Atheism, pluralism, consumerism, secularism, universalism and Moralistic Therapeutic Deism (MTD) are a few of the isms surrounding us, profoundly influencing our lives and faith. Many in youth ministry are aware that contemporary isms compete for young people’s minds and hearts, but few have a plan for exposing and critiquing these philosophies and worldviews. That’s why we tracked down these four top ism-ologists:
James Sire, a former senior editor at InterVarsity Press, has been educating Christians about worldviews since the 1976 debut of his acclaimed classic book The Universe Next Door: A Basic Worldview Catalog. (The fifth revised and expanded edition was published in 2009.)
Greg Stier’s passion about Jesus and excitement for evangelism is contagious. He’s the pesident and founder of Dare2Share Ministries, which mobilizes teenagers relationally and relentlessly to reach their generation for Christ.
Professor of philosophy at Denver Seminary, Dr. Douglas Groothuis also has served as an adjunct professor at Seattle Pacific University and an instructor at the University of Oregon. He’s the author of Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Christian Faith.
As the founder and director of The Institute for the Theology of Culture: New Wine, New Wineskins, Dr. Paul Metzger is passionate about integrating theology and spirituality with culture and sensitivity. He’s a professor at Multnomah Biblical Seminary and author of Connecting Christ: How to Discuss Jesus in a World of Diverse Paths.
YouthWorker Journal: Today’s teens are surrounded by lots of isms, including atheism, pluralism, consumerism, Moralistic Therapeutic Deism (MTD), secularism and universalism. What other isms would you add to this list?
James Sire: Skepticism, where pretty much everything is up for grabs; liberalism and conservatism, which are often used to confuse, especially in religion and politics; relativism, where there isn’t any single way of expressing truth. Relativism has come with postmodernism, which entered the discourse through architecture. Postmodern buildings lack a single unifying structure and are designed to have decorations from all kinds of cultures. In intellectual discourse, postmodern can mean a wide variety of things so that no particular statement, such as “There is a God,” is valid.
Greg Stier: We have a society that’s narcissistic. It’s just a me world. Narcissism clouds the minds of Christians and non-Christians.
Douglas Groothuis: The worst ism comes out of postmodernism. I call it whatever-ism—the idea that truth is what you make it, so there is no need to investigate rationally and passionately the great questions of life.
Paul Metzger: That’s a really good list if we’re talking about ideologies that go beyond any particular religious theory. MTD is rather all-encompassing and connects with pluralism, with not being rooted in traditions. Consumerism shapes our understanding of pluralism. There’s no real difference between choosing a religion and choosing a brand of toothpaste. With our consumeristic gospel, people settle for so little when God is calling us to so much more.
YWJ: How are youth coming to embrace these isms?
James: Youth live in it. It comes with mother’s milk. Yet, youth need to learn more than they were raised [knowing]. Take the Amish kid who steps into the English world and has to learn what the surrounding community is like in order to make a positive impact on that community. He’s not going to notice it’s different initially. It’s going to be changing his mind long before he figures out his mind is being changed.
Douglas: They’re picking up these ideas more through popular culture—video games, TV, films—than through serious study. Public education indoctrinates students with naturalism in all subjects, particularly biology (Darwinism).
YWJ: What impact do isms have on the spiritual formation of today’s teens?
Greg: They destroy it. Kids are building on a foundation of sand, not rock. With sand, their houses are going to collapse. That’s why so many kids are abandoning their faith. It’s not good for all their lives.
Paul: In our churches, we’re demeaning people in other religious traditions. If we put those from other religious traditions in simplistic categories, then when youth meet them and discover they’re more profound than that, they wonder if Christian leaders are not quite together. That can result in superstition and doubt. People are more than their belief systems. We have to engage people as part of their communities: critically, with a biblical worldview; and charitably, with them as persons.
YWJ: Which ism poses the greatest hindrance to Christian discipleship?
Paul: Consumerism. People learn to critique sermons while sitting in the car as they go home from church. It’s one thing to engage something biblically, but to do it from the standpoint of a connoisseur is problematic. Nominalism is also problematic. This relates to nominal faith and includes just getting by and appeasing one’s base appetite.
Greg: It’s a tie between narcissism and MTD. Globalism is a close second. There’s no urgency if there’s no singular path to God or no heaven and hell.
YWJ: MTD has received a lot of attention. Is MTD the best description of the flawed gospel many young people embrace?
Greg: I think so. It stems from narcissism because we think, “If I’m a genuinely good person, then I’m good. I’ll bring God out of the box when I need Him.”
