.

I believe it has to do with the emotional Chrisitanity. So many churchs it seems only cares about pursuing an emotional response that they ignore the Intellect and the Will.

Emotion fads when you go home that night from church, Intellect and Will do not but are based on a much firm foundation of the human reason.

 

[RoryMcKenzie56]

I’m glad this is happening many are now finding out how worthless, money grubbing and power hungry the denominations and orthodox churches are and coming to the truth - God and God alone is the one that matters.

Its Christian Anarchism in its purest form individual spirituality guided by the words of Jesus and His life and the power of the Holy Spirit to be our sole teacher - no men, no women and no mortal authority should be in between.

And our faith is supposed to be SIMPLE folks: Accept Jesus and His sacrifice for our sins, try to live by the teachings of Jesus and honor God in our hearts. Your denominations, churches and leaders muck this up.

And yes I believein Christian community I’m here am I not, that doesn’t mean organized meetings with leaders over us. Just talking and spending some time with other Christians like this or talking over lunch will do.

Hey Libertarian FL,

Do you have any books, other than the Bible of course, to recommend that would help explain your theory?

 

[jblake]

Califman831;:

just another wave of the protestant deformation.

It isn’t just protestant kids that check their beliefs and faith at the door when the go to school. Nor does it matter if that school is secular, Catholic, Protestant, or of another religion.

jonathon

 

[Nine_Two]

This thread isn’t about people who claim one faith and follow another though, it’s about denominations and churches which have sprung up saying that anything is permissible as long as you believe in Jesus.

 

[Todd520]

This thread isn’t about people who claim one faith and follow another though, it’s about denominations and churches which have sprung up saying that anything is permissible as long as you believe in Jesus.

No, it’s not about new denominations which have sprung up

included in-depth interviews with at least 3,300 American teenagers between 13 and 17, found that most American teens who called themselves Christian were indifferent and inarticulate about their faith.

included Christians of all stripes – from Catholics to Protestants of both conservative and liberal denominations.

Though three out of four American teenagers claim to be Christian, fewer than half practice their faith, only half deem it important, and most can’t talk coherently about their beliefs, the study found.

Many teenagers thought that God simply wanted them to feel good and do good – what the study’s researchers called “moralistic therapeutic deism.”

Some critics told Dean that most teenagers can’t talk coherently about any deep subject, but Dean says abundant research shows that’s not true.

It’s really about a failure to teach (catechise) by existing main-stream churches.

 

[OneAugustKnight]

I’m glad this is happening many are now finding out how worthless, money grubbing and power hungry the denominations and orthodox churches are and coming to the truth - God and God alone is the one that matters.

Its Christian Anarchism in its purest form individual spirituality guided by the words of Jesus and His life and the power of the Holy Spirit to be our sole teacher - no men, no women and no mortal authority should be in between.

And our faith is supposed to be SIMPLE folks: Accept Jesus and His sacrifice for our sins, try to live by the teachings of Jesus and honor God in our hearts. Your denominations, churches and leaders muck this up.

And yes I believein Christian community I’m here am I not, that doesn’t mean organized meetings with leaders over us. Just talking and spending some time with other Christians like this or talking over lunch will do.

Personally I get the impression that God is pretty organized, therefore it seems reasonable that a religion started by Him would be organized as well. And institutions who have spent centuries studying Christ probably know more about Him than I do, plus one of them has to be more correct than the rest. Individual spirituality doesn’t appear to be working very well in America.

 

[Byzantine_Wolf]

It’s really about a failure to teach (catechise) by existing main-stream churches.

And, unfortunately, as the article points out, it’s across the board. Those who’d like to continue living in a box and saying it’s a Protestant-only problem would do well to review the posts across this forum and see how many self-professing “Catholics” don’t adhere to what their own church teaches them.