Almost Christian
publication date: Aug 30, 2010
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author/source: Chris Prang
I thought some of you might
be interested in this article called Author: More teens becoming 'fake' Christians from Cnn.com. It references a book called Almost Christian by a female
professor at Princeton Theological Seminary and a minister in the United Methodist
Church. Despite that, it
is yet another article (and book) pointing to the fact that young people are
not established in a biblical faith and parents and the church are to blame.
The article starts out:
"If you're the parent of a Christian teenager, Kenda Creasy Dean has this warning:
Your child is following a "mutant" form of Christianity, and you may be responsible.
Dean says more American teenagers are embracing what she calls "moralistic therapeutic deism." Translation: It's a watered-down faith that portrays God as a "divine therapist" whose chief goal is to boost people's self-esteem.
Dean is a minister, a professor at Princeton Theological Seminary and the author of "Almost Christian," a new book that argues that many parents and pastors are unwittingly passing on this self-serving strain of Christianity.
She says this "imposter'' faith is one reason teenagers abandon churches .
"If this is the God they're seeing in church, they are right to leave us in the dust," Dean says. "Churches don't give them enough to be passionate about."
Interestingly enough, John Wesley preached a sermon called Almost Christian where he said:
The almost Christian knows that God's word is true, but will not commit himself to following it. He may live a good, moral, even religious life, and even go beyond others with regards to human compassion. His humanitarian spirit causes him to give to others that which he has need of.
He may hate all unrighteousness and sin in society to the point of protesting and petitioning against it, but does not recognise sin in his own life. In this he has a "form of godliness" but reveals that he does not have "the power thereof" (2 Timothy 3:5). He does not partake in those things forbidden by God; instead his life is conducted according to divine principles. He abstains from alcohol, does not party, and is not a glutton. So he may appear like a good, solid believer to those around him. Being good natured, he desires to live peaceably with everyone. He never thinks of being unkind to others, and certainly would never return evil for evil. He may pray stirring public prayers, but it is all part of the outward appearance of godliness, and such devotion is simply hypocrisy, since he enjoys the praise of men (John 12:43). Yes, the almost Christian is a hypocrite. This is not to say that he does not have a sincere desire to please God, but he usually settles for the pretence instead of the real thing. He does not think that he needs to be born again; he is a good enough Christian as he is.
Is it possible to go so far and still only be an almost Christian? We are all aware of those who profess to be Christians and yet totally refuse to be faithful to the Lord. They love to be seen as Christian people, but they will not "lay hold on eternal life" (1 Timothy 6:19). They try to live in the world as well as the Kingdom of God. They will not make a commitment and are lukewarm towards God (Revelation 3:16). The almost Christian may love God, but not with all his heart, soul and might (Deuteronomy 6:5).
Apparently the Almost Christian of the 21st century isn't even close to the Almost Christian of the 18th century and by far more pagan.
In Christ,
Chris
This article is from Chris Prang with the Christian Economic Report.
The article starts out:
"If you're the parent of a Christian teenager, Kenda Creasy Dean has this warning:
Your child is following a "mutant" form of Christianity, and you may be responsible.
Dean says more American teenagers are embracing what she calls "moralistic therapeutic deism." Translation: It's a watered-down faith that portrays God as a "divine therapist" whose chief goal is to boost people's self-esteem.
Dean is a minister, a professor at Princeton Theological Seminary and the author of "Almost Christian," a new book that argues that many parents and pastors are unwittingly passing on this self-serving strain of Christianity.
She says this "imposter'' faith is one reason teenagers abandon churches .
"If this is the God they're seeing in church, they are right to leave us in the dust," Dean says. "Churches don't give them enough to be passionate about."
Interestingly enough, John Wesley preached a sermon called Almost Christian where he said:
The almost Christian knows that God's word is true, but will not commit himself to following it. He may live a good, moral, even religious life, and even go beyond others with regards to human compassion. His humanitarian spirit causes him to give to others that which he has need of.
He may hate all unrighteousness and sin in society to the point of protesting and petitioning against it, but does not recognise sin in his own life. In this he has a "form of godliness" but reveals that he does not have "the power thereof" (2 Timothy 3:5). He does not partake in those things forbidden by God; instead his life is conducted according to divine principles. He abstains from alcohol, does not party, and is not a glutton. So he may appear like a good, solid believer to those around him. Being good natured, he desires to live peaceably with everyone. He never thinks of being unkind to others, and certainly would never return evil for evil. He may pray stirring public prayers, but it is all part of the outward appearance of godliness, and such devotion is simply hypocrisy, since he enjoys the praise of men (John 12:43). Yes, the almost Christian is a hypocrite. This is not to say that he does not have a sincere desire to please God, but he usually settles for the pretence instead of the real thing. He does not think that he needs to be born again; he is a good enough Christian as he is.
Is it possible to go so far and still only be an almost Christian? We are all aware of those who profess to be Christians and yet totally refuse to be faithful to the Lord. They love to be seen as Christian people, but they will not "lay hold on eternal life" (1 Timothy 6:19). They try to live in the world as well as the Kingdom of God. They will not make a commitment and are lukewarm towards God (Revelation 3:16). The almost Christian may love God, but not with all his heart, soul and might (Deuteronomy 6:5).
Apparently the Almost Christian of the 21st century isn't even close to the Almost Christian of the 18th century and by far more pagan.
In Christ,
Chris
This article is from Chris Prang with the Christian Economic Report.
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