Understanding the Secular Culture

WEBVTT
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Today on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.
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As I travel around the world, the biggest concern
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on Christians' minds today is their kids and
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their grandkids. Many of them have already left
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the church. Others are in the process of questioning
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or deconstructing their faith. Today, we're going
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to begin talking about how to reach this lost
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generation with the undeniable truth of the gospel.
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Stay with us. There is hope. I'm Dave Drewy,
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and this is Living on the Edge. Our regular Bible
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teacher, Chip Ingram, is stepping aside today
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for a good friend of his, guest teacher Aaron
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Pierce. Aaron leads a global ministry called
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Steiger International, spending decades reaching
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secular, non -religious young people all over
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the world with the gospel. This week, he's helping
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Chip kick off a series called Caring Enough to
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Connect, building bridges to those we love. And
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today we're unpacking just how much our culture
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has changed and why the next generation you love
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is not beyond God's reach. Now here's our guest
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teacher, Aaron Pierce, with a message titled,
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Understanding the Secular Culture. How do we
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engage secular young people in particular who
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would not walk into a church? All right, so I
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want to start by sharing a story about a girl
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called Sarah. Sarah was wearing this... rainbow
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-colored Resist t -shirt with an equal sign on
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it. And she was at a pro -choice rally. And she
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was there with her friends Charlie and Ann. That's
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not their real names. Each of them identified
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as gender non -binary or non -conforming fluid.
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And they're active in a local drag queen scene.
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which sounds crazy and out there, but here's
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the thing to understand. Those that identify
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as LGBTQ is exploding in growth, especially amongst
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younger generations. Gallup recently came out
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and said that 20 .8 % of Gen Z identified as
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LGBTQ in 2021, 20 .8%, one in five. That's up
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from 10%. for millennial. So it's growing and
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there's a bunch of reasons for that. And that's
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something we'll talk about when we get to that
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topic at the end. But the interesting thing about
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this story, the atmosphere is super intense,
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right? As you might imagine, right? Because you've
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got this protest atmosphere. And of course, there's
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the pro -life group that's there and angry shouts
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are being exchanged between these two groups.
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And our team led by Felipe was there. Of course,
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each of them had a pro -life view, but they were
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there to build redemptive relationships. And
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so they had a sign that would spark a conversation
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with people. So they walked around and just prayed
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and asked the Lord, hey, would you show me who
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to connect with? And they found a group of people
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sitting down and they brought their sign and
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they began to ask them questions. And as they
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were doing that, they realized that behind the
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anger and the hostility, there was a lot of hurt
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and pain. Each of them, each of these three people,
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Sarah, Ann, and Charlie, each of them shared
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vulnerable, raw, and deeply personal stories
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of pain that they'd experienced growing up. It
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was amazing how open they were. And a lot of
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their pain related back to experiences that they
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had with the church. And what's interesting is
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that beneath their seemingly intense moral convictions,
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it was clear that they were actually very confused
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and broken. And they were longing for deep relational
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connection and belonging. And so as the conversation
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progressed, Felipe and his team began to share.
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And they shared that their pain actually mattered.
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As a follower of Jesus, Felipe believed that
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the answer to our problems was not actually political,
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but spiritual. And he explained that God was
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not indifferent to our suffering. A lot of people
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have this view that if God does exist, he's indifferent.
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And he explained that God is not indifferent
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to our suffering and that Jesus' death on the
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cross was proof of that. At the end of the conversation,
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they were able to pray with these three people.
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They were visibly moved and eagerly exchanged
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contact information and have stayed in contact
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since then. Now, here's the thing. There are
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millions of people like Sarah, Charlie, and Ann
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in the U .S. today. There's millions of them.
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Over the last few decades, we have experienced
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a profound cultural shift. Despite all its flaws
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and hypocrisy, for generations, the U .S. was
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a Christian nation, right? As recently as 1990,
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86 % of Americans identified as a Christian.
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And of course, they weren't all committed followers
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of Jesus. Many of them showed up to church only
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on Easter and Christmas, and they lived lives
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that were inconsistent with their Christian beliefs.
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But still, they viewed Christianity positively.
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You know, the church was the center of social
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life. The Bible was a good moral guide. The president
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was prayed over by a pastor in every inauguration.
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By the way, from someone that doesn't live in
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the U .S., that's weird. I like to understand
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that's a weird thing. And Christian ethics of
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sexuality were broadly accepted. And these are
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the people that would attend evangelistic rallies
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made famous by Billy Graham and Louis Palau and
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others, right? And they would draw unfavorable
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views of the church. These preachers could fill
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stadiums and make arguments using the Bible as
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an authority. But times have changed, right?
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We now live in a post -Christian culture and
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many people have walked away from the church.
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So according to Pew Research, the fastest growing
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religious group, in America is the religiously
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unaffiliated. In 2021, this group known as the
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nuns constituted about 29 % of American adults,
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and that's up from about 23 % in 2016 and 19
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% in 2011. That's a radical change happening
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in our culture. And this is most pronounced among
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millennial and Gen Z generations, making up approximately
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45 % of those two generations. And so not only
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has affiliation with Christianity declined, but
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attitude has changed as well. So if you were
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to take a look at the church and how people view
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the church today, you're going to see it play
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out in a few ways, right? So on one side, you
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have committed followers of Jesus who strive
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to live their lives in alignment with the Bible
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on the far left side of the spectrum. Next, you
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have people who have a positive view of the church.
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They see the Bible as a moral guide, but it's
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often detached from a personal relationship with
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God. And then as we move along the spectrum,
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you have those who are apathetic. Here, people
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are not consciously rejecting God. They just
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don't think about him one way or the other, right?
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And then finally, we have those who have a negative
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or even hostile view of the church. And they
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see the church as a symbol of the repression
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and bigotry. And so unfortunately, more and more
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Americans are moving to the right side of the
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spectrum, having an apathetic view of the church.
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And so that's what we've seen. in the last 30
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years, especially amongst millennial and Gen
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Z generation. We've seen a shift. And the right
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side of the spectrum is that post -Christian
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shift, right? Those on the far right side. The
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challenge for us in the church is that the majority
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of our efforts to reach people have been geared
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towards the nominal, right? And so what that
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means is that we use kind of a come and see and
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bring your friend style of evangelism. to a church
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event. And those aren't necessarily bad things
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to do because they connect well with people on
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that side of the spectrum. The challenge is it's
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a diminishing group. And so the challenge is
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that we need to go after those on the right side,
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and it takes an entirely different paradigm shift
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to do it. And this is not just a trend or a statistic.
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This isn't just an idea out there. This is deeply
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personal for many of us because these are our
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sons and daughters. These are our grandkids.
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These are friends and people that we work with.
