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Why not start with what is most important: Mental health.
Many southern baptist churches engage in activity which can be defined as spiritual/religious abuse. (Abuse by any other name, is still "abuse")
I cannot say that "All" churches do, because I have not been to all churches. But I have witnessed it over and over again in the ones I have attended. Of course, the degree varies, but a healthy person, who has self esteem and self love, will not engage in such activity. Most of us know that self hate is the basis for Christian fundamentalism. Hatred of self, belief that a person is evil, flawed, "sinful" and that the only way a person can overcome this is through "Jesus", WHO IS represented exclusively by ....First Baptist Church, Second Baptist Church, Westboro Baptist church, Central street Church of Christ, St Judas Iscariot Catholic church....etc etc etc
Perhaps the biggest thing the kids find when they go off to college is self esteem and self love? Sure happened to me. Outside of any Christian religion of course. Self love and self espteem is neither tauight nor encouraged in the Baptist church.
Which is, on a side note, why I explained to my son that Buddhism is a healthier philosophy than Christianity. See my post in the Buddhist thread.
Seriously, adults in these churches have more mental social issues than I will list here. I see it through my work almost every day. (Almost every day because I do not work on Wednesdays)
All that is happening is that kids are wising up and moving on. Natural social development. Most of the world did it collectively with the Renaissance, but those individuals who have lives based in fear and self loathing still find a spot to continue Christian mythology.
As for the Devil, there is absolutely no evidence whatsoever that any such entity or creature exists. Perhaps it is time to let go of the collective myth of such a being, remove the concept of the devil from the psyche so as not to be distracted with living one's life sully. Which is after all , ALL that matters in Life.
Which too is what those of us who quit the Baptist church long ago continue to do on a daily basis, especially on Sundays. The biggest slap in the face I can give the Baptists is to go on and have a successful and happy life without them, while they wallow in self pity and fear. Amen to me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by wallflash
So basically , hide your children from the real world and hope to forever keep them properly indoctrinated and ignorant of reality .
I'll extend this question out to all since the one it was originally posed to didn't feel up to answering . How many branches of science ( the study of reality) must a person deny or ignore to believe in creationism ?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wardendresden
Yep, it all started with those godless words penned by Joseph Scriven in the late 1800's:
What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer!
Everything began going downhill after that.
The surest way to create a "liberal" christian, if not an outright apostate from the public schools--is to have them read the Bible sans a "fundamentalist handler" standing over them "explaining" it all to them.
Conservative Christians can be too sure they're right about everything. It's too easy, when you're a conservative, to boil down what you believe into a really simple set of assertions, and to then never again question or allow those assertions to evolve. Then it just becomes about rules; then it's too easy to make everything about who is and isn't on the right side of right. When it comes to something as complex as God and history, it's too easy for "keeping it simple" to become "keeping it stupid"---which too easily becomes "keeping it mean-spirited." Conservatives have a troubling propensity for closing their minds.
Marilyn Chandler McEntyre, Professor of English at Westmont College, Santa Barbara, California, in her article “A Voice from the Christian Left.”
Don't worry about those stats---God is just proving to you He is alive and well and working through human beings in exactly the same way that He worked through the authors of the Bible--regardless of our foibles today OR those of yesterday.
Wrong, wrong, wrong, and wrong. There's a ditch on both sides of the road. I don't have time to 'splain it right now, but I will.
Wrong, wrong, wrong, and wrong. There's a ditch on both sides of the road. I don't have time to 'splain it right now, but I will.
That's always the fallback of a fundamentalist--"I can explain it." IF it were that important, why didn't Jesus talk about the other side of the road? He was waiting for your explanation? And why isn't it in that "perfect" Bible?
I would agree with you regarding evolution, accepting women,and the LGBTQ. But, personally I've seen too many talking mules and snakes on these very forums to deny they exist.:
I have seen it myself at my church for over 20 years, as these youth sang in the childrens choir, was in Sunday school, every church play, accepted Jesus as a teen and by time they are over 18 and go off to college 2/3 never come back and when they do, they are a completely different person spiritually.
I know the adults lead by example, so if grown ups are late to church all the time, why should a child then young adult want to come on time either. If many of the adults dont read their bibles, there is no way they can answer a young adults question other than say go ask the pastor.
Can anything be done to reverse this trend or this is just the future or Christian youth?
5 Possible Reasons Young Americans Are Leaving Church and Christianity Behind
1) First and foremost is the idea that some Milennials have that religious people are “hypocritical, judgmental or insincere.” This, FoF argues, might hamper interest in participating in both church and Christianity as a whole.
2) Politics at the pulpit isn’t really a foreign concept in America. Considering that biblical texts often lead believers to embrace more conservative viewpoints, it’s not uncommon for pastors and congregations to hold controversial views on a variety of controversial issues — opinions that some Millennials might disagree with.
3) Isolationism is another issue that is sometimes credited for leading young people away from the church. David Kinnaman, president of the Barna Group, claims that one-fourth of 18 to 29-year-olds believe that churches demonize everything that resides outside of Christian culture.
4) A list compiled by Christianity Today’s Leadership Journal notes that sex is also an issue that might turn young people away from the church.
There is a sixth possibility that committed Christians are entirely failing, not only to address, but to even comprehend:
6) People are beginning to view Christian claims as too ridiculous to be true, and are simply not buying any of it anymore.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SAAN
Can anything be done to reverse this trend or this is just the future or Christian youth?
The rise of the unbelievers is unprecedented and it is occurring fast. Europe is already more than 50% secular. Non belief (the group classified as "None") in the U.S. currently stands at 21% and has been rising at a steady rate of 1% per year since the beginning of the century. Committed Christians will of course hold the line. But they won't live forever, and the number of committed Christians coming up through the ranks to take their places is dwindling dramatically. If it continues Christianity will simply fizzle out and end with a whimper rather than a return.
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