Do WMB readers see this generation gap, and where do you see the biggest differences between the old and young? Any ideas on how to mend it?

Yes. It is true that as far back as Plato, “kids these days” has been a perennial complaint of the older generation, but I think we’re on the cusp of something more than that, here — some fundamental change in the American religious/political landscape.

I’ve said it before. I see the stirrings of a virulent strain of atheism on the rise among 20-somethings and teens. When these kids are running Congress, it will be a trying time for American Christians.

Of course, American Christians have not helped their cause by allowing themselves to be politically defined by two issues: anti-abortion and anti-gay.

And in the service of those two issues, we went and shot ourselves in the other foot by becoming the religion of anti-intellectualism, blind nationalism, aggressive war, and torture for crying out loud.

So generation gap? Yeah. For many young people, “Christian” has stopped meaning “follower of Christ” and now implies a portmanteau of reactionary politics and belligerent nationalism.

Report comment to moderator

I have also been considered weird because I have been equally at ease teaching Sunday School to children, teenagers, twenties, thirties, forties , up to eighties. Each Group wants me for them. I strongly believe in Vacation Bible Schools and strongly encourage the parents to come and get involved. I strongly believe in Revivals and Retreats. I strongly support both Missions and local ministries. I have taught in Megachurches and on the street. We are all God’s children.
Age really makes no difference to me and never has in any ‘Gap’ type way. I think if we concentrate on the gaps, we don’t see the bridges. I concentrate on the bridges.

Report comment to moderator

Report comment to moderator

Where are dogs #s 1 through 50?

I don’t know where the universe came from. I admit it. I don’t believe in making up stories about things I don’t understand.

Evolution is much harder to grasp intuitively than gravity. If I jump off a cliff (like the former President of South Korea did a few months ago), I will go bang, smash, break. Pretty definite proof, I think.

The evidence for evolution, though much less evident on casual observation is much greater than the evidence for Creationism. It leaves a lot of questions unanswered.

It’s possible that God the Great Daddy created absolute laws of the universe. I don’t think such exist. There is no real evidence one way or the other.

For the record. I believe that the Lord did inf act create Adam and Eve from whence we all can claim lineage to.

I believe you believe that. I believe most people at worldmagblog believe that.

I used to find this amazing, but it’s lost its novelty value on the bed post overnight. Now it just strikes me as just plain dumb. OK, dumb with a maaschino cherry on top. Evidence? Keep it to one average length comment, please.

Report comment to moderator

Generation gaps are a perceptional idea which in this case may be exaggerated by technology.

A few years back when gay marriage (among other social questions) was debated in Canada, they discovered the dividing line between agree or disagree was the age of 40. In other issues — Iraq war and marijuana — the age of 40 was also the dividing line. For the record I’m just over 40 but agree with my younger friends and colleagues.

As for spoiled, materialistic, self indulged etc; the same was said of my generation. Older people complaining about younger people — we need a study to confirm this????

Report comment to moderator

Report comment to moderator

I have always told my children that there is a difference between Knowledge and Wisdom. Watson and Crick had loads of Knowledge and made one of the most important discoveries of the 20th century. But alas they had no wisdom. The lowly janitor, if he was a God fearing man, had more WISDOM than all of them put together. It is best to have BOTH Wisdom and Knowledge. But if I had to choose only one, I would choose the Wisdom of the lowly Janitor.

Report comment to moderator

Report comment to moderator

Report comment to moderator

Denial of Death and Escape from Evil.

A non-fiction movie based on his work is called Flight from Death.

To too briefly summarize his work:

Humans are the only animals that have enough intelligence to realize that we are going to die.

Some of the ways in which we deal with this painful realization are to avoid thinking about death, to imagine that there is an afterlife where something called a “soul” will survive, and/or to engage in what Becker called “immortality projects.”

Iimmortality projects may be creation of religions that promises us eternal life (such as Christianity or Islam), or accomplishing something that will live on after our death, such as creation of a great work of art (Shakespeare’s plays, Mozart’s symphonies, or Rembrandt’s paintings), saving lives through medical research (Pasteur’s germ theory, Salk’s polio vaccine), creating a great nation (George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and the other founders of the United States), building a great company (Edison (General Electric) Watson (IBM), Ford (Ford), founding a great family (Rockefellers) and so on.

Unfortunately, because human anguish and fear of death is so intense, we often turn to dreadful immortality projects such as Nazism and Communism, and when such projects are led by charismatic leaders such as Hitler and Lenin, Stalin, and Mao, millions of other people will sign up and engage in dreadful activities such as conquests, genocides, and wars.

This works best if you get to people while they are young and impressionable.

Or you blame it all on Satan. However, I believe we have met the enemy and he is us.

Report comment to moderator