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So how can we respond to this post -Christian
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shift? Part of that is we need to understand
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the culture that we're in and continue to look
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at it from different ways. Another way to look
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at it is from a Christian's spectrum and how
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it progresses. Okay, so this is what's happening
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a lot in our culture. You start with people that
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have convictional Christianity. Like I said,
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they are following Jesus, fully aligning their
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lives to it. Then you have cultural Christians,
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people that just have a nominal kind of view
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of it. They have a positive view, but it doesn't
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affect their life. Then you have progressive
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Christians, people that still identify as a Christian,
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but no longer hold to the authority of the Bible
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and begin to basically shape their faith according
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to how they want to see reality. And then you've
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got post -Christian. which is the natural shift
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that happens. Once someone engages in progressive
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Christianity, they take away the power and eventually
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they move to post -Christian. And then finally
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you have non -Christian, which is actually someone
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that hasn't rejected the church. They don't even
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really know about it. What's interesting is more
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and more young people in our country today actually
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fit in the non -Christian category because it
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was their parents that rejected the church. And
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so they essentially grew up in a non -Christian
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home. So when you're engaging people out in the
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world, you actually find that they fit in one
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of these categories and that the way you engage
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them is different. And often what you find is
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the progressive and the post -Christian are the
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most hostile and the hardest to reach because
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of the baggage that they bring to the table,
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because of their experience that they've had
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with the church for whatever reason. And so we
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have to take a new approach because the truth
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is people are actually quite hungry and open,
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but we can't take the same approach that we did
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in the past. Essentially, if we're going to engage
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this generation, if we're going to engage this
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culture, we've got to become like cross -cultural
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missionaries in our own city to our own people.
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That's the way we've got to approach engaging
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this culture. If I were called to be a missionary
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in China, I would learn the language, right,
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of the place I'm going to. I would figure out,
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you know, learn the culture, the history, the
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philosophies, the influences. I would understand
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the felt need of the Chinese people. And I would
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figure out how to contextualize the gospel in
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a way that they can understand. That's what I
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would do if I would engage in classic cross -cultural
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missions. And the same principle applies today
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if we're going to reach a post -Christian culture.
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Same principle. So that's what we want to talk
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about is how do we adopt a missionary mindset
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when we're engaging post -Christian cultures?
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So first of all, in order to effectively communicate
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the gospel to a post -Christian culture, we need
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to understand three key realities. The first
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is that secular people have become suspicious
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of religious institutions and are far less likely
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to walk into a church. So trust and confidence
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in organized religion has plummeted in the last
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few decades. In 2021, only 37 % of Americans
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reported confidence in religious institutions.
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That was 60 % in 2001. And it's not just religious
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institutions that have lost trust. It's basically
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all institutions, right? We've lost trust in
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the government, in corporations. There's just
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a general distrust of institutions. And certainly,
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that has affected the church. And that affects
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the way that we engage culture. In fact, one
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of the key ways it affects is that when we're
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out in the world, engaging culture, whether it's
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in an intentional outreach or just organically
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through our relationships, we don't actually
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want to be a representative of our church. We
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want to be a follower of Jesus. Because the fact
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is, if I'm a representative of my church, And
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we are like, this is not saying we shouldn't
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be engaged and committed to the local church.
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It's not what that's about. What it means is
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that that's putting up an extra barrier when
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I'm communicating, because now I'm talking about
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institutional religion versus just following
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Jesus. So that's the first thing we need to understand.
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Second thing we need to understand is the second
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key reality is secular people today do not have
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the same assumptions as previous generations.
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And they don't have the same assumptions about
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morality, truth, authority of the Bible, existence
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and nature of God. And so, for example, if I
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would go to the University of Minnesota and ask
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a random average secular university student,
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if I was to go up to him and say, hey, if you
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were to die today and stand before God in heaven
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and he were to judge your life, would he let
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you win? Well, I've just presupposed a whole
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bunch of things, right, that the average secular
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young person doesn't hold to be true. And so
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we have to recognize that secular people don't
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have the same assumptions from which we build.
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And we're going to talk about how do we communicate
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effectively. And the key principle in communication
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is understanding people's assumptions. And so
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the assumptions are not the same today as they
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were in previous generations. key reality that
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we need to understand is that despite all of
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this, secular people are open to spirituality.
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They are. And while many people no longer hold
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to a biblical worldview, most are not cold atheists
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either, right? They believe in some form of spirituality,
00:14:07.720 --> 00:14:10.879
even if it's vague and undefined. Give you an
00:14:10.879 --> 00:14:13.639
example of this. We did a series of focus groups
00:14:13.639 --> 00:14:16.679
with secular young people. And this is one of
00:14:16.679 --> 00:14:19.899
the quotes from one of the young women that participated
00:14:19.899 --> 00:14:22.539
in the focus group in her early 20s. And when
00:14:22.539 --> 00:14:26.019
we discussed spirituality, this was one of her
00:14:26.019 --> 00:14:29.519
quotes. Said, I'm agnostic, so I don't know.
00:14:29.940 --> 00:14:32.899
But when I personally think about my own experiences
00:14:32.899 --> 00:14:36.259
of spirituality, it's a feeling for me. Maybe
00:14:36.259 --> 00:14:40.019
it's not a being or a person, probably not. But
00:14:40.019 --> 00:14:41.980
I think that there are human experiences when
00:14:41.980 --> 00:14:44.840
you feel it, like when you hold a newborn baby,
00:14:45.000 --> 00:14:47.759
it's common experiences and they're ordinary
00:14:47.759 --> 00:14:50.720
and really simple. But I think there's energy.
00:14:51.100 --> 00:14:54.659
Yeah, like there's a force that lives. This is
00:14:54.659 --> 00:14:56.720
a really interesting quote to me because it perfectly
00:14:56.720 --> 00:15:01.019
illustrates that idea of being drawn to something
00:15:01.019 --> 00:15:04.700
spiritual, even as we reject kind of the religious
00:15:04.700 --> 00:15:07.639
and the institutional version of that. And people
00:15:07.639 --> 00:15:11.580
in this culture are very into meditation and
00:15:11.580 --> 00:15:14.480
kind of Eastern religious ideas. And a lot of
00:15:14.480 --> 00:15:17.360
that is because it's spirituality without accountability,
00:15:17.580 --> 00:15:21.139
right? You get the spirituality without the authority
00:15:21.139 --> 00:15:24.789
over me. And so that's a key thing to understand.
00:15:25.169 --> 00:15:27.509
And so all of these things, these key realities
00:15:27.509 --> 00:15:29.909
are important because if we're going to be good
00:15:29.909 --> 00:15:32.889
missionaries to our culture, we need to understand
00:15:32.889 --> 00:15:36.350
the context that we're in. And we need to understand
00:15:36.350 --> 00:15:39.690
what's shaping and influencing the culture as
00:15:39.690 --> 00:15:43.490
well. Now, the post -Christian shift that we've
00:15:43.490 --> 00:15:45.710
experienced in our culture can be traced actually
00:15:45.710 --> 00:15:48.269
all the way back to philosophers of the Enlightenment.
