One of the responsibilities that I have as a youth pastor is to understand (as thoroughly as possible) the culture in which teenagers live. This culture is currently being affected by a philosophical construct called postmodernism. Postmodernism, in short, is a reaction to the certainty of various truth claims in all areas of life- art, architecture, literature, and spiritual or religious ideas. So, in a postmodern society, what's right for Christians and what's right for Hindus may be different, but neither is wrong, and both is right. There are no absolute truths that we can hang onto, so truth is relative. We are free to make up our own values, and since there is no absolute standard to judge ideas by, we are all right and none of us is wrong. I can believe the truth claims of Christianity, you can believe the truth claims of Islam, and we'll both get to the heaven that we believe exists.
This is a huge shift from the way previous generations viewed life and its impact on today's teenagers is monumental. It seems ridiculous, in part because it is, that opposite truth claims can both be true. But evangelical Christians are being affected by postmodern thought so much that 20% of evangelicals believe that truth is relative and that there are ways to God other than Jesus Christ.
I have read, and the student leadership team is currently reading, Engaging the Soul of Youth Culture by Walt Mueller. Walt runs the Center for Parent-Youth Understanding and is a great source of information on all things related to youth culture. This book is one that I'm highly recommending to all parents who read this. I have one extra copy that I can loan out if you want to read it, or you can purchase the book here or here.
This is a huge shift from the way previous generations viewed life and its impact on today's teenagers is monumental. It seems ridiculous, in part because it is, that opposite truth claims can both be true. But evangelical Christians are being affected by postmodern thought so much that 20% of evangelicals believe that truth is relative and that there are ways to God other than Jesus Christ.
I have read, and the student leadership team is currently reading, Engaging the Soul of Youth Culture by Walt Mueller. Walt runs the Center for Parent-Youth Understanding and is a great source of information on all things related to youth culture. This book is one that I'm highly recommending to all parents who read this. I have one extra copy that I can loan out if you want to read it, or you can purchase the book here or here.
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