Christian Debate - Listening to those that you disagree with.

Over today and hopefullly tomorrow I hope to listen to some of the debates from the Christian Book Expo in Dallas (Links to the video feeds here).

So far I have listened to part of

Does the God of Christianity Exist, and What Difference Does It Make?

Stan Guthrie moderates this panel with Lee Strobel, William Lane Craig, Douglas Wilson, Christopher Hitchens, and Jim Denison.

and the whole of

The Emerging Church

Mark Galli moderates this panel with Scot McKnight, Tony Jones, Kevin DeYoung, and Alex and Brett Harris.

I was very keen to listen to the debate on the Emerging and Emergant Church. The first 40 min is just people sharing their grips about what others on the panel had written on the issue under the gise of defining emergant and emerging.

I must say that the most impressive on the panel (to me) were Alex and Brett Harris. They at one stage lovingly 'rebuked' one of the other panel members and then went on later (@ 70:50) to talk about "astounding Biblical illiteracy" of a generation 18 to 33 year olds and parents raising children that worship a "post-modern moralistic dieism".

To be honest this is the struggle that the church continues to face - to raise boys and girls into young men and women that love Jesus and know the Bible. Parenting is the most important role I think that anyone can undertake because how that child is raised will affect (not solely though) what they do with the rest of their life.

I am going to put down a list of things that I think have affected the way children are by the time they hit 18

1. Parents are not at home - I am not saying that it is wrong for 2 parents to work but more so who is raising the kids. Casting Crowns - American Dream. In some case this is no the fault of the parents but a society that requires 2 parents to work to survive. Though from where I stand it has nothing to do with surviving but money and toys that will disappear.
2. Christian parents aren't/ don't know how to raise their kids to love Jesus - Ties back to the first point in some aspects but in addition I am not sure that parents are or know how to raise children to know the Gospel, love chewing on the Bible and stepping up to the tasks ahead of them.
   
3. Poor examples - Whether it is sports stars like Brett Stewart or Shane Warne, movie stars like Mel Gibson or Miley Cyrus, or pop music idols like Britney Spears or 2Pac. There are few good role models out there for kids and unfortunately parents in some case are either bad role models or no role model. We need people to set the standard for the kids around us.
   
4. Low expectations of teenagers - I know some may think that I am stealing the ideas of others here but long before I even know the names of Mark Driscoll, Alex and Brett Harris I was (and still am) passionate to see boys become young men. I honestly believe that there has never been a generation that we expect less of then this current one. Kids don't care - school is a joke, church is attendance and life well I don't need to aim high. What I feel I am seeing through Youth Ministry is a generation that are appathetic to life.
5. Liberalism of society / Post modernism - "It might not be what I think is right but it is ok for them I guess". Along with the fact that kids in Christian families are not bought up with a Chrisitan worldview everyone else out there is telling them just becuase it is wrong for you doesn't mean that it is wrong for me.
   

I think that I relate to this well I grew up going to church knowing that there was a God but it was all about rules to me - BE GOOD. I know that it is wordy but I like the phrase "post-modern moralistic dieism" becuase I think it fits the bill.

As a sub note I was very impressed by Alex and Brett Harris their humility and actions showed a Christ-likeness in them but this did not stop them standing for Truth.