The Center for Gospel Culture Blog

An Ethic for the 20-Something?  

Jeremy M. MullenAugust 27, 2010 

 

Recently Robin Marantz Henig wrote an article for the New York Times Magazine entitled “What Is It about 20-Somethings?” In the article, she explains the trend of adults in their 20’s who are taking longer (or failing altogether) to reach various milestones of adulthood – along with the concern that many have about the trend. 
 
The bulk of the article, however, focuses on the work of Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, a psychology professor, who has written extensively on “emerging adulthood” (as he calls it). Arnett has been pressing for the recognition of this period as a distinct developmental phase, also implying a new set of societal considerations for them. Then, drawing upon the research of others, she points out that there are still some changes going on in the brain throughout the 20’s – especially the pruning of synapses. She comes to this startling conclusion: “Maybe it’s only now, when young people are allowed to forestall adult obligations without fear of public censure, that the rate of societal maturation can finally fall into better sync with the maturation of the brain.” In Henig’s defense, she does point out that Arnett has his critics, but she comes back in the end to present this discussion as a full of promise: “…if this longer road to adulthood really leads to more insight and better choices, then Arnett’s vision of an insightful, sensitive, thoughtful, content, well-hone, self-actualizing crop of grown-ups would indeed be something worth waiting for.”
 
Having just left my 20’s this past year and working full-time with college students, it’s not that I disagree that contemporary 20-somethings haven’t met some new challenges – or even that the period labeled “emerging adulthood” doesn’t exist. The problem is that Henig has present an ethical question in the flattest manner – as if nice biological coincidences conclude the matter. There are other details which need significant exploration. For instance, the freedoms that have become a hallmark of the contemporary American 20-something do have profound impact. The rise of STDs among this age group, the emotional toll of abortions, the physical and social cost of routine substance abuse, and so on profoundly impact the shape of subsequent life. Even in the biological terms by which Henig presents the discussion, reproduction – especially for women – would be much easier if it occurred in the teenage years. Yet none of us are prepared to conclude that in 21st century America, teenagers ought to be having children. Additionally, it might be worthwhile for those who are optimistic about this cultural shift to read the anonymously written Unprotected: A Campus Psychiatrist Reveals How Political Correctness in Her Profession Endangers Every Student,[1] which recounts just how profoundly disturbed many university students are becoming by exercising the freedoms Arnett promotes.
 
Henig’s article reveals just how complex many ethical questions are – and how flat much of our public ethical discourse has become. The question of how we treat those struggling through “emerging adulthood” does require an ethical stance, but such a stance is forged through acknowledgement of the complicated details not the glossing over of them. For the Christian, it requires that we reflect upon the gospel – “while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.”

[1] New York: Sentinel, 2006.

0 Comments  

Different religious leaders training in one school  

StaffAugust 24, 2010 

This upcoming fall, Claremont School of Theology will be being the "University Project," which will integrate the education of ministers, rabbis and Muslim religious leaders.

Time magazine recently published an article describing this initiative.

Here is an excerpt from that piece:

The project hatched naturally from Claremont's desire to engage southern California's religiously diverse population. "We're trying to catch up with the practical reality of how congregations, synagogues, and mosques are already trying to create some rapport among themselves," says Jerry Campbell, president of California's renowned Claremont School of Theology. Not only will the project offer comprehensive multi-faith classes, but also it hopes to establish the first accredited imam-training institution in the U.S.

0 Comments  

The Role of Christianity and the Chinese Economy  

StaffAugust 20, 2010 

An interview done by FRONTLINE/World reporter Evan Osnos with Zhao Xiao, a prominent Chinese economist who has gained attention for arguing that China’s economy would benefit from the spread of Christianity.

Interestingly enough, just recently, China was reported to have surpassed Japan as the 2nd largest economy in the world. 

0 Comments  

Gospel-centered Counseling  

StaffAugust 20, 2010 

Mike Emlet, counselor and faculty member at CCEF, writes a succinct article about how counseling from a gospel-centered framework is not disregarding principles and commands, but rather reinforces them.  