00:15:48.750 --> 00:15:51.710
But it's actually been like it exploded into
00:15:51.710 --> 00:15:54.590
mainstream culture through the global youth culture.
00:15:54.789 --> 00:15:58.330
That is really what shaped and taken it into
00:15:58.330 --> 00:16:01.690
the mainstream. And we live in a time of unprecedented
00:16:01.690 --> 00:16:05.450
connectedness, right? Where through mass media,
00:16:05.509 --> 00:16:07.929
the Internet and all sorts of other ways, we
00:16:07.929 --> 00:16:10.909
are connected like never before. And so you have
00:16:10.909 --> 00:16:13.970
this global youth culture where young people
00:16:13.970 --> 00:16:16.669
all over the planet are influenced by similar
00:16:16.669 --> 00:16:19.240
voices. So they're playing the same video games.
00:16:19.340 --> 00:16:21.220
They're listening to the same music. They're
00:16:21.220 --> 00:16:23.059
following the same social media influencers.
00:16:23.419 --> 00:16:26.460
And so they're connected and similar like never
00:16:26.460 --> 00:16:30.879
before. And they're similar on superficial things
00:16:30.879 --> 00:16:33.919
like fashion and music trends and things of that
00:16:33.919 --> 00:16:36.139
nature. But they're also similar on deeper things
00:16:36.139 --> 00:16:40.580
like worldview and morality and lifestyle. And
00:16:40.580 --> 00:16:43.980
so you have this global culture. That that is
00:16:43.980 --> 00:16:47.519
incredibly connected and it's shaping the way
00:16:47.519 --> 00:16:49.879
that young people all over the planet see the
00:16:49.879 --> 00:16:53.059
world. So let's take a look at this as an example.
00:16:53.200 --> 00:16:55.840
All right. If you take a look at those guys and
00:16:55.840 --> 00:16:57.879
based on how they look and where they're from,
00:16:58.000 --> 00:16:59.899
where you think they're from. I mean, these kids
00:16:59.899 --> 00:17:01.500
look like they could be at a coffee shop down
00:17:01.500 --> 00:17:03.340
the road. And the truth is they're from Beirut,
00:17:03.340 --> 00:17:06.220
Lebanon and the heart of the Middle East. Right.
00:17:06.279 --> 00:17:08.980
And so you have this global youth culture that
00:17:08.980 --> 00:17:11.299
that is shaping the way people view the world.
00:17:11.799 --> 00:17:14.960
So what are the influences of the global youth
00:17:14.960 --> 00:17:17.900
culture? Well, there's basically four key influences.
00:17:18.059 --> 00:17:22.119
First is entertainment industry. So music, film,
00:17:22.400 --> 00:17:26.079
theater, even sports to some degree. And the
00:17:26.079 --> 00:17:28.579
idea here is that we're not just entertaining,
00:17:28.819 --> 00:17:32.279
we're shaping a worldview. We're presenting a
00:17:32.279 --> 00:17:35.160
way of looking at the world, a moral framework.
00:17:35.640 --> 00:17:38.599
And so you see that being pushed to the entertainment
00:17:38.599 --> 00:17:42.240
industry. And then you've got Internet stars,
00:17:42.480 --> 00:17:45.819
you know, people that are on platforms like TikTok
00:17:45.819 --> 00:17:48.400
and Instagram and YouTube that are producing
00:17:48.400 --> 00:17:52.119
content and connecting with audiences all over
00:17:52.119 --> 00:17:55.039
the world in a massive way. Right. It's incredible
00:17:55.039 --> 00:17:57.440
the kind of influence that these people are having
00:17:57.440 --> 00:18:00.359
in the I say unfiltered because it is filtered,
00:18:00.400 --> 00:18:03.319
but there's no corporation. There's no intermediary
00:18:03.319 --> 00:18:06.710
between the creators and their audience. Right.
00:18:06.789 --> 00:18:09.130
So it's an incredible influence that we have
00:18:09.130 --> 00:18:11.710
through these Internet stars. And then you've
00:18:11.710 --> 00:18:14.369
got video games, which is massive, bigger than
00:18:14.369 --> 00:18:17.069
Hollywood, where the average 21 year old male
00:18:17.069 --> 00:18:20.150
has spent 10 ,000 hours playing video games,
00:18:20.309 --> 00:18:23.450
which is, by the way, the same amount of time
00:18:23.450 --> 00:18:26.650
that you need to master a fine art. Right. So
00:18:26.650 --> 00:18:28.950
it's an incredible amount of time being spent
00:18:28.950 --> 00:18:31.369
in video games. It's where we find our community,
00:18:31.750 --> 00:18:35.880
our identity, our sense of accomplishment. And
00:18:35.880 --> 00:18:38.019
so you have this incredible influence of video
00:18:38.019 --> 00:18:41.099
games. And then finally, you've got pornography,
00:18:41.400 --> 00:18:46.140
which is so common, so pervasive. It's not even
00:18:46.140 --> 00:18:49.920
something to be ashamed of. Talk openly about
00:18:49.920 --> 00:18:53.640
pornography, the belief that there's no consequence
00:18:53.640 --> 00:18:57.240
to viewing pornography. And it comes to a view
00:18:57.240 --> 00:19:00.339
that sexuality is just a personal pursuit of
00:19:00.339 --> 00:19:04.859
happiness. And pornography is harmless. And so
00:19:04.859 --> 00:19:09.400
this is literally rewiring our brains and distorting
00:19:09.400 --> 00:19:12.200
our view of love and sexuality and relationships.
00:19:12.299 --> 00:19:16.279
And all of these things come together to influence
00:19:16.279 --> 00:19:20.200
and shape a worldview. And they all kind of mix
00:19:20.200 --> 00:19:22.480
together. And what's interesting is they are
00:19:22.480 --> 00:19:26.079
not constrained by geographic or political boundaries.
00:19:26.680 --> 00:19:29.440
These things transcend that. In fact, these things
00:19:29.440 --> 00:19:33.220
are shaping a worldview far more than politics,
00:19:33.420 --> 00:19:37.740
far more than laws. There's a guy called Andrew
00:19:37.740 --> 00:19:39.819
Fletcher, an 18th century Scottish writer and
00:19:39.819 --> 00:19:43.200
politician, at least that said, let me make the
00:19:43.200 --> 00:19:46.440
songs of a nation and I care not who makes its
00:19:46.440 --> 00:19:49.740
laws. And so what's really driving and shaping
00:19:49.740 --> 00:19:52.619
our culture today is not the legal process. It's
00:19:52.619 --> 00:19:56.839
the cultural influencers, the artists, the poets,
00:19:56.859 --> 00:19:59.140
the philosophers that are shaping the worldview.
