Back to UnChristian

The full title of this book is "UnChristian - What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity and Why it Matters". Authors, David Kinnamon and Gabe Lyons, took three years to research the book through interviews and surveys. Their conclusions are fascinating, sad, and rather eye opening. If we think of our Christian faith as being about love and redemption, we have done a mighty bad job of communicating that to the young people in America. This research was conducted with, what the authors term the “Mosaic” generation (born between 1982 and 2002) and the “Buster” generation (born between 1965 and 1983), and for the future of the Christian church it is essential that we not ignore what they have to say about us. There are six general themes that the book addresses. Young adults perceive modern American Christianity as being: hypocritical, too focused on getting converts, anti-homosexual, sheltered, too political and judgmental. Not at all how I see myself! But let’s go down the list one at a time, and see if we can look at ourselves though the eyes of an outsider.

Theme #1 “Hypocritical”- This one is easy. The definition of Hypocrisy is “The practice of professing beliefs, feelings, or virtues that one does not hold or possess; falseness”. However, “Mosaics and Busters” are not interested in the Websters definition. Hypocritical means to say one thing and to do another, as far as they are concerned.

Well, shoot, they have us there.

The commandments that Jesus asked us to follow above all others are “you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.' "The second is this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." (NAS, Mark 12:28-31).”

Virtually impossible!

We live in America where we love money and celebrity above everything else, with God as a possible close third. Love our neighbors? Does that mean Mexicans and Canadians? AND the person with the dirty RV parked on the street? Cause if it does, forget about it. We love our neighbors if they have a pretty garden and their dog doesn’t poop in our yard, and we don’t have to pay for their medical care.
I am going to have to meditate on the other chapters of this book on another day. I am too indicted by theme #1 to go any further today.