Paul: MTD gets at various trajectories. There are a lot of youth who are very passionate about engaging holistically. They just don’t see the church as making a difference. Where I live, in Portland, Christianity often has not had so many friends. Yet, I’m seeing more Christians demonstrating faith in view of our salvation by responding to what God’s done in radical ways. Whenever there’s a negative reaction, there’s a positive proaction. We’ll probably see more authentic forms of Christianity rise in the midst of MTD.
YWJ: How can youth workers help students differentiate between MTD and the gospel?
Greg: Teach the gospel message. If kids really understand the gospel by the time they graduate high school, they’ll have security, significance and a mission that’ll saturate every area of their lives for the rest of their lives.
Douglas: Because MTD is sub-biblical, it needs to be refuted, especially in terms of real Christian orthodoxy and discipleship under the cross of Jesus.
YWJ: In general, are isms something that should be critiqued intellectually, or do they represent principalities and powers (
Greg: We have to apply spiritual solutions to philosophical challenges.
Paul: Intellectual issues aren’t separate from spiritual solutions. All these things must be approached prayerfully and from the standpoint of a community embodying the faith in a profound way. Mormons are able to present a rigorous faith because of their strong sense of social solidarity. If we’re only approaching things intellectually and not patterning it in communities, we’re in trouble.
YWJ: How can youth workers equip teens to deal with various isms?
James: Teach the language of faith. If you don’t have a clear terminology with clearly defined edges, you can’t have meaningful conversation. Learn the language of the Bible. Help students understand who God in Christ really is so they get a picture of what it means to be a Christian who knows the stories of faith.
Greg: Jesus told His disciples, “Follow Me, and I’ll make you fishers of men.” His ministry with them was out and among people. Jesus’ disciples watched Him, and then He sent them out to share their faith. They came back excited. Missional Christianity engages other belief systems with the love of Christ. That’s when students learn to depend on God because doing so requires risk. When we evangelize, we’re dealing with these isms in others and in our own souls.
Doug: Challenge students to think critically about worldview issues. Teach basic logic, theology and apologetics.
Paul: Expose people to other perspectives directly. To shelter those we’re training from these isms actually exposes them all the more. The best way to deal with counterfeit forms is to deal with the real thing. To what extent are we actually immersing youth in Scripture and bearing witness to those who’ve demonstrated faith in profound ways? Focus on the one who calls us beyond all isms. Jesus far outweighs any ism we’ll encounter.
YWJ: In
James: You can’t be theologically grounded in Christ without developing a Christian worldview. Make sure students are exposed to that in the context of the family and deliberate educational forms. Contrast the Christian worldview to what they’re experiencing in the public school system. Teach within the context of broader understanding.
Greg: Equip kids. Get them out there. Unleash them. Coach them by asking: How could [X] be done better? Talk about homosexuality, bullying, evolution and creation. Make youth group a place where people have total license to engage.
YWJ: What else should we know about isms?
Greg: Sometimes when kids hear the claims of Jesus in Scripture, it shocks them that there’s a God who’s loving, but that He’s also a God with bite. He’s holy. He’s a lion. Students have to know the same God who’s Creator and Judge, who could crush them at any time, loves them enough to be slaughtered for them. That kind of God gets the attention of postmodern kids and shakes them out of relativism.
Douglas: Teens should understand what the basic alternative worldviews are, why they’re wrong, and how they differ from Christianity. They must know why Christianity is true and rationally superior.
Paul: Worldview analysis is important, but people are more than their worldviews. Christianity views itself doctrinally, generally speaking, but many traditions look at themselves more by their experience and sacred narratives. If we’re to engage meaningfully, Christianity has to be more than an intellectual system. This means asking people really to live into their beliefs. For a lot of Christians, we’d still go to church if it was proven that Christ didn’t raise from the dead. If Jesus wasn’t raised, then I don’t want to live some kind of Christian morality. Jesus came not to make us right, but to love and transform us. Then we’ll be thinking right thoughts and living moral lives.
Suggested Resources
The Universe Next Door by James Sire
A Secular Age by Charles Taylor
Modern Social Imaginaries by Charles Taylor
Why Good Arguments Often Fail by James Sire
Dare2Share: A Field Guide to Sharing Your Faith by Greg Stier
Basic Christianity by John Stott
The Case for Christ, The Case for Faith and The Case for a Creator by Lee Strobell
Understanding Our Times by David Nobel
Almost Christian by Kenda Creasy Dean
Soul Searching by Christian Smith and Melinda Denton
Connecting Christ by Paul Metzger