00:19:59.539 --> 00:20:01.700
All right, so what are the philosophical pillars?
00:20:03.039 --> 00:20:05.839
First one is secularism. So I've already alluded
00:20:05.839 --> 00:20:07.740
to this, but the idea here is that people are
00:20:07.740 --> 00:20:10.779
not necessarily atheist. They just believe that
00:20:10.779 --> 00:20:14.200
faith is private. So you can believe whatever
00:20:14.200 --> 00:20:16.900
you want to believe so long as you don't push
00:20:16.900 --> 00:20:20.259
that on other people, right? That's the secular
00:20:20.259 --> 00:20:23.319
mindset. Faith is private. Faith is not something
00:20:23.319 --> 00:20:26.339
to be brought out into the public. And then,
00:20:26.359 --> 00:20:28.440
of course, that naturally leads to relativism,
00:20:28.440 --> 00:20:33.339
that there is no absolute moral truth, that morality
00:20:33.339 --> 00:20:36.619
is about preference, that you have your favorites,
00:20:36.720 --> 00:20:39.299
I have mine. It's like an ice cream flavor. Right.
00:20:39.400 --> 00:20:42.859
And so you have this relativistic mindset. And
00:20:42.859 --> 00:20:45.859
then that leads to the idea and the value of
00:20:45.859 --> 00:20:50.339
acceptance. But then actually tolerance is not
00:20:50.339 --> 00:20:54.420
enough. You must affirm. And so it's based on
00:20:54.420 --> 00:20:57.440
the idea of being open minded. And it's based
00:20:57.440 --> 00:21:01.019
on the this kind of like authenticity and inclusion.
00:21:01.640 --> 00:21:04.559
But it's a paradox. Right. Because basically
00:21:04.559 --> 00:21:07.599
it's inclusion for all except the exclusive.
00:21:08.589 --> 00:21:11.089
And so that's the paradox that we find ourselves
00:21:11.089 --> 00:21:14.430
in, where to tolerate someone, to love someone
00:21:14.430 --> 00:21:17.069
is not enough. We must actually affirm that the
00:21:17.069 --> 00:21:19.049
way that they live their life. That is the message
00:21:19.049 --> 00:21:20.769
that you're going to hear in the global youth
00:21:20.769 --> 00:21:23.269
culture. And what's interesting is all of these
00:21:23.269 --> 00:21:26.609
things in some way are just a twist on biblical
00:21:26.609 --> 00:21:29.230
truth. A lot of these things find their grounding
00:21:29.230 --> 00:21:32.289
truth and then they're twisted. And it's interesting
00:21:32.289 --> 00:21:35.369
because in the post -Christian culture that we
00:21:35.369 --> 00:21:39.470
live, we're still very much influenced by a biblical
00:21:39.470 --> 00:21:42.450
worldview, even if we've divorced ourselves from
00:21:42.450 --> 00:21:45.769
that, right? So we are the fight for justice,
00:21:46.029 --> 00:21:48.990
even if it's twisted, like even those that are
00:21:48.990 --> 00:21:52.289
pro -choice, it's based on a framework of morality
00:21:52.289 --> 00:21:55.430
for them of protecting women, right? So it's
00:21:55.430 --> 00:21:59.589
a moral framework that they're drawing on. And
00:21:59.589 --> 00:22:02.109
that moral framework ultimately comes from a
00:22:02.109 --> 00:22:05.049
biblical worldview, which is there is a transcendent
00:22:05.049 --> 00:22:08.069
moral framework. And so it's really interesting
00:22:08.069 --> 00:22:10.769
to give you an example of this kind of post -Christian
00:22:10.769 --> 00:22:15.250
divorcing of the biblical worldview. A while
00:22:15.250 --> 00:22:17.910
back, I was at a caribou right around here, and
00:22:17.910 --> 00:22:20.910
the barista had a pin on her shirt that said,
00:22:20.950 --> 00:22:24.170
be human -centered. And so I asked her, I like,
00:22:24.190 --> 00:22:26.109
that sounds interesting. So I said, what does
00:22:26.109 --> 00:22:28.609
that pin mean? And she looked at me, said, oh,
00:22:28.650 --> 00:22:30.589
well, it means, you know, treat other people
00:22:30.589 --> 00:22:33.150
like you want to be treated and consider other
00:22:33.150 --> 00:22:36.430
people's needs above your own. And I listened
00:22:36.430 --> 00:22:38.490
to her say that. I was like, wow, that's awesome.
00:22:38.589 --> 00:22:40.569
Like, where did you, where are those ideas? Where
00:22:40.569 --> 00:22:42.710
did that come from? And she looked at me kind
00:22:42.710 --> 00:22:45.289
of confused and she pointed at the pin. You know,
00:22:45.289 --> 00:22:47.630
this is where these ideas are coming from. And
00:22:47.630 --> 00:22:49.849
so it's so crazy because here she is literally
00:22:49.849 --> 00:22:54.019
quoting scripture. But she's completely divorced
00:22:54.019 --> 00:22:56.960
herself from that. That perfectly illustrates
00:22:56.960 --> 00:23:01.140
that post -Christian shift where we still hold
00:23:01.140 --> 00:23:03.220
to a biblical framework, but we've divorced ourselves
00:23:03.220 --> 00:23:06.319
from that. Which, by the way, is an incredible
00:23:06.319 --> 00:23:09.819
opportunity because people connect with biblical
00:23:09.819 --> 00:23:12.619
truth, even if they no longer hold that as an
00:23:12.619 --> 00:23:16.799
authority in their life. What I want to do now
00:23:16.799 --> 00:23:19.380
is I want to show you a video of some people
00:23:19.380 --> 00:23:22.339
being interviewed on the streets of the University
00:23:22.339 --> 00:23:25.299
of Minnesota. And we basically asked them four
00:23:25.299 --> 00:23:28.500
big worldview questions. The first is origin.
00:23:28.720 --> 00:23:30.940
Where did life come from? How did life begin?
00:23:31.240 --> 00:23:35.160
The second is morality. What is right and wrong
00:23:35.160 --> 00:23:38.980
and who decides? The third is purpose. What is
00:23:38.980 --> 00:23:41.680
the purpose of life? And the last is destiny.
00:23:41.839 --> 00:23:46.269
What happens after we die? The way that you answer
00:23:46.269 --> 00:23:49.150
those four questions, that essentially is your
00:23:49.150 --> 00:23:52.630
worldview. And so let's take a look how these
00:23:52.630 --> 00:23:58.309
young people answer those questions. How do you
00:23:58.309 --> 00:24:03.589
think we all got here? How did life begin? It
00:24:03.589 --> 00:24:09.730
started with the Big Bang. I don't really know
00:24:09.730 --> 00:24:14.019
much more than that. So I believe in evolution
00:24:14.019 --> 00:24:17.039
and that we evolved from primates. I mean, there's
00:24:17.039 --> 00:24:22.380
proof that our DNA is 98 % the same as chimpanzees.
00:24:22.880 --> 00:24:25.880
Probably just like a meteoroid with like some
00:24:25.880 --> 00:24:28.259
microbes on it that landed on Earth from a different
00:24:28.259 --> 00:24:31.380
planet and they're like eventually evolved to
00:24:31.380 --> 00:24:37.079
become humans. What is the purpose of life? Let
00:24:37.079 --> 00:24:41.019
me know when you figure it out. I'm still working
00:24:41.019 --> 00:24:44.099
on that one. Make your own. Like, I don't think
00:24:44.099 --> 00:24:45.519
there's no, like, grand purpose for anybody.
00:24:45.700 --> 00:24:49.000
Just, like, f***ing everyone. It's just, there
00:24:49.000 --> 00:24:51.460
is no purpose. Make up your own purpose. F***ing
00:24:51.460 --> 00:24:54.779
run with it. Help continue the evolution of human
00:24:54.779 --> 00:24:58.259
beings as a species. So how do you think that
00:24:58.259 --> 00:25:03.220
right and wrong are decided? Oh, I don't know.
00:25:04.400 --> 00:25:10.839
I think it's different for... like everyone depending
00:25:10.839 --> 00:25:13.920
on like what they think is right and wrong because
00:25:13.920 --> 00:25:16.240
like people believe in different things so it
00:25:16.240 --> 00:25:18.779
can't be the same for everyone that goes back
00:25:18.779 --> 00:25:21.519
to like your morals I guess it like because your
00:25:21.519 --> 00:25:25.220
right can be someone else's wrong so it's all
00:25:25.220 --> 00:25:28.759
like based on your morality I get I take it I
00:25:28.759 --> 00:25:33.869
think that like It depends on yourself and what
00:25:33.869 --> 00:25:35.910
you think is right and wrong and what you believe
00:25:35.910 --> 00:25:38.650
in. And as long as you stick to your beliefs
00:25:38.650 --> 00:25:41.670
and like carry out what the Bible says or what
00:25:41.670 --> 00:25:44.890
the Quran says or like whatever, then like you're
00:25:44.890 --> 00:25:46.730
living your life to the fullest and that's all
00:25:46.730 --> 00:25:49.890
that matters. What do you think happens after
00:25:49.890 --> 00:26:00.269
we die? I don't know. I mean, isn't that kind
00:26:00.269 --> 00:26:03.130
of the beauty of it? You know, there's a lot
00:26:03.130 --> 00:26:05.390
of people who are spiritual and have things in
00:26:05.390 --> 00:26:07.730
which they believe in. And so it's kind of a
00:26:07.730 --> 00:26:11.430
manifest of what you believe. I also feel like
00:26:11.430 --> 00:26:14.369
that is subjective because no one knows. And
00:26:14.369 --> 00:26:17.329
so I think that's kind of the beauty of it. Nothing
00:26:17.329 --> 00:26:19.609
happens and hopefully you lived your best life.
00:26:19.690 --> 00:26:23.329
And if there is an afterlife, hopefully I live
00:26:23.329 --> 00:26:24.970
within the boundaries and make it there. You
00:26:24.970 --> 00:26:28.119
know what I mean? I believe in heaven. I for
00:26:28.119 --> 00:26:31.099
sure believe in heaven. I don't know if I believe
00:26:31.099 --> 00:26:33.480
in hell. I think that if you want to believe
00:26:33.480 --> 00:26:36.400
in hell, then you'll probably go to hell. Rather
00:26:36.400 --> 00:26:40.799
than being showered with gold and jewels or living
00:26:40.799 --> 00:26:42.880
in some place where you have to have wings and
00:26:42.880 --> 00:26:45.759
a harp, hopefully we just get reabsorbed into
00:26:45.759 --> 00:26:48.559
that consciousness that allows the oceans to
00:26:48.559 --> 00:26:51.279
move and the tides and the rivers and the trees
00:26:51.279 --> 00:26:56.490
to grow. I hope. And maybe there's nothing. Either
00:26:56.490 --> 00:27:00.210
way, it doesn't matter. Pretty interesting, right?
00:27:00.990 --> 00:27:05.289
So here's my first challenge to you is when you
00:27:05.289 --> 00:27:08.829
see that, there's like a tendency to want to
00:27:08.829 --> 00:27:12.390
laugh when really what we should do is cry, right?
00:27:12.490 --> 00:27:16.349
And this isn't just some kind of fringe group
00:27:16.349 --> 00:27:18.950
of people that see the world in a weird way.
00:27:19.029 --> 00:27:22.470
This is the predominant way that people see the
00:27:22.470 --> 00:27:25.619
world. I just want to summarize essentially what
00:27:25.619 --> 00:27:28.259
is it that the global youth culture believes
00:27:28.259 --> 00:27:31.640
when it comes to the origin. of Earth. You're
00:27:31.640 --> 00:27:34.440
going to hear kind of scientific answers for
00:27:34.440 --> 00:27:36.799
how the Earth came to be. But then we're also
00:27:36.799 --> 00:27:39.980
kind of drawing in Eastern religious energy and
00:27:39.980 --> 00:27:42.599
this idea. So it's kind of this combination of
00:27:42.599 --> 00:27:45.940
a naturalistic worldview combined with this vague
00:27:45.940 --> 00:27:48.980
spirituality that we talked about. And then when
00:27:48.980 --> 00:27:51.519
it comes to morality, if you ask the average
00:27:51.519 --> 00:27:53.880
person, they're going to say that morality is
00:27:53.880 --> 00:27:56.940
essentially a social construct, right? But then
00:27:57.579 --> 00:28:00.740
Social injustice must be fought with passion,
00:28:00.900 --> 00:28:03.400
right? So you've got this weird combination of
00:28:03.400 --> 00:28:07.240
a social construct morality, but yet a sense
00:28:07.240 --> 00:28:11.900
of obligation to fight injustice. And then purpose,
00:28:12.200 --> 00:28:15.099
well, there is no purpose other than to seek
00:28:15.099 --> 00:28:19.200
personal happiness. That is the ultimate expression
00:28:19.200 --> 00:28:23.559
of purpose. And then destiny, the answer is essentially,
00:28:23.640 --> 00:28:26.700
I don't know. And I try not to think about it.
00:28:27.259 --> 00:28:30.220
Right. Because it's a scary, deep implication.
00:28:30.440 --> 00:28:33.980
It's the kind of the cold, hard, atheistic answers
00:28:33.980 --> 00:28:36.940
aren't very satisfying. And so what I do mostly
00:28:36.940 --> 00:28:39.619
is not think about it. What I do mostly is when
00:28:39.619 --> 00:28:41.180
it's late at night, I'm sitting in bed and I
00:28:41.180 --> 00:28:43.619
can't fall asleep. And these dark thoughts come
00:28:43.619 --> 00:28:45.859
to my mind. I just pull out my phone and I start
00:28:45.859 --> 00:28:48.720
to scroll TikTok. Right. Because I don't want
00:28:48.720 --> 00:28:52.119
to think about the big, deep, scary thoughts.
00:28:52.720 --> 00:28:57.779
So this tends to be. The worldview of this global
00:28:57.779 --> 00:28:59.779
youth culture is how they see the world. And
00:28:59.779 --> 00:29:03.279
it all comes down to this idea of secular humanism,
00:29:03.299 --> 00:29:08.140
which is the religion of self. The idea of secular
00:29:08.140 --> 00:29:12.240
humanism is that God has been replaced, man is
00:29:12.240 --> 00:29:15.720
at the center, and there's no outside authority
00:29:15.720 --> 00:29:19.480
that can tell me how to live my life. And that
00:29:19.480 --> 00:29:23.660
the key to happiness is found within. Just follow
00:29:23.660 --> 00:29:26.599
your dreams and don't let anyone tell you who
00:29:26.599 --> 00:29:29.880
you are or what you want. Take care of yourself
00:29:29.880 --> 00:29:35.640
above all else. And so it's the era of my truth.
00:29:36.200 --> 00:29:39.940
And in the era of my truth, identity, purpose,
00:29:40.180 --> 00:29:44.259
and morality is personally constructed. We define
00:29:44.259 --> 00:29:48.440
those things. You make your own meaning. And
00:29:48.440 --> 00:29:50.740
if you pay attention, you see this messaging
00:29:50.740 --> 00:29:55.720
everywhere. This is at a Starbucks and it's a
00:29:55.720 --> 00:29:57.680
poster that says, don't you ever let a soul in
00:29:57.680 --> 00:30:00.099
the world tell you that you can't be exactly
00:30:00.099 --> 00:30:04.200
who you are. And it's quoting Lady Gaga. And
00:30:04.200 --> 00:30:07.720
this perfectly illustrates the secular humanistic
00:30:07.720 --> 00:30:11.640
worldview perfectly. And it's really appealing.
00:30:11.839 --> 00:30:17.059
And it really, it sounds so good. The reality
00:30:17.059 --> 00:30:20.559
is that the consequences of this worldview are
00:30:20.559 --> 00:30:23.539
heartbreaking. And it's like poison wrapped in
00:30:23.539 --> 00:30:26.680
bubble gum. And so that's the secular humanistic
00:30:26.680 --> 00:30:29.700
worldview. And if you pay attention to it, you
00:30:29.700 --> 00:30:33.680
see that the consequences are so, so heartbreaking.
00:30:34.299 --> 00:30:37.420
Nancy Percy, written a number of good books on
00:30:37.420 --> 00:30:39.400
apologetics, including Love Thy Body, which is
00:30:39.400 --> 00:30:42.259
about Christian sexuality, says once a society
00:30:42.259 --> 00:30:45.920
accepts a worldview, it tends to work out the
00:30:45.920 --> 00:30:49.299
logical consequences. So let me give you an example
00:30:49.299 --> 00:30:51.460
of this. A while back, a non -Christian friend
00:30:51.460 --> 00:30:53.400
of mine from high school posted on social media
00:30:53.400 --> 00:30:57.839
that his son, who is about the same age as my
00:30:57.839 --> 00:31:00.480
oldest son, had been diagnosed with brain cancer.
00:31:01.140 --> 00:31:05.059
And when I saw that post, I mean, it broke my
00:31:05.059 --> 00:31:10.160
heart because I couldn't imagine the fear and
00:31:10.160 --> 00:31:13.299
the pain that he was going through with his little
00:31:13.299 --> 00:31:17.029
boy being diagnosed with brain cancer. And then
00:31:17.029 --> 00:31:21.309
I began to read the comments on his posts. And
00:31:21.309 --> 00:31:25.549
he was getting things like positive vibes, sending
00:31:25.549 --> 00:31:29.789
healing vibes his way, sending you all positive
00:31:29.789 --> 00:31:33.549
vibrations and much love. And then eventually
00:31:33.549 --> 00:31:36.829
he responded, thank you everyone for the supportive
00:31:36.829 --> 00:31:40.029
words of concern and positive energy you have
00:31:40.029 --> 00:31:43.349
expressed for my son, Peter. And I couldn't help
00:31:43.349 --> 00:31:46.950
but think about how hopeless. That all sounded
00:31:46.950 --> 00:31:49.049
because in the secular humanistic worldview,
00:31:49.210 --> 00:31:53.390
there is no transcendent hope, just positive
00:31:53.390 --> 00:31:59.109
vibrations. And it's devastating, right? We live
00:31:59.109 --> 00:32:02.289
in a culture and a generation that is incredibly
00:32:02.289 --> 00:32:10.710
confused, sexually broken, lonely, anxious, and
00:32:10.710 --> 00:32:14.450
depressed. I mean, these are universally felt.
00:32:15.099 --> 00:32:17.759
In this culture, in this generation, you know,
00:32:17.759 --> 00:32:21.119
because in a world where you define truth, what
00:32:21.119 --> 00:32:24.240
you get is confusion. In a world in which you
00:32:24.240 --> 00:32:26.779
do whatever makes you feel good, you get sexual
00:32:26.779 --> 00:32:29.859
brokenness. And when it's all about you, you
00:32:29.859 --> 00:32:32.859
get loneliness. When there's nothing to hold
00:32:32.859 --> 00:32:37.319
on to beside yourself, you get anxiety. And the
00:32:37.319 --> 00:32:41.240
saddest thing of all is that we as followers
00:32:41.240 --> 00:32:44.500
of Jesus have the ultimate answers to these things.
00:32:45.019 --> 00:32:49.400
Right? You know, Jesus brings truth to the confused.
00:32:49.759 --> 00:32:53.240
He brings healing to the sexually broken. He
00:32:53.240 --> 00:32:56.420
brings the ultimate relationship with our creator
00:32:56.420 --> 00:32:59.880
and with the church. And he brings peace that
00:32:59.880 --> 00:33:03.000
transcends understanding. We have the answer
00:33:03.000 --> 00:33:06.380
to the cry of a generation. And the sad thing
00:33:06.380 --> 00:33:09.460
is they are not looking to the church for answers.
00:33:10.200 --> 00:33:14.299
They're not walking to the church. And so we...
00:33:14.829 --> 00:33:18.130
Our response is that we need to go to them and
00:33:18.130 --> 00:33:20.970
our hearts need to break because this isn't a
00:33:20.970 --> 00:33:24.470
distant problem. This isn't out there. This is
00:33:24.470 --> 00:33:26.910
personal. These aren't just trends and statistics.
00:33:27.109 --> 00:33:29.329
These are our friends, sons, daughters, and grandkids.
00:33:30.309 --> 00:33:33.549
And so when we hear this, our response should
00:33:33.549 --> 00:33:36.650
be like that of Nehemiah. After he found out
00:33:36.650 --> 00:33:39.490
that the city of Jerusalem was ruins in Nehemiah
00:33:39.490 --> 00:33:41.630
chapter one, verse four, he said, when I heard
00:33:41.630 --> 00:33:48.700
these things. I sat down and wept. That should
00:33:48.700 --> 00:33:53.140
be our response. Because until our hearts are
00:33:53.140 --> 00:33:56.140
broken, we're not going to do anything about
00:33:56.140 --> 00:33:59.980
it. Because to the extent to which our hearts
00:33:59.980 --> 00:34:02.859
are broken is the extent to which we will sacrifice,
00:34:03.359 --> 00:34:06.660
that we will get uncomfortable, that we will
00:34:06.660 --> 00:34:09.659
lay down our needs, our preferences for the sake
00:34:09.659 --> 00:34:12.860
of the lost. We need our hearts to be broken,
00:34:12.940 --> 00:34:16.940
but we can't change our hearts. You know, that's
00:34:16.940 --> 00:34:19.119
only something God can do. So what we can do
00:34:19.119 --> 00:34:22.860
is we can repent and we can say, God, my heart
00:34:22.860 --> 00:34:25.960
is cold. I don't care for people like I should,
00:34:26.019 --> 00:34:29.119
and it's not right. I've even gotten apathetic
00:34:29.119 --> 00:34:33.739
about people in my own family. I'm sorry. Would
00:34:33.739 --> 00:34:36.760
you forgive me? And would you give me your heart?
00:34:37.639 --> 00:34:39.699
And when you start to pray that prayer, it's
00:34:39.699 --> 00:34:41.300
a dangerous prayer because all of a sudden you're
00:34:41.300 --> 00:34:43.440
going to start to see the world through God's
00:34:43.440 --> 00:34:45.800
eyes. And you're going to start to see people
00:34:45.800 --> 00:34:49.500
maybe for the very first time. And when he gives
00:34:49.500 --> 00:34:51.039
you that broken heart, then you're going to be
00:34:51.039 --> 00:34:54.260
willing to get uncomfortable, to be awkward,
00:34:54.420 --> 00:34:58.119
to take a step of faith and risk because your
00:34:58.119 --> 00:35:01.420
heart is so broken and God has awoken us from
00:35:01.420 --> 00:35:04.800
our apathy. And once our hearts are broken, then
00:35:04.800 --> 00:35:08.360
we need to pray like never before. We need to
00:35:08.360 --> 00:35:11.059
go on like Nehemiah, which says that for some
00:35:11.059 --> 00:35:14.320
days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the
00:35:14.320 --> 00:35:16.960
God of heaven. And biblical scholars estimate
00:35:16.960 --> 00:35:18.980
that Nehemiah actually prayed and fasted for
00:35:18.980 --> 00:35:22.199
four months before he eventually approached the
00:35:22.199 --> 00:35:24.920
king. And so the question is, why would Nehemiah
00:35:24.920 --> 00:35:28.460
pray and fast so long and with such intensity?
00:35:29.320 --> 00:35:31.860
And it's because when God opened his eyes to
00:35:31.860 --> 00:35:34.280
the problem, he knew that he couldn't fix it
00:35:34.280 --> 00:35:38.710
on his own, right? Because like Nehemiah, we
00:35:38.710 --> 00:35:40.710
need to recognize that the mission that we were
00:35:40.710 --> 00:35:44.130
called to, to bring the love of Jesus to people
00:35:44.130 --> 00:35:46.849
that are far from him, that that mission is not
00:35:46.849 --> 00:35:51.329
hard, it's impossible. Which means that no human
00:35:51.329 --> 00:35:57.449
strategy, no evangelism script, no approach is
00:35:57.449 --> 00:36:00.409
ever going to be enough. I can't even solve the
00:36:00.409 --> 00:36:03.329
problems in my own family. But we need to understand
00:36:03.329 --> 00:36:05.590
while the mission may be impossible, we serve
00:36:05.590 --> 00:36:10.289
the God of the impossible. And then when we get
00:36:10.289 --> 00:36:12.869
on our knees in desperate prayer and cry out,
00:36:13.050 --> 00:36:16.369
God have mercy, that's when we're going to see
00:36:16.369 --> 00:36:19.869
the breakthrough. And so that's where this all
00:36:19.869 --> 00:36:23.510
starts. The foundation for reaching secular culture,
00:36:23.550 --> 00:36:26.030
for reaching young people in our families and
00:36:26.030 --> 00:36:27.909
in this world who will not walk into a church
00:36:27.909 --> 00:36:31.460
is desperate prayer and a broken heart. That's
00:36:31.460 --> 00:36:34.880
where it all starts. Not using the right words
00:36:34.880 --> 00:36:36.760
or having the right script. It starts with a
00:36:36.760 --> 00:36:39.480
broken heart. Because I don't know about you,
00:36:39.539 --> 00:36:41.500
but I look around the world and all its brokenness
00:36:41.500 --> 00:36:44.679
and I can be overwhelmed. We need God to move.
00:36:44.800 --> 00:36:47.880
Our human efforts and wisdom are so woefully
00:36:47.880 --> 00:36:51.320
inadequate. We need God's supernatural power.
00:36:52.280 --> 00:36:54.679
And it's, you know, 1 Corinthians 4 .20 says,
00:36:54.780 --> 00:36:57.679
the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk, but
00:36:57.679 --> 00:37:01.679
of power. And the amazing thing, is that God
00:37:01.679 --> 00:37:06.179
loves to move through ordinary people like you
00:37:06.179 --> 00:37:09.659
and like me. But to experience God's power like
00:37:09.659 --> 00:37:12.500
that, we've got to give him everything because
00:37:12.500 --> 00:37:15.579
Jesus is not calling us to give a lot. He is
00:37:15.579 --> 00:37:19.559
calling us to give everything. First Thessalonians
00:37:19.559 --> 00:37:21.780
2 .8 says, we loved you so much. We are delighted
00:37:21.780 --> 00:37:24.059
to share with you, not only the gospel of God,
00:37:24.179 --> 00:37:27.820
but our lives as well. That's what it's going
00:37:27.820 --> 00:37:31.510
to take. We've got to. We've got to change our
00:37:31.510 --> 00:37:34.869
lifestyle. It's a radical shift in lifestyle
00:37:34.869 --> 00:37:37.829
where we give everything that we have. And the
00:37:37.829 --> 00:37:41.250
paradox of Jesus is that when you give your life,
00:37:41.389 --> 00:37:45.909
you find it. That's the paradox of Jesus. And
00:37:45.909 --> 00:37:48.730
that when you give all that you have, your five
00:37:48.730 --> 00:37:50.909
loaves and your two fish, which is not enough,
00:37:51.150 --> 00:37:54.150
he can take that and he can do the supernatural.
