Renewing youth

I was 16 years old. A new convert. Enthused and encouraged in my new-found faith. I loved reading the Bible, until one day I was given a book with a title along the lines of ‘101 problems in the Bible – resolved’. I actually didn’t have any problems with the Bible – but after I read the book I had 101!

The problems were real, but the answers were shallow and superficial. It was my first ‘crisis of faith’. The only way I got out of it was to realise that I was very young in the faith and that I could not be expected to know everything at once. I believed that over the years the Lord would guide and show. Over the years most were gradually and graciously answered as the Lord taught me to read and think biblically. I came to understand that I needed to be transformed by the renewing of my mind (Romans 12:2) and to have the mind of Christ. I only have about four or five problems to go – although new issues still arise.

Drip-feeding

I fear that often the church makes a great error when it comes to our young people and their discipleship and training. We are more influenced by the culture than by the Bible. Our education system has largely adopted a utilitarian, social-engineering approach. We teach children what to think, rather than how to think. In today’s society children are expected to choose career paths at a ridiculously early age. Students in universities study narrow specialisms without considering the wider context of education and the basic principles of logic, reasoning, philosophy and culture. As a result they are drip-fed opinions as fact and have little ability or encouragement to think for themselves. When young teenagers go on climate-change marches, they are not being rebellious, they are being the ultimate conformists, conforming to what their teachers and culture tells them.