Here is an excerpt from his article:

If we don’t ultimately view the Bible as an unfolding, cohesive story of God’s redemption that comes to completion in Jesus Christ, our use of Scripture in ministry situations has the potential to miss Him—and so will our hearers. Those we minister to need more than commands, principles, examples, and systematic theological categories per se. Rather, they need to be connected in vital relationship with a Redeemer. Because the Bible tells the story of God’s rescue mission that centers on the Redeemer Jesus Christ, wherever we are in Scripture we want to ask the questions, “How does this passage fit into the broader story of redemption?” “What difference does the death and resurrection of Jesus make for the way I would understand and apply this passage to my brother or sister?”

0 Comments  

Citylife Church: prelude CD release  

StaffAugust 18, 2010 




Listen to music samples from this CD on www.citylifemusic.com and you are able to pre-order your CD today!

1 Comments  

Church Not Cool Anymore?  

StaffAugust 18, 2010 

Brett McCracken recently wrote an article for The Online Wall Street Journal regarding how certain churches are trying to be more "cool" for the purpose of engaging their people.  

Here's McCracken's conclusion:

If we are interested in Christianity in any sort of serious way, it is not because it's easy or trendy or popular. It's because Jesus himself is appealing, and what he says rings true. It's because the world we inhabit is utterly phony, ephemeral, narcissistic, image-obsessed and sex-drenched—and we want an alternative. It's not because we want more of the same.

0 Comments  

The Story Behind a Hymn  

StaffAugust 16, 2010 

Dane Ortlund tells the story behind a great hymn, O Love That Will Not Let Me Go.  

0 Comments  

Couples Who Pray Together Stay Together  

StaffAugust 12, 2010 

Could there be a link between the quality of a marriage with religious preferences?  See this article from The Washington Post.

0 Comments  

Political Hopes and Co-opted Gospels  

Jeremy M. MullenAugust 12, 2010 

Recently two items reminded me of the importance of distinguishing the gospel from various socio-political agendas. 
 
First, Amy Greene recently wrote an opinion piece for the New York Times entitled “Campaigning to the Choir.” She talks about the invocation of Christian belief in the Tennessee gubernatorial race. But she recalls her own upbringing in the church (in Tennessee) and bemoans the manner of reduction faith undergoes in the political sphere. What had once been a rich, rooted source of identity that defied simplistic sloganeering had now become a farce – a kind of merit badge for politicians.
 
Second, in Marilynne Robinson’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel Gilead, the narrator recalls an argument between his father and grandfather – both ministers (the latter retired). The grandfather had led the men from his Kansas church away to fight in the Civil War. Even before the war, he had been a militant abolitionist – apparently involved with John Brown’s Pottawatomie Massacre.  But most of the men from his congregation died; and he was left with bitterness as his congregation died off, and the Southern states were not (in his estimation) dealt the hand of judgment they deserved. Here’s their exchange when the grandfather turns up on Sunday evening after he leaving during the father’s sermon:
 
            He appeared at the house after dinner. He walked into the kitchen where my mother and I were clearing things away and cut himself a piece of bread and was about to leave again without a single word to us. But my father came up the porch steps just then and stood in the doorway, watching him.
            “Reverend,” my grandfather said when he saw him.
            My father said, “Reverend.”
            My mother said, “It’s Sunday. It’s the Lord’s Day. It’s the Sabbath.”
            My father said, “We are all well aware of that.” But he didn’t step out of the doorway. So she said to my grandfather, “Sit down and I’ll fix a plate for you. You can’t get by on a piece of bread.”
            And he did sit down. So my father came in and sat down across from him. They were silent for some time.
            Then my father said, “Did my sermon offend you in some way? Those few words you heard of it?”
            The old man shrugged. “Nothing in it to offend. I just wanted to hear some preaching. So I went over to the Negro church.”
            After a minute my father asked, “Well, did you hear some preaching?”
            My grandfather shrugged. “The text was ‘Love your enemies.’”
            “That seems to me to be an excellent text in the circumstances,” my father said. This was just after somebody set that fire behind the church that I mentioned earlier.
            The old man said, “Very Christian.”
            My father said, “You sound disappointed, Reverend.”
            My grandfather put his head in his hands. He said, “Reverend, no words could be bitter enough, no day could be long enough. There is just no end to it. Disappointment. I eat and drink it. I wake and sleep it.”
            My father’s lips were white. He said, “Well, Reverend, I know you placed great hope in that war. My hopes are in peace, and I am not disappointed. Because peace is its own reward. Peace is its own justification.”
            My grandfather said, “And that’s just what kills my heart, Reverend. That the Lord never came to you. That the seraphim never touched a coal to your lips –”
            My father stood up from his chair. He said, “I remember when you walked to the pulpit in that shot-up, bloody shirt with that pistol in your belt. And I had a thought as powerful and clear as any revelation. And it was, This has nothing to do with Jesus. Nothing. Nothing. And I was, and I am, as certain of that as anyone could ever be of any so-called vision. I defer to no in this. Not to you, not to Paul the Apostle, not to John the Divine. Reverend.”[1]
 
