Michael Bresciani
Millennials - standing off but not standing up
By Michael Bresciani
Grammy and Dove Award winners, the popular contemporary Christian music group Jars of Clay recently began tweeting about the "gay marriage" question. Band leader Dan Haseltine has been tweeting his support for gay "marriage" and has told his followers that he sees no societal breakdown and no war on marriage in America.
Now, their followers and groupies are falling into separate, but diverse camps. Some believe they have betrayed Jesus Christ and the Bible's moral teachings, while others are hanging in to become middle of the roader's that are in no danger of being spit on, but are clear candidates for being spit out.
"I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth." (Rev 3: 15, 16)
In fairness, Jars always seemed comfortable in the middle of the road having been the musical backdrop for several R-rated movies and at times were featured along with modern secular rock groups one week and playing for evangelical gatherings in the next.
Jars, reflects the kind of contemporary expression of a secular world view that best describes the attitudes and amoral stand of the typical millennials.
The Style of Millennials
Like any cultural movement an identifying fashion statement always tends to emerge whether desired or not. They look comfortable, non-descript never formal, loose, plain, colorless, minimalist and slouching. The dead giveaway in most cases is the smartphone or a similar hand held gadget that seem to accompany them at all times like a familiar spirit attached to their very psyche and soul.
They are perpetually delving into the bottomless pit of information from our ever increasing secular world, like the fetus pulls energy through the umbilical attached to its mother's body. With choices, graphics, apps and plenty of jaded journalism, near porn and endless choices of music they are tuned into both nothing in particular and everything there is – all at once.
They are the young herd stampeding into their highly questionable future, all while standing completely still. They are minds on the move. Always ruminating, rehashing by hashtag, with a roving finger smart on the mini-screen that feeds them their world. Lest we fail to mention it, there is the taking of endless photos and so called – "selfies"
Times of Israel writer Adiv Sterman quoted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently, because Bibi couldn't wrap his mind around today's "selfie crazed society." Netanyahu remarked "What do you get out of all these pictures?"
Netanyahu concluded his rant by saying "I'm the only one here without all these electronic devices, I'm a free man, and you all are slaves."
Millennials are knowledgeable and shallow all at the same time. They may be able to tell you where Lithuania is, but more likely than not, they believe Palestine is a beleaguered ancient nation displaced and oppressed by the Jews. Not aware that Palestinians have no ancient history and rejected a chance at nationhood several times over. All the information of the day has not helped to properly establish a foundation of historical accuracies from the past.
They are the generation most likely to fulfill the sad truth in the familiar adage – "those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it" Not knowing the past is a grade above not learning from the past.
Their politics are apolitical, their religion, if any, is a meld of diversities from the nebulous pot of all religions. Their worldview is a mix of media fed views like global warming, inclusiveness, and diversity. These are generalities to be mentioned in conversation while never actually becoming part of it or anything else besides a quest for a degree, some financial security and a reasonably interesting life of eclectic choices for everything else.
They look detached, aloof, cool and unassailable, but curiously they also look quite dead. Since they are self-assured that all things are relative they rarely think they are in need of salvation. That is the point. Without a Savior, they are in fact – dead. Everyone who chooses another way, be it the culture or by simple denial to dismiss sin are counted as dead according to the Apostle Paul.
"And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins: Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others." (Eph 2: 1-3)
Call me anything you like, but heaven forbid that you call me dead! Dead may be aloof and detached, but it is never cool.
The Subtle but Deadly Error of Millennials
Millennials are unaware of the conflict between culture and spirituality. Cultural immediacy has destroyed more than one great nation in our history. All that is nascent and current may seem like the shining path so we look back to see that in Italy the new thing called fascism gathered the young Italians right into Mussolini's net and left the country in near ruin.
In China Mao's youth tore down every icon and edifice relating to the old dynasties and China's rich history to create one of the most oppressive modern regimes in the world.
