Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Mindless Churches & Youths: "Generational Blackmail?"

          Dr. James West, a philosophy Professor at Calvin College, Grand Rapids, MI, posts a good question in his post, "Generational Blackmail."  These kind of questions have been posed often so as to exclude Biblical, Confessional, and liturgical worship.  “Oh, the young people won’t like it…they won’t come...we better do this.”  These type of questions have been posed--often--to introduce worship chaocities (not to mention the toleration of non-catechetical perspectives nationwide).

          Well, young people don’t like doing research, writing papers or doing careful thinking either, but the College Profs insist otherwise—hat tip and salute to the Professors.  I took an English literature course last semester.  Without missing a beat, the Teacher “imposed” Shakespeare on us with all the old language.  She didn't ask if we liked the old English.  We had no choice.  No one complained either, but all were edified. 


         
The picture is put up for the mindless worship that is tolerated today.  Unfortunately,

many clerics are supportive. Reformation Anglicanism believes a war on the quest for

continued ignorance and illiteracy must be waged.  We recommend this audit to our

"good old Book of Common Prayer," to wit:  "Pastor/Rector:  `Luni et stulti omnes

sunt.'  Congregation:  `Et semper illiterati.'"  Thank God for good Pastors and Teachers

who did not and are not accomodating the quest for ignorance, generally, Confessional

Churchmen.

          This is a good question from For Clavigera. See:  http://forsclavigera.blogspot.com/2012/05/generational-blackmail.html

Generational Blackmail?

It seems like every other day I'm told another reason why young people are leaving the church: because Christians fight too much or because Christians are too political or anti-gay or don't care about social justice. Millennials, we're told, are leaving the church because the church won't bless their cohabitation or provide them with contraception for pre-marital sex. They're leaving because they don't care about fights over creation/evolution or abortion or worship style or what have you. In sum, it seems we're regularly informed that if the church doesn't change, young people are going to leave.
And what exactly are we supposed to do with these claims? I think the upshot is pretty clear. Indeed, am I the only one who feels like they're a sort of bargaining chip--a kind of emotional blackmail meant to get the church to relax its commitments in order to make the church more acceptable?

Could we entertain the possibility that millennials might be wrong

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