The Pagan Christ: False Christianity Growing in Teens
A few weeks ago when I brought up paganism, I made the remark that even Jesus Christ can be a pagan god. A recent study has confirmed that the idea is spreading among American teens.
Author Kenda Creasy Dean was featured in an article on CNN’s website about how youth in America are following a “moralistic therapeutic deism” instead of Christianity. This misdirected faith is the subject of her book, Almost Christian.
Dean took part in a study of some 3,300 American teens that found many of them thought God was like a therapist, who wanted them to feel good. Despite the fact that three quarters of American youth call themselves Christian, less than 50% practice the faith or think it is important.
It reminds me of the single good bit of satire in Kevin Smith’s movie Dogma: the “Buddy Christ.” A new statue of Jesus is revealed, pointing at passers-by and giving a thumbs up, with a “you’re ok” attitude. The statue has been reproduced a lot, and has become a cultural icon in its own right.
Jesus as a feel-good guru conflicts with the Jesus who said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me,” told sinners to “sin no more” and insulted the self-righteous.
We elders and parents are not helping. The more the message is brought down to a lower level, abridged, made cool, or reduced to “glad texts” the more the pagan “buddy” Christ replaces the true Christ.
In Orthodoxy, G.K. Chesterton said that “Christianity even when watered down is hot enough to boil all modern society to rags. The mere minimum of the Church would be a deadly ultimatum to the world.” According to that perspective, we do not even now have a watered-down version of Christianity in our society. We are all in need of a turning back to the true Christ, the very definition of revolution.
Again, I find Dean’s solution good in theory: we must be more radical, and more open about our faith motivating us to do radical things. Instead of mission trips to Bolivia, as she suggested to CNN, there’s enough of a mess in our daily lives here in America to clan up. Sacrifice your career for your children, your neighbor. Speak out against injustice. Give charitably, especially when it hurts to do so. Be willing to lose everything for the true Christ, and our youth, as well as your peers and elders, will be less likely to fall for the feel-good sham version of Jesus.
About author:
Wayne is a writer with Eternal Revolution. He can be found on Twitter at twitter.com/NapoleonofHill and can be reached by email at [email protected] You can find Smith & Wayne on Facebook as well.
All entries by Wayne
Thank you for such a tough read. I agree completely, and will broadcast this article to my friends. I think you hit this on the head with “God was like a therapist, who wanted them to feel good.” It was preached to me a while back that God loves us too much to leave us as we are. Keep it up, please.