In America the "Change we can Believe In" crowd is standing in awe as the Obama steam roller makes wreckage of time honored standards like, fiscal responsibility, marriage, feasible and honorable foreign policy and the extraction of natural resources to ensure the future of our nation. Freedom of speech is now on the chopping block and racism has reared its ugly head once again as Obama and friends divide the country up like a side of beef on the butcher's table.
It is all done in the name of all that is new, change and the new tolerance and diversity.
It goes without saying that the Millennials are completely un-aware of the prophetic message of scripture. They are convinced it is an old school part of closed religion. The mistake is not seeing that the prophetic is neither old or new it is eternal and originates from the timeless realm of the eternal will and counsel of the Living God.
The prophetic message warns that it is the "new" that finally washes out the "old" for good. It is called the new world order by some, but more accurately it is known as the "last days" or "premillennial prophecy." It washes out the rule of man anywhere on this planet with the return of the one who previously came to offer us mercy by his death on the cross.
It is the great "Charis" or grace given to all men including today's millennials that is barely understood. It is God's mercy and forgiveness offered in fullness to all who will receive it. The youth of this day somehow have come to believe that they are not in need of forgiveness. They have decided that it's only about how you treat others and not what God has clearly labeled as immorality and sin. In fact, that is one of the answers band leader Dan Haseltine offered on a recent tweet to explain the band's new all-inclusive idea of tolerance.
Not understanding grace is only part of the problem. The second part of the equation is truth. According to scripture grace and truth are interconnected and inseparable. You cannot have one without the other.
"For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." (John 1: 17)
Including all sinners in one happy human family sounds really friendly and nice, but it is a blatant, pervasive and deadly lie.
In order to see grace, the truth must be acknowledged. The truth is that all men are sinners and Christ came to die for the sins of the world.
The world is one in that we are all part of the family of man, if acknowledging that could bring us all of up to perfect peace and harmony then why is our world a powder keg waiting for the portent of the battle of Armageddon?
Millennials are Victims not Victors
Millennials are standing around like so many vagrants with iPhones in hand, snapping pictures of a dying world. We can't reject youth in our culture because for good or bad they are the future.
What we fail to recognize is that they are the victims of a generational long mistake fueled by liberalism, fanned by indoctrination and consumed by common deceptions that now pass themselves off as immutable and inevitable.
They are confident that Darwinism's theory which is still fraught with deep questions, millions of missing links and other glaring inconsistencies is the only answer for origins. Mindless adherence to the incredibly ridiculous notion that everything came from nothing has made fools of Darwinist's who are for some unknown reason still laughing at the more circumspect and far more reasonable view of special creation. They are living proof that even Forrest Gump's mother was slightly askew in the assumption that 'stupid is as stupid does.' More accurately, stupid is as stupid believes.
They are convinced that all religions are useless and thereby have thrown the baby out with the wash. The offer of salvation is not a religion and the price paid to accomplish that great offer was not made by any religion or religious leader in history. Jesus Christ came into the world for only one purpose and that was to offer salvation, not to start a new religion, that a religion came out of it – is purely incidental.
They see life as disposable and have been sold the idea that choice is reason enough to waste the lives of 60 million unborn children. Advanced courses in biology and nothing else it seems, can show them that virtually nothing that starts to live makes a willing conscience choice to die. We make the choice for others which in the weakest philosophy of life means that choice was denied, and stolen from someone else.
They are victims of a society that would rather listen to the whimpering contestations of the insolent and rebellious rather than risk rejection to stand and direct an entire generation into all the best of the past and the best hope of the future.
They are a caught up in a vortex of entertainment, viral videos and Vampire Diaries. Unable to discern the times they are living in, they make the distractions of simpler days seem innocuous and yet they are the very ones who fulfill the prophecies of old in their own generation
"And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all." (Lu 17: 26-27)
© Michael Bresciani
May 6, 2014
Grammy and Dove Award winners, the popular contemporary Christian music group Jars of Clay recently began tweeting about the "gay marriage" question. Band leader Dan Haseltine has been tweeting his support for gay "marriage" and has told his followers that he sees no societal breakdown and no war on marriage in America.