00:37:54.880 --> 00:37:58.280
He can see that hardened heart, that person in
00:37:58.280 --> 00:38:00.679
your life that wants nothing to do with God.
00:38:00.739 --> 00:38:03.340
He can see their heart softened and awakened
00:38:03.340 --> 00:38:06.960
to the reality of Jesus. He can do the supernatural.
00:38:07.340 --> 00:38:10.179
All we have to do is give him everything that
00:38:10.179 --> 00:38:15.579
we have. Aaron Pierce has been our guest teacher
00:38:15.579 --> 00:38:18.360
today here on Living on the Edge with a message
00:38:18.360 --> 00:38:21.679
titled Understanding the Secular Culture. It's
00:38:21.679 --> 00:38:24.380
part of a larger series we've begun called Caring
00:38:24.380 --> 00:38:26.820
Enough to Connect, Building Bridges to Those
00:38:26.820 --> 00:38:29.500
We Love. Now, if you missed any part so far,
00:38:29.679 --> 00:38:32.500
be sure to catch up anytime at livingontheedge
00:38:32.500 --> 00:38:36.219
.org. What Aaron shared with us today is just
00:38:36.219 --> 00:38:38.179
a taste of what you can explore for yourself
00:38:38.179 --> 00:38:41.960
in the Not Beyond Reach Participants Guide. It's
00:38:41.960 --> 00:38:44.780
a 10 -week video -based study that will help
00:38:44.780 --> 00:38:47.639
you and your small group understand this generation's
00:38:47.639 --> 00:38:50.480
worldview, start real spiritual conversations,
00:38:50.739 --> 00:38:53.659
and carry the hope of the gospel into homes that
00:38:53.659 --> 00:38:57.010
feel far from church. Each week includes a viewing
00:38:57.010 --> 00:39:00.130
guide, discussion questions, a practical application,
00:39:00.449 --> 00:39:04.090
and interactive group exercises. You can get
00:39:04.090 --> 00:39:06.469
the Not Beyond Reach Participant's Guide at a
00:39:06.469 --> 00:39:10.030
discounted price right now by going to livingontheedge
00:39:10.030 --> 00:39:14.530
.org slash offers. Every single day, somebody
00:39:14.530 --> 00:39:17.130
out there is asking the same hard questions we
00:39:17.130 --> 00:39:19.989
explored in today's program. And that's exactly
00:39:19.989 --> 00:39:23.230
why this ministry exists, to share biblical truth
00:39:23.230 --> 00:39:26.340
to those who need it. This ministry work only
00:39:26.340 --> 00:39:29.159
continues because of listeners like you who choose
00:39:29.159 --> 00:39:31.539
to help keep it going with their financial support.
00:39:32.079 --> 00:39:34.539
Wherever you're listening from today, we've made
00:39:34.539 --> 00:39:37.760
it easy for you to donate online. Simply go to
00:39:37.760 --> 00:39:44.059
livingontheedge .org or call 888 -333 -6003.
00:39:44.380 --> 00:39:47.219
You can also send your gift by mail to Living
00:39:47.219 --> 00:39:51.099
on the Edge, P .O. Box 3007, Sewanee, Georgia
00:39:51.099 --> 00:39:56.000
30024. Now let me hand things over to our regular
00:39:56.000 --> 00:39:58.920
Bible teacher, Chip Ingram. Thanks, Dave. Today
00:39:58.920 --> 00:40:02.099
I've asked Aaron to join me in studio. And you
00:40:02.099 --> 00:40:04.460
know, Aaron, today you referenced the man -on
00:40:04.460 --> 00:40:07.039
-the -street type interviews, and you did these
00:40:07.039 --> 00:40:09.159
with college students, and you ask them questions
00:40:09.159 --> 00:40:10.960
like, you know, what's your purpose? How did
00:40:10.960 --> 00:40:14.179
life begin? And what happens after we die? And
00:40:14.179 --> 00:40:17.000
actually some pretty deep philosophical questions.
00:40:17.690 --> 00:40:19.730
But afterwards, you made this really interesting
00:40:19.730 --> 00:40:23.630
statement. Our natural instinct is to laugh at
00:40:23.630 --> 00:40:27.210
some of those answers when in reality, we should
00:40:27.210 --> 00:40:30.909
cry. Let me ask you this. What do you say to
00:40:30.909 --> 00:40:35.210
that parent or grandparent that's just befuddled
00:40:35.210 --> 00:40:39.429
by their adult child or grandchild that believes
00:40:39.429 --> 00:40:42.469
some things that they just think, this is nuts,
00:40:42.769 --> 00:40:46.889
this is crazy. Talk to that person. about why
00:40:46.889 --> 00:40:49.090
they need to build a bridge rather than laugh?
00:40:49.389 --> 00:40:51.730
You know, Chip, this is such an important question
00:40:51.730 --> 00:40:55.650
because I think we need to remind ourselves that
00:40:55.650 --> 00:40:59.250
the problem that we're dealing with is not first
00:40:59.250 --> 00:41:03.429
and foremost an issue of logic or rationality,
00:41:03.429 --> 00:41:06.809
but in fact, we're dealing with a spiritual blindness
00:41:06.809 --> 00:41:12.670
issue. So if I were to point at a wall, but you're
00:41:12.670 --> 00:41:15.670
blind. It doesn't matter how clearly I point
00:41:15.670 --> 00:41:19.269
at it. You can't see it. And so in the same way,
00:41:19.289 --> 00:41:23.210
we need to remind ourselves that we are in a
00:41:23.210 --> 00:41:25.449
spiritual battle, that the fundamental problem
00:41:25.449 --> 00:41:28.670
is spiritual blindness, and that should break
00:41:28.670 --> 00:41:32.250
our hearts. And then it should remind us that
00:41:32.250 --> 00:41:36.110
we can't fight a spiritual battle. With words
00:41:36.110 --> 00:41:39.510
alone, with persuasive arguments, we need God
00:41:39.510 --> 00:41:42.829
to move in a supernatural way for him to reveal
00:41:42.829 --> 00:41:45.989
the truth in a way that our words alone can't
00:41:45.989 --> 00:41:49.010
do. So that's why I say we should respond not
00:41:49.010 --> 00:41:52.070
with laughter, but with crying, because this
00:41:52.070 --> 00:41:55.409
is a generation that is spiritually blinded and
00:41:55.409 --> 00:41:59.219
has been deceived. Next time, Aaron Pierce shows
00:41:59.219 --> 00:42:01.739
us how to build real friendships with the secular
00:42:01.739 --> 00:42:04.860
people in our own lives. Listen next time to
00:42:04.860 --> 00:42:10.920
Living on the Edge. Today's program is produced
00:42:10.920 --> 00:42:13.139
and sponsored by Living on the Edge.