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TEENAGERS/FAITH

Christian Smith, co-author of Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers says, "Based on our findings, I suggest that the de facto religious faith of the majority of American teens is "Moralistic Therapeutic Deism." God exists. God created the world. God set up some kind of moral structure. God wants me to be nice. He wants me to be pleasant, wants me to get along with people. That's teen morality. The purpose of life is to be happy and feel good, and good people go to heaven. And nearly everyone's good."

—http://www.christianitytoday.com/bc/2005/001/4.10.html Illustration by Jim L. Wilson

Unfortunately, the teachings of Jesus don't reflect this popular notion. He requires more than goodness. He requires a new birth.

John 3:3 (KJV) "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

TEENS

The more we seek knowledge, the more we find out how true the Bible is. A new study suggests that falling in love makes adolescents more depressed, and more prone to delinquency and alcohol abuse than they would have been if they had avoided romance.

The reported effect on depression is small, but a little larger for girls than boys. The study included more than eight-thousand teens and was conducted by sociologists at Cornell University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The results appeared in the December issue of Journal of Health and Social Behavior.

Paul urged his young friend Timothy to flee the evil desires of youth, and instead to pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. (2 Tim 2:22). What difference would it make in the lives of our teens if we as parents encouraged them to cultivate a relationship with the Lord before they encounter the pressures of dating and premarital sex?

—Associated Press 02-13-2001, Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell