I am quite concerned about the faith of emerging adults. The current cultural context of emerging adults includes an almost perfunctory acceptance of Darwinian Evolution as settled scientific fact. This, of course, leads quickly to moral relativism. Since, according to evolution, human beings came about through chance circumstances and stand presently on a long and gradually changing continuum of existence, there is no objective basis for right and wrong or good and evil.
It is observable that over time, societies tend to drift to the left, principally because man’s fallen nature is constantly looking for a way out of its moral obligations to its Creator. Societal shift toward liberalism has been profound in the U.S. over the past half century. Young people today are not held to account, fail to launch, are told that their behavioral problems are medical issues, and that they descended from apes. Prayer is illegal in the schools, and God is being systematically removed from every aspect of pubic life. Christianity, especially, is being relegated to the back alley, and abortion is being lauded in the streets. Emerging adults have few, if any regrets that they will honestly own up to, but this is really a way of masking their inner guilt. They are largely unwilling to make commitments to any moral code or religious system, especially if either is seen as rigid or controlling.
The value of cultural apologetics is that it helps the apologist understand where emerging adults are coming from, how their thinking has been clouded, and where to begin: truth. It seems apparent to me from the studies in this course over the past year, that the real battle for the spiritual future of emerging adults is not going to be won in the arguments for the existence of God, but in the arguments for the existence of objective truth. Once something can be known, it behooves us to seek what it is that can be known, and His name is Jesus.
The evangelical church has missed the boat on apologetics altogether. As J. P. Moreland argues in the opening pages of his book, The Kingdom Triangle, we as humans love drama. We love mysteries, court dramas, detective shows, and we honor intellect, virtue, and devotion to a cause. So, the church needs to embrace intellectual debate and a move needs to sweep across the church. I know that Biola university, the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) and the Evangelical Philosophical Society (EPS) are all involved in debate on topics ranging from the resurrection of Christ to the existence of God, but the vast majority of the mainstream evangelical church has never even heard a cogent argument for the existence of God. There is a tendency to shy away from even the very word argument.
The church is ignorant and could not argue its way out of a paper bag against the most incompetent atheist. This must change. Paul understood the value of cogent argumentation, but the church has lost its way. We are content to say, “Well, it’s in the Bible, so there!” This simply will not due. We are losing the culture because we have no way to meet them where they are. Note how Jesus dealt with the woman at the well. He met her in her own cultural setting, challenged her cultural habits (religious and marital), and then explained the way to God and called her to repentance. We have to get out and challenge and engage the culture before the entire country is lost.
