Moralistic Therapeutic Deism
During the CCYM retreat, the adults had a chance to have their own small group and we talked about a whole lot of different things. One thing that came up was a discussion on moralistic therapeutic deism. Now before you run off and freak out at that phrase, hang on and I'll get to explaining it. I haven't read the book it came from, but intend to soon, but essentially here is what I understand the authors of Soul Searching have to say about that...
Moralistic Therapeutic Deism is what teenagers have these days. They can't seem to talk about their faith other than saying that God exists on a sort of unreachable level (deism) and requires them to be good (moralistic) and to feel good (therapeutic). We all end up being these happy capitalists that do things that we feel are right in the eyes of others so that we may feel good about ourselves. Essentially, that makes it so that God isn't at all demanding of us and who we are. Instead, God's job is to make us happy by providing us with things rather than it being our job to do things to further God's kingdom here and now.
Why is it that adults go to church once they have kids? To instill morals in them of course. Because it is apparently the church's job to teach kids morals. We also want kids to grow up feeling good about themselves so we teach them little more than "God loves them" during Sunday School. But what happens when parents get divorced, when kids have family members die, or something else horrible happens? Suddenly that "God loves them" speech sure isn't enough and we lose them. They grow up, get married, have kids and start the cycle again.
I think at when we look at what Jesus calls us to do, we are called beyond this moralistic therapeutic deism. We are called to act. We are called to seek justice, love kindness and walk humbly with our God.
Today we read this article by Jim Palmer about the child sex trade in South Asia from relevant magazine in Bible study... I want to share an excerpt that made me think about this MTD thing and made me want to sort of spew out my current thoughts about it.
We are God's hands and feet in this world, there is no denying it. God wants us to act, that's why Jesus showed up in the first place. God doesn't want us to sit around and wait for something better to come, God wants us to make it better. These are the things I try to teach youth each week at youth group. This is the example I desperately want to be living up to with my friends and family. It isn't easy work being part of God's kingdom, but the reward is great both now and forever.
Moralistic Therapeutic Deism is what teenagers have these days. They can't seem to talk about their faith other than saying that God exists on a sort of unreachable level (deism) and requires them to be good (moralistic) and to feel good (therapeutic). We all end up being these happy capitalists that do things that we feel are right in the eyes of others so that we may feel good about ourselves. Essentially, that makes it so that God isn't at all demanding of us and who we are. Instead, God's job is to make us happy by providing us with things rather than it being our job to do things to further God's kingdom here and now.
Why is it that adults go to church once they have kids? To instill morals in them of course. Because it is apparently the church's job to teach kids morals. We also want kids to grow up feeling good about themselves so we teach them little more than "God loves them" during Sunday School. But what happens when parents get divorced, when kids have family members die, or something else horrible happens? Suddenly that "God loves them" speech sure isn't enough and we lose them. They grow up, get married, have kids and start the cycle again.
I think at when we look at what Jesus calls us to do, we are called beyond this moralistic therapeutic deism. We are called to act. We are called to seek justice, love kindness and walk humbly with our God.
Today we read this article by Jim Palmer about the child sex trade in South Asia from relevant magazine in Bible study... I want to share an excerpt that made me think about this MTD thing and made me want to sort of spew out my current thoughts about it.
Yes, God cares about us and wants us to be happy. There is no denying that. But the kingdom of God is among us (Luke 17:21) and we are responsible for our neighbors. Another quote from the article that speaks directly to my heart... "Confronting oppression wherever it exists and bringing rescue to victims of injustice wherever they are is a reflection of the heart of God. God's kingdom is one of love, beauty, wholeness, freedom, peace, truth, and justice. Some people seem to sit around waiting for God to drop it on us. Maybe God wants to give birth to it through us."
"Religion tends to place God somewhere out there or up there in the sky. The religious logic naturally follows then that people petition God to come down from the sky to intervene into human affairs, particularly to protect or rescue people from pain and suffering. When things are particularly bleak, the conversation turns to heaven and how God will eventually work everything out in the end. That's nice theology unless you are the little girl being raped several times a day, six days a week."
We are God's hands and feet in this world, there is no denying it. God wants us to act, that's why Jesus showed up in the first place. God doesn't want us to sit around and wait for something better to come, God wants us to make it better. These are the things I try to teach youth each week at youth group. This is the example I desperately want to be living up to with my friends and family. It isn't easy work being part of God's kingdom, but the reward is great both now and forever.
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on Wednesday, November 29, 2006 at 2:20 PM.
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