Generational Failure

[Herald]

Does anyone else find it ironic that the author of this OP is a hard determinist....thus for all practical purposes his indictment is of God, not a generation of people.

Skan, I am speaking as a Reformed Baptist. I was completely turned off by the OP, and said so. In my opinion Rick's premise and conclusions are biased and faulty. That he is a Calvinist is of little consequence. His type of diatribe could have come from an Anabaptist.

 

[Aaron]

Does anyone else find it ironic that the author of this OP is a hard determinist....thus for all practical purposes his indictment is of God, not a generation of people.

Bingo! :type:

 

[Earth Wind and Fire]

Does anyone else find it ironic that the author of this OP is a hard determinist....thus for all practical purposes his indictment is of God, not a generation of people.

Has he claimed that little title or are you just assuming he is?

 

[Luke2427]

Nonsense. Abject failure. You get a grade of F-. The entire class is dumber having read it. You will sit in the corner until lunch time. :wavey:

Your no teacher. The fact that you post meaningless inflammatory nonsense without making any counter argument is sufficient proof that you lack the intellect to be a teacher.

This is a debate site- not an "attack the person who says things you don't like" site.

 

[Luke2427]

I think he's just mad because they will only let him teach kids at his church. He wants to be the senior pastor but it AIN'T gonna happen.

I have been a senior pastor for 10 years. You constantly prove that you almost NEVER know what in the world you are talking about.

Your discernment about theology is consistent with your discernment here.

 

[Luke2427]

Skan, I am speaking as a Reformed Baptist. I was completely turned off by the OP, and said so. In my opinion Rick's premise and conclusions are biased and faulty. That he is a Calvinist is of little consequence. His type of diatribe could have come from an Anabaptist.

You would be turned off by most of what Jonathan Edwards preached too, brother.

It is the age we live in. The best of us, that's people like you, have no backbone nor stomach for stinging truth.

Ironically, we lost most of it in the 60's and 70's.

The Christianity that the adults of those decades left us is so weak that anything remotely firm seems shockingly abrasive.

The soft Christianity people like you call for has made a generation of effeminate Christianity and turned spiritual warriors into spiritual wimps.

My op is WAY softer than countless rants recorded in inspired Scripture with God's stamp of approval on them.

Have you ever stopped to consider that maybe my unique hardness is not the problem but rather the popular softness of the day?

 

[saturneptune]

Bingo! :type:

About as detailed as you seem to get.

 

[saturneptune]

You would be turned off by most of what Jonathan Edwards preached too, brother.

It is the age we live in. The best of us, that's people like you, have no backbone nor stomach for stinging truth.

Ironically, we lost most of it in the 60's and 70's.

The Christianity that the adults of those decades left us is so weak that anything remotely firm seems shockingly abrasive.

The soft Christianity people like you call for has made a generation of effeminate Christianity and turned spiritual warriors into spiritual wimps.

My op is WAY softer than countless rants recorded in inspired Scripture with God's stamp of approval on them.

Have you ever stopped to consider that maybe my unique hardness is not the problem but rather the popular softness of the day?

I became an adult about 1970, and there is an element of truth in what you say. While I do not like to paint an entire group of people by age with one stoke of the brush, there are certain characteristics of my generation that did this nation no good as far as advancing the Gospel and work of the Lord. I consider us the first abusive me, myself, and I generation, with our attention focused on us instead of Jesus. Not that it has gotten any better and in some ways worse since, we in a way launched the selfish ideals at a exponential rate.

Sure, we can cite some worldly events, race riots, Watergate, assasinations, Woodstock, the Vietnam War, decline in the churches, etc as a sign of changing times for the worse compared to the last generations. However, compare that to the 20s. This problem goes much deeper that that. It goes to the human heart.

One of the first movies to come out that showed a total lack of respect for the person of Jesus Christ was "Jesus Christ Superstar." My parents would not even allow me to go.

I can blame liberals, homosexuals, activists, Communistis, socialists etc all day long, but the point Luke has made, the real point is us. If I have a point of disagreement, it would be blaming a generation instead of a series of generations since. It all gets down to two words, selfishness and laziness., and right within our own local churches. These outward sins have always gone on. What changed is the local churches not calling them to account and turing their noses inward.

The Bible tells us to put on the whole armor of God. Instead, everyone stands around and scratches their heads about why the empty pews. Instead of the armour of God, we put on pot lucks. We show no concern for the lost soul. One in 100 people show up for visitation. We have transformed local churches into a senior citizen social club. We toleratate rampant gossip. We water down the consequences of sin. We have arguments in church on what color to change the carpet. We worry more about dancing, drinking, lottery tickets and TV shows than bringing someone to salvation.

Yes, I do think my generation started the slippery slope. Now, I will say that there are times for harsh, pointed language to get a point across, but not always. Evil has always been out there. Christ and His church is what keeps it in check. When Christians for the most part become self centered slobs, the outcome is not hard to predict.

 

[Luke2427]

I became an adult about 1970, and there is an element of truth in what you say. While I do not like to paint an entire group of people by age with one stoke of the brush, there are certain characteristics of my generation that did this nation no good as far as advancing the Gospel and work of the Lord. I consider us the first abusive me, myself, and I generation, with our attention focused on us instead of Jesus. Not that it has gotten any better and in some ways worse since, we in a way launched the selfish ideals at a exponential rate.

