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Why Church-Going Teens Don't Relate Christ with Faith

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Teenagers today don't relate Christ with their Christianity but instead view their faith as doing the right thing and living within the bounds of "morality." 

A report by Christianity Today says that Christian young people, even those engaged in church youth groups, are straying from Christ more than in years past, adding that the difference between this generation and others is stark. 

"Studies are continuing to confirm that vast swaths of churchgoing kids know very little about their Christian faith," Ed Vitagliano, American Family Association's (AFA) executive vice president, said. 

"Instead, American Christianity has devolved into what two sociologists called 'moralistic therapeutic deism,' he added. 

Vitagliano shared three things he believes are misleading the youth today. 

First, Christian teens are more "moralistic," meaning their faith is more about "mere human goodness." 

"Any authentic Bible-believing Christian, however, knows that goodness is neither an inherent human trait nor, even if it was, is it sufficient for a saving relationship with God," Vitagliano said.

Second, he contends that youth are more "therapeutic," which causes them to miss the entire point of discipleship; they are viewing the Church more as a religious form of therapy rather than having an intimate relationship with God. 

"Somewhere along the line, churchgoing kids have missed the point about the Christian faith. Rather than it being a relationship with God by which a disciple is joined to Christ, follows Him, and becomes more and more like Him, the modern, younger evangelical has this view of religion: 'It makes me feel happy,'" he said. 

The last point Vitagliano explains is that kids also believe in "deism," which turns God into a vague subject and something that is difficult to reach. They see God as someone who created the world and defined the general moral order, but they don't see him as someone who gets personally involved with their affairs. 

He says that kids relate more with pop culture idols rather than with Jesus and calls it a spiritual catastrophe for youth. 

"What we are witnessing is a spiritual catastrophe in the making. For those Christians who viewed the recent election as a reprieve, they are probably right. But it was not a permanent end to the spiritual war engulfing our nation," Vitagliano warned. "If we are not careful and if we don't change the way we do business within the four walls of American church life, it won't matter what happens outside them."

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