Now, their followers and groupies are falling into separate, but diverse camps. Some believe they have betrayed Jesus Christ and the Bible's moral teachings, while others are hanging in to become middle of the roader's that are in no danger of being spit on, but are clear candidates for being spit out.
"I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth." (Rev 3: 15, 16)
In fairness, Jars always seemed comfortable in the middle of the road having been the musical backdrop for several R-rated movies and at times were featured along with modern secular rock groups one week and playing for evangelical gatherings in the next.
Jars, reflects the kind of contemporary expression of a secular world view that best describes the attitudes and amoral stand of the typical millennials.
The Style of Millennials
Like any cultural movement an identifying fashion statement always tends to emerge whether desired or not. They look comfortable, non-descript never formal, loose, plain, colorless, minimalist and slouching. The dead giveaway in most cases is the smartphone or a similar hand held gadget that seem to accompany them at all times like a familiar spirit attached to their very psyche and soul.
They are perpetually delving into the bottomless pit of information from our ever increasing secular world, like the fetus pulls energy through the umbilical attached to its mother's body. With choices, graphics, apps and plenty of jaded journalism, near porn and endless choices of music they are tuned into both nothing in particular and everything there is – all at once.
They are the young herd stampeding into their highly questionable future, all while standing completely still. They are minds on the move. Always ruminating, rehashing by hashtag, with a roving finger smart on the mini-screen that feeds them their world. Lest we fail to mention it, there is the taking of endless photos and so called – "selfies"
Times of Israel writer Adiv Sterman quoted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently, because Bibi couldn't wrap his mind around today's "selfie crazed society." Netanyahu remarked "What do you get out of all these pictures?"
Netanyahu concluded his rant by saying "I'm the only one here without all these electronic devices, I'm a free man, and you all are slaves."
Millennials are knowledgeable and shallow all at the same time. They may be able to tell you where Lithuania is, but more likely than not, they believe Palestine is a beleaguered ancient nation displaced and oppressed by the Jews. Not aware that Palestinians have no ancient history and rejected a chance at nationhood several times over. All the information of the day has not helped to properly establish a foundation of historical accuracies from the past.
They are the generation most likely to fulfill the sad truth in the familiar adage – "those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it" Not knowing the past is a grade above not learning from the past.
Their politics are apolitical, their religion, if any, is a meld of diversities from the nebulous pot of all religions. Their worldview is a mix of media fed views like global warming, inclusiveness, and diversity. These are generalities to be mentioned in conversation while never actually becoming part of it or anything else besides a quest for a degree, some financial security and a reasonably interesting life of eclectic choices for everything else.
They look detached, aloof, cool and unassailable, but curiously they also look quite dead. Since they are self-assured that all things are relative they rarely think they are in need of salvation. That is the point. Without a Savior, they are in fact – dead. Everyone who chooses another way, be it the culture or by simple denial to dismiss sin are counted as dead according to the Apostle Paul.
"And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins: Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others." (Eph 2: 1-3)
Call me anything you like, but heaven forbid that you call me dead! Dead may be aloof and detached, but it is never cool.
The Subtle but Deadly Error of Millennials
Millennials are unaware of the conflict between culture and spirituality. Cultural immediacy has destroyed more than one great nation in our history. All that is nascent and current may seem like the shining path so we look back to see that in Italy the new thing called fascism gathered the young Italians right into Mussolini's net and left the country in near ruin.
In China Mao's youth tore down every icon and edifice relating to the old dynasties and China's rich history to create one of the most oppressive modern regimes in the world.
