Non-believers left the faith because of intellectual skepticism

“We are learning that one of the primary reasons that ministry to teenagers fails to produce a lasting faith is because they are not being taught to think.” David Kinnaman, UnChristian, 2007 “We are learning that one of the primary reasons that ministry to teenagers fails to produce a lasting faith is because they are not being taught to think.” David Kinnaman, UnChristian, 2007

“What is new is the lack of ability to construct bridges between one layer and another. The inability to see contradictions as contradictions and the ability to easily rationalize seemingly irreconcilable beliefs, attitudes or values…” ~ Chap Clark, Hurt: Inside the World of Today’s Teenagers “What is new is the lack of ability to construct bridges between one layer and another. The inability to see contradictions as contradictions and the ability to easily rationalize seemingly irreconcilable beliefs, attitudes or values…” ~ Chap Clark, Hurt: Inside the World of Today’s Teenagers

Only 9% of evangelical adults and 3% of evangelical youth have a biblical worldview. George Barna, Thinking Like a Christian

A “view of the world”

J.P. Moreland “This is why truth is so powerful. It allows us to cooperate with reality, whether spiritual or physical, and tap into its power… Love Your God with all Your Mind

J.P. Moreland …As we learn to think correctly about God, specific scriptural teachings, the soul, or other important aspects of a Christian worldview, we are placed in touch with God and those realities… Love Your God with all Your Mind

J.P. Moreland …And we thereby gain access to the power available to us to live in the kingdom of God.” Love Your God with all Your Mind

Quiz over beliefs of Protestant Youth 1.Believe God created the world but is not involved today? (Deism) 2.Believe God is impersonal, like a cosmic force? (New Age) 3.“Maybe” or “definitely” believe in reincarnation? What percentage…

Quiz over beliefs of Protestant Youth 4.Are not assured of the existence miracles? 5.Are not assured of the existence of evil spirits? 6.Believe many religions may be true? What percentage…

Quiz over beliefs of Protestant Youth 1.Believe God created the world but is not involved today? (Deism) 2.Believe God is impersonal, like a cosmic force? (New Age) 3.“Maybe” or “definitely” believe in reincarnation? What percentage… 10% 8% 33%

Quiz over beliefs of Protestant Youth 4.Are not assured of the existence miracles? 5.Are not assured of the existence of evil spirits? 6.Believe many religions may be true? What percentage… 23% 42% 48%

“People who have a biblical worldview are much more likely to act like Jesus because they see such things as life, people, and crises differently than most people do.” David Kinnaman, UnChristian (2007)

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not weapons of the world…

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 … On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God…”

1 John 2:21 “I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it…”

Public Sphere (objective knowledge) Private Sphere (subjective preference)

“I’m a Christian, and I believe in parents being able to provide children with religious instruction without interference from the state. But I also believe our schools are there to teach worldly knowledge and science…. Barack Obama

…I believe in evolution, and I believe there’s a difference between science and faith. That doesn’t make faith any less important than science. It just means they’re two different things.” President Obama

Dr. Michael Weiss “This will take the discussion about sexual preference out of the realm of morality and put it in the realm of science.” “New Evidence of a ‘gay gene’” The Week, 2005

“ What rarely arises in such conversations are teens’ religious identities, beliefs, experiences, or practices… National Study of Youth and Religion, 2005

…Religion just does not naturally seem to appear much on most teenagers’ open-ended lists of what really matters in their lives…. National Study of Youth and Religion, 2005

…Religion seems to become rather compartmentalized and back-grounded in the lived experiences of most U.S teenagers.” National Study of Youth and Religion, 2005

“What a number of teens apparently mean in reporting that religion is very important in their lives is that religion is very important in the strictly religious sector of their lives… Christian Smith National Study of Youth and Religion, 2005

…Religion influences them religiously—that is, when it comes to church, basic beliefs, prayer, and so on—but not necessarily in other ways.” Christian Smith National Study of Youth and Religion, 2005

“Religion influences me a lot with people I choose not to be around. I would not hang out with people that are, you know, devil worshippers because that’s just not my thing.” ~ 18 year old girl

“Religion influences me in the things I choose not to do, um, like bad things, like murder or something.” ~ 17 year old boy

“What our interviews almost never uncovered among teens was a view that religion summons people to embrace an obedience to truth regardless of the personal consequences or rewards.” Soul Searching, 2005

“The language that dominates adolescent interests and thinking about life, including religious and spiritual life, is primarily about personally feeling good and being happy.” Soul Searching, 2005

“ We must begin by being utterly convinced that there is a biblical perspective on everything—not just spiritual matters. ” Nancy Pearcey, Total Truth

In Christ are “…all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” ~ Colossians 2:3

Charles Darwin Autobiography of Charles Darwin “The horrid doubt always arises whether the conviction of man’s mind, which has developed from the mind of the lower animals, are of any value or at all trustworthy. Would anyone trust the conviction of a monkey’s mind, if there are any convictions in such a mind?”