Sure, we can cite some worldly events, race riots, Watergate, assasinations, Woodstock, the Vietnam War, decline in the churches, etc as a sign of changing times for the worse compared to the last generations. However, compare that to the 20s. This problem goes much deeper that that. It goes to the human heart.

One of the first movies to come out that showed a total lack of respect for the person of Jesus Christ was "Jesus Christ Superstar." My parents would not even allow me to go.

I can blame liberals, homosexuals, activists, Communistis, socialists etc all day long, but the point Luke has made, the real point is us. If I have a point of disagreement, it would be blaming a generation instead of a series of generations since. It all gets down to two words, selfishness and laziness., and right within our own local churches. These outward sins have always gone on. What changed is the local churches not calling them to account and turing their noses inward.

The Bible tells us to put on the whole armor of God. Instead, everyone stands around and scratches their heads about why the empty pews. Instead of the armour of God, we put on pot lucks. We show no concern for the lost soul. One in 100 people show up for visitation. We have transformed local churches into a senior citizen social club. We toleratate rampant gossip. We water down the consequences of sin. We have arguments in church on what color to change the carpet. We worry more about dancing, drinking, lottery tickets and TV shows than bringing someone to salvation.

Yes, I do think my generation started the slippery slope. Now, I will say that there are times for harsh, pointed language to get a point across, but not always. Evil has always been out there. Christ and His church is what keeps it in check. When Christians for the most part become self centered slobs, the outcome is not hard to predict.

Thank you for a very reasonable, rather than emotional knee jerk post like many that have been made in this thread.

We are in even more agreement than you realize because I am not trying to paint the whole generation with a broad brush.

As I said in the op, there are many good, godly Christians who came out of that generation. There were men like Adrian Rogers who condemned his own generation.

And I agree that it did not begin just with the adults of the 60's and 70's, but it was here where empty Christianity became a plague in this land along with rampant immorality.

The point of this thread was to humble. The reason it is called for is because some guys like me, in their mid thirties, are tired of hearing guys in their late fifties to mid 70's talk like theirs are the godly "old paths" that we need to get back to. What absolute obliviousness!! What arrogance! What idiocy!

I have presented some facts that VERY few have even attempted to deal with- facts that support my premise that this could have been the worst generation for Christianity in the history of the nation.

Now I can think of counter arguments, sound, valid contentions that I am mistaken. But FEW have even attempted to do that. They just attack.

But do you know why they do that?


An old proverb says, "If you throw a rock in a pack of dogs, the one who whelps is the one you hit."

 

[Earth Wind and Fire]

Thank you for a very reasonable, rather than emotional knee jerk post like many that have been made in this thread.

We are in even more agreement than you realize because I am not trying to paint the whole generation with a broad brush.

As I said in the op, there are many good, godly Christians who came out of that generation. There were men like Adrian Rogers who condemned his own generation.

And I agree that it did not begin just with the adults of the 60's and 70's, but it was here where empty Christianity became a plague in this land along with rampant immorality.

The point of this thread was to humble. The reason it is called for is because some guys like me, in their mid thirties, are tired of hearing guys in their late fifties to mid 70's talk like theirs are the godly "old paths" that we need to get back to. What absolute obliviousness!! What arrogance! What idiocy!

I have presented some facts that VERY few have even attempted to deal with- facts that support my premise that this could have been the worst generation for Christianity in the history of the nation.

Now I can think of counter arguments, sound, valid contentions that I am mistaken. But FEW have even attempted to do that. They just attack.

But do you know why they do that?


An old proverb says, "If you throw a rock in a pack of dogs, the one who whelps is the one you hit."

Its a very simple formula.....Hit the streets, press the flesh, laugh with them & cry with them. No more tired & lazy church services--people will no longer believe in that, but it will believe love. They will believe in life that is given & received.

What do you say to the unemployed, what do you say to the women without a husband that is struggling with 3 growing kids w/o a father. What do you say to the shut ins, to the people who's house was just foreclosed on. They all want to know what the meaning of life is on this side of the grave. I dont think the church has been answering those questions for a real long time.....rather its come in on Sunday & somehow it will all come together. Jeeze, these are the people who deliberately wont come. They are ashamed, or they are forced to work low paying jobs, or the kids are sick or they would have to drive & they no longer have cars, or whatever.

My foundational question is what has happened to a church that no longer considers the plight of the poor, downtrodden & destitute? Guess we would rather just come to church at 11 am on any given Sunday & meet with all the comfortable born again & saved. Beware: You are ignoring Christ & that is shameful.

 

[Thomas Helwys]

Its a very simple formula.....Hit the streets, press the flesh, laugh with them & cry with them. No more tired & lazy church services--people will no longer believe in that, but it will believe love. They will believe in life that is given & received.

What do you say to the unemployed, what do you say to the women without a husband that is struggling with 3 growing kids w/o a father. What do you say to the shut ins, to the people who's house was just foreclosed on. They all want to know what the meaning of life is on this side of the grave. I dont think the church has been answering those questions for a real long time.....rather its come in on Sunday & somehow it will all come together. Jeeze, these are the people who deliberately wont come. They are ashamed, or they are forced to work low paying jobs, or the kids are sick or they would have to drive & they no longer have cars, or whatever.

My foundational question is what has happened to a church that no longer considers the plight of the poor, downtrodden & destitute? Guess we would rather just come to church at 11 am on any given Sunday & meet with all the comfortable born again & saved. Beware: You are ignoring Christ & that is shameful.

Excellent and full of truth!