Greetings Readers, it’s been a
minute since The Dialect of Praxis
had a post. It’s been an exciting time in my life and new adventures have kept
me engaged in conversation elsewhere. I hope you all are well!
Radical Transparency is a term I’ve borrowed from David Kinnaman’s
well-selling title UnChristian. The
phrase is an ideal set by the Buster and Mosaic generations (specifically those
ages 16-29) who have grown skeptical and/or cynical about the portrayal of
Christianity and the mass-marketed consumerist society surrounding young people
today. Radical Transparency is a mindset aimed at deconstructing image-centered
hyper-individualism and being “real” with people.
Kinnaman’s book, boasting copious
amounts of research and data analysis on Western culture’s negative perception
of Christianity and its people, declares, only 1 in 22 Christians (in the 16-29
age bracket) have a deep connection to the Christian faith (UnChristian). This phenomenon is what
authors such as Kenda Dean and others have come to call Moralistic Therapeutic
Deism.
In the spirit of Radical
Transparency, I have to say I’m not alarmed by any of the statistics, negative
views, erosion, or declining numbers of the Christian faith. I’m at the tail
end of the Buster demographic and have personally experienced the skepticism,
cynicism, and need for authenticity in the Christian world. But, the skepticism
and cynicism (which I have no doubt worn as a coat of armor) is as concerning
as the façade of moralistic perfectionist Christianity.
Pious behavior (personal
devotional reading of scripture, doing everything right, praying enough, and
the like) doesn’t save us and this is a fair criticism from non-Christians and
skeptical believers, towards the typically Conservative portion of the
Christian community. However, I’m not looking to tear down Evangelicals today.
Instead, I ask, could a delicate balance of piety be a bad thing?
Honestly, I’m not hugely pious
(or remotely pious compared to my days as an Evangelical Christian) but I like
to study the scriptures. As is evident by the statistics in UnChristian, most people identify the
importance of Christianity in lifestyle before anything to do with the Gospel
message. And, experience has shown me that many young people in the Church
today don’t have a basic understanding of the Gospel (or scripture in general).
Maybe non-Christians don’t want to know who Jesus is because most Christians
don’t know who Jesus is anymore. Christianity is not a set of lifestyle
principals; it is faith in the living God and redemptive work of the cross.
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