That Nasty Youth

By Phillip Roseberry

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     Youth has a nasty habit of thinking. And because youth does not have preconditioned thought patterns or preconditioned rationalizations for every problem, it has a nasty habit of arriving at conclusions which are highly independent of its predecessors. This is quite evident in the Church of Christ today. Youth is expressing serious doubt in regard to some of the most cherished traditions of its elders. But what is causing this insurrection?

     Somewhere along the line the youth's "spiritual milk" begins to sour. He begins to think. "Hey, man. I sure am glad that I'm in the right religion. Just think, there are about two million of us and everyone else in the world is being faked out! They're all going downstairs. Hmmm. Y'know, it's funny. Jerry told me the other day that he was in the right religion and that everybody else was gonna get the all-over hotfoot. Poor kid. He is just as sure as I am that he is right except that he is wrong. Imagine being wrong and thinking you're right! Hey, wait a minute! Could I?...no, impossible!...but then."

     The youth is in trouble already. Perhaps he approaches his father in regard to the fact that the possibility of his being in error appears to be approximately equivalent to Jerry's--not to mention that they could both be wrong. He is immediately "set aright" with clichés about the one church (which, quite coincidentally, may be defined as the group that has Dad's membership), etc., and told that the possibility of his being in error hovers somewhere considerably below zero. However, the youth's nasty habit of thinking probably will not allow him to stop here.

     "Well, I guess I got that straightened out. I am definitely right and Jerry is definitely wrong. He's taking the elevator marked down and I'm on the one going up. I sure am glad that I go to the hep church. I've been goin' there ever since I was born. I imagine poor old Jerry's been going to that wrong church ever since he was born too. Hey, that's Jerry's problem! He was born in the wrong church! He probably would be just as right as I am if he was born in the right church. Then he coulda been saved. But he wasn't, so he can't. Hey, what's that called when your destiny is determined when you're born? Hmmm. Predestination! Yeah, that's it, predestination. Hey, man. Like wait a minute. We don't believe in predestination!"

     Poor, perverse youth. He has come to the conclusion that the only real distinction between himself and his friend is the environment and teaching to which they have been exposed from birth. Perhaps he will look around him and observe others who are dedicating their life to the glory of God and sincerely seeking truth, but, he has been taught, are going to Hell because of some minute difference or wrong attitude which is the result of a lack of "gospel" teaching. Perhaps he will begin to feel that he owes his salvation to conditions which were given to him at birth.

     Soon this compilation of discoveries may begin to "rub" with his idea of justice. Perhaps he will be confronted with the choice of either disregarding his concept of a loving, just God, or abandoning his concept that only members of the Church of Christ can be saved. Perhaps he, as many other youths, will throw out both. Or perchance he will come to the conclusion that the distinctions which separate him from the many "Jerrys" round about him are merely insignificant contrivances of men stifled in tradition. Then he may define new and broader boundaries of fellowship, inwardly denounce his predecessors as narrow and bigoted, and generally become a heretic. Out of good Church of Christ soil has sprung a weed!

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     But what can be done to stop this insurrection? What can we do so that our youth will not be at odds with its elders? Two possibilities present themselves. Let me mention them.

     We can, of course, try to stop youth from thinking. We can tell our young people that all new thought comes from the devil, and that they are denying Christ by harboring it for a minute. We can open their head and pour in the idea that everyone outside our clique is ignorant, dishonest, and bigoted, and that Hell is too good for them. This approach will work on some of our young people. Of course, they will not be putting on Christ, they will be having Christ put on. They will not be demonstrating faith in Christ, but faith in their pedagogue. They will not be accepting truth from its author, but from its self-appointed guardian. But we certainly will not find them in rebellion. Oddly enough, however, some of our young people will not submit to this approach in the least. They will mumble something about "secondhand Christianity," traditionalism, and bigotry, and be driven from us, often beyond recall. This approach certainly is one possibility.

     Or, we can begin to teach and live a Christianity which acknowledges God's love and mercy; which does not profess a corner on truth, but freely confesses that truth is something we can never fully grasp, though it is to be eternally sought after; a Christianity which appreciates and respects the differences in peoples' attempts to give glory to the Omnipotent. This type of approach will appeal to many of our youths--those seeking truth free from tradition, and desiring to drink of living waters without a bottle.

     A choice has to be made--a choice which will affect the future of the Church of Christ. I only hope and pray that the right choice will be made. If not, the youth rebellion, and let me assure you that it exists, will continue to rage, leaving in its wake a multitude of disillusioned and faithless young people as well as many distraught elders.

     Well?

     (Editor's Note: Phillip Roseberry is a sophomore in David Lipscomb College at Nashville, Tennessee).