Protecting Children From The Gospel
March 17, 2008
Russell Moore has written a disturbing post on a decision made by a Christian children's curriculum publisher to leave out the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ because it is too scary for pre-schoolers.
This actually should come as no surprise. The sermons and lessons that people are regularly hearing in "evangelical" churches are able to stand alone without Jesus. They hear about a Jesus who helps them with their problems, makes their kids well-adjusted, fixes their marriage, and guarantees success. They are told about "biblical principles that will help them in their daily lives." In the process, the preacher is careful not to bore his hearers with too much information about Jesus or content from the Bible. Michael Horton has been sounding the alarm over this trend in recent years. In the latest issues of Modern Reformation Horton asserts that the modern evangelical church is actually helping to secularize our culture. He writes:
"Could evangelicalism grow and experience success even if God didn't exist? Sociologist Christian Smith has done extensive research revealing that the spirituality of America's teens is best described as 'moralistic therapeutic deism.' In fact, other sociologists have come to similar conclusions concerning older generations as well. So while evangelicals are often quick to launch public protests against 'secular humanists' for diminishing the role of God in American society, it would seem that the more likely source of secularization is the church itself. I am not claiming that evangelicalsm is 'atheistic' or even 'deistic' in principle, but that in practice it is losing its interest in God and the grand story of his saving work in Jesus Christ" (emphasis mine).
This actually should come as no surprise. The sermons and lessons that people are regularly hearing in "evangelical" churches are able to stand alone without Jesus. They hear about a Jesus who helps them with their problems, makes their kids well-adjusted, fixes their marriage, and guarantees success. They are told about "biblical principles that will help them in their daily lives." In the process, the preacher is careful not to bore his hearers with too much information about Jesus or content from the Bible. Michael Horton has been sounding the alarm over this trend in recent years. In the latest issues of Modern Reformation Horton asserts that the modern evangelical church is actually helping to secularize our culture. He writes:
"Could evangelicalism grow and experience success even if God didn't exist? Sociologist Christian Smith has done extensive research revealing that the spirituality of America's teens is best described as 'moralistic therapeutic deism.' In fact, other sociologists have come to similar conclusions concerning older generations as well. So while evangelicals are often quick to launch public protests against 'secular humanists' for diminishing the role of God in American society, it would seem that the more likely source of secularization is the church itself. I am not claiming that evangelicalsm is 'atheistic' or even 'deistic' in principle, but that in practice it is losing its interest in God and the grand story of his saving work in Jesus Christ" (emphasis mine).