In America the "Change we can Believe In" crowd is standing in awe as the Obama steam roller makes wreckage of time honored standards like, fiscal responsibility, marriage, feasible and honorable foreign policy and the extraction of natural resources to ensure the future of our nation. Freedom of speech is now on the chopping block and racism has reared its ugly head once again as Obama and friends divide the country up like a side of beef on the butcher's table.
It is all done in the name of all that is new, change and the new tolerance and diversity.
It goes without saying that the Millennials are completely un-aware of the prophetic message of scripture. They are convinced it is an old school part of closed religion. The mistake is not seeing that the prophetic is neither old or new it is eternal and originates from the timeless realm of the eternal will and counsel of the Living God.
The prophetic message warns that it is the "new" that finally washes out the "old" for good. It is called the new world order by some, but more accurately it is known as the "last days" or "premillennial prophecy." It washes out the rule of man anywhere on this planet with the return of the one who previously came to offer us mercy by his death on the cross.
It is the great "Charis" or grace given to all men including today's millennials that is barely understood. It is God's mercy and forgiveness offered in fullness to all who will receive it. The youth of this day somehow have come to believe that they are not in need of forgiveness. They have decided that it's only about how you treat others and not what God has clearly labeled as immorality and sin. In fact, that is one of the answers band leader Dan Haseltine offered on a recent tweet to explain the band's new all-inclusive idea of tolerance.
Not understanding grace is only part of the problem. The second part of the equation is truth. According to scripture grace and truth are interconnected and inseparable. You cannot have one without the other.
"For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." (John 1: 17)
Including all sinners in one happy human family sounds really friendly and nice, but it is a blatant, pervasive and deadly lie.
In order to see grace, the truth must be acknowledged. The truth is that all men are sinners and Christ came to die for the sins of the world.
The world is one in that we are all part of the family of man, if acknowledging that could bring us all of up to perfect peace and harmony then why is our world a powder keg waiting for the portent of the battle of Armageddon?
Millennials are Victims not Victors
Millennials are standing around like so many vagrants with iPhones in hand, snapping pictures of a dying world. We can't reject youth in our culture because for good or bad they are the future.
What we fail to recognize is that they are the victims of a generational long mistake fueled by liberalism, fanned by indoctrination and consumed by common deceptions that now pass themselves off as immutable and inevitable.
They are confident that Darwinism's theory which is still fraught with deep questions, millions of missing links and other glaring inconsistencies is the only answer for origins. Mindless adherence to the incredibly ridiculous notion that everything came from nothing has made fools of Darwinist's who are for some unknown reason still laughing at the more circumspect and far more reasonable view of special creation. They are living proof that even Forrest Gump's mother was slightly askew in the assumption that 'stupid is as stupid does.' More accurately, stupid is as stupid believes.
They are convinced that all religions are useless and thereby have thrown the baby out with the wash. The offer of salvation is not a religion and the price paid to accomplish that great offer was not made by any religion or religious leader in history. Jesus Christ came into the world for only one purpose and that was to offer salvation, not to start a new religion, that a religion came out of it – is purely incidental.
They see life as disposable and have been sold the idea that choice is reason enough to waste the lives of 60 million unborn children. Advanced courses in biology and nothing else it seems, can show them that virtually nothing that starts to live makes a willing conscience choice to die. We make the choice for others which in the weakest philosophy of life means that choice was denied, and stolen from someone else.
They are victims of a society that would rather listen to the whimpering contestations of the insolent and rebellious rather than risk rejection to stand and direct an entire generation into all the best of the past and the best hope of the future.
They are a caught up in a vortex of entertainment, viral videos and Vampire Diaries. Unable to discern the times they are living in, they make the distractions of simpler days seem innocuous and yet they are the very ones who fulfill the prophecies of old in their own generation
"And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all." (Lu 17: 26-27)
© Michael Bresciani
The views expressed by RenewAmerica columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of RenewAmerica or its affiliates.
(See RenewAmerica's publishing standards.)
