Today must have been Throw Rage-Inducing Links at Sushi Day. From the political lies that Americans believe to the middle school that segregated class elections, today was definitely a day to find a link of rage.
Then there was this article on CNN about teenagers and fake Christianity. When I was a teenage Christian, fake Christianity was exactly as it was described in the article: people who just believed in some sort of god, or those who didn’t practice their so-called faith, or those who fell out of their faith. This article decides to label God as the god of Christianity, assuming that teenagers these days are weak Christians because they’re not practicing their faith strongly.
Here’s a thought. Maybe some of them practice their religion differently. Did the author ask if people believed in God and choose to interview them on that basis alone? The subjects were so-called Christians of all kinds. Maybe some of them did what many Americans do: call themselves Christian just because they believe in the god. No, folks, that’s deism, another valid belief system. Maybe they just believe in a higher power but don’t believe every idea in the Bible. Maybe Christians and others shouldn’t start associating God with the Christian god, causing everyone to associate a deity with that of a certain religion.
A key quote from the article:
Many teenagers thought that God simply wanted them to feel good and do good — what the study’s researchers called “moralistic therapeutic deism.”
No, God wants you to feel miserable while doing good. You’re doing it wrong if it feels good, obviously. Nothing’s wrong with doing good, even if you’re leaning on a deity to do so. Unless, of course, you’re not doing enough for your faith. So sayeth the article. These teenagers need to learn to live their faith, and their parents need to “get radical”. I can’t make this up. Maybe they don’t want to live their faith. Maybe it’s not a huge priority. Maybe, just maybe, they’re happy with what they have.
And if they’re growing up into good adults, there’s no problem.