The scene bristles with anger masked by formality. Here the gospel was not reduced; rather, it was filled with a complex set of hopes which had only some distance relationship to the hope of the gospel. If the current Tennessee gubernatorial race is a farce, this gospel is a monstrosity. It could not be simply mentioned in passing. It stirred the soul of those who bought into it, and for that reason it was much more dangerous form. Tangential values had been brought into the center of the gospel and hitched to entities which could not possibly bear the weight of the infinite and eternal.

[1] Marilynne Robinson, Gilead (New York: Picador, 2004), 83-85.

0 Comments  

The End of Christianity in America?  

StaffAugust 09, 2010 

Rev. Dr. Soong-Chan Rah has written an inciteful piece in response to a Newsweek article, written in 2009, asserting that Christianity in America is on the decline and that ultimately, Christianity will be no more in America.  Dr. Rah has his own thoughts on this matter.  Here's an except from his article:

As sociologist R. Stephen Warner points out, "What many people have not heard...and need to hear is that the great majority of the newcomers are Christians... This means that the new immigrants represent not the de-Christianization of American society but the de-Europeanization of American Christianity." Contrary to popular opinion, the Church is not dying in America; it is alive and well, but it is alive and well among the immigrant and ethnic minority communities and not among the majority white churches in the United States. As we enter into a new era for American Christianity, we may indeed identify this era as a post-Western, post-white American Christianity. But we may also assert that this development may actually be the salvation of American Christianity rather than the decline and demise of American Christianity.
 

1 Comments  

Are We To Give In?  

StaffAugust 09, 2010 

A recent Op-Ed article in the NY Times brings light to how the consumeristic desires of church congregations can be a significant challenge for pastors to maintain their integrity to their calling of pastoral ministry.  Here's an excert from the article:

As a result, pastors are constantly forced to choose, as they work through congregants’ daily wish lists in their e-mail and voice mail, between paths of personal integrity and those that portend greater job security. As religion becomes a consumer experience, the clergy become more unhappy and unhealthy.

0 Comments  

Faith and Reason  

StaffAugust 05, 2010 

Gary Gutting, who teaches philosophy at the University of Notre Dame, writes an interesting article on the relation between faith and reason.

0 Comments  

How Do You Approach Your Life?  

StaffAugust 04, 2010 

David Brooks' recent article gives an interesting commentary on two different approaches to viewing and approaching life.  

Here is a brief summary from his article:

The person leading the Well-Planned Life emphasizes individual agency, and asks, “What should I do?” The person leading the Summoned Life emphasizes the context, and asks, “What are my circumstances asking me to do?”

Some of the readers' comments to Brooks' article are worth considering as well.  

Does the gospel have anything to add to this discussion?  Given the two different approaches that Brooks' outlines, Is it either-or, both-and, or is there another approach to consider?

0 Comments  

Free Audio Book  

StaffAugust 03, 2010 

christianaudio and P&R Publishing have partnered together for the month of August 2010 to bring you the audiobook download of Ministries of Mercy for FREE!

0 Comments  

Our Creation Mandate  

StaffAugust 03, 2010 

We all recognize the incongruity when churches speak of redemption in Christ and yet their members do not attempt to live out that redemption, however partial, in this life. The same applies to our creation mandate.

As Moore put it:

"Will people believe us when we speak about the One who brings life and that abundantly, when they see that we don't care about that which kills and destroys?"

See the full article here.

 

0 Comments  

About

The Center for Gospel Culture exists to establish the centrality of the gospel as the basis for developing a gospel culture worldview in renewing every dimension of an individual's life, so that individuals would be able to think, act, and live in line with the truth of the gospel.


Blog Roll

 

Browse our resources

Archives