Why Millennials Hate Church

Why do Millennials avoid church? Here are some observations:

13. The Church of the "Try Hards."
Trying too hard is unbecoming. When churches employ gimmicks to make themselves look more relevant and attractive to Millennials it may have the opposite effect. Millennials can see through the marketing. Worse than that, too many churches are trying to change to fit Millennial standards. The church's message to the Millennial should be, "Repent!" Not, "What can we do to make you like us." Which would Jesus have said?

12. Shallow Christianity
Spiritual liberalism has created a superficial and vacuous Christianity. Millennials seem to enjoy the finer, more sophisticated things in life. For example, while the baby-boomers eat cheap garbage the Millennial would spend a few extra bucks of money that they don't have to eat sushi. Liberal denominations have cheapened Christianity and have emptied it of its depth. Christians ought to pursue doctrinal depth, biblical literacy, and a historical appreciation for the church. In the desire to be relevant Christianity has lost its richness.

11. Evangelical Subculture
Evangelicals are not just a denomination, they are an American subculture. Christians who take a more conservative approach to Scripture are lumped into Evangelicalism. Millennials are intimidated by Evangelicals and view them as a politically regressive force.

10. The Church of the Worker Bee
Baby-Boomers understood and appreciated hard work. While work-ethic is a good trait it can be very self-serving. A Baby-Boomer mentality may perceive church attendance as "putting in the hours." Go to church and God will give you a weekly credit. Go to church and your neighbors will think highly of you. Go to church and your neglectful parents will notice you and like you more. This mentality no longer exists among Millennials. They're not necessarily lazy, they just don't have the same stick and carrot.

9. The Church of the Family
Churches revolve around families. Churches dump countless resources into their children. The emphasis on family can alienate Millennials who are having fewer kids. Children have a way of getting young adults back into church. If Millennials don't have kids, don't expect to see them coming to churches that are dedicated to the family.

8. Seeds of the Enlightenment
This reason is more philosophical. Basically, the Enlightenment caused the church to take a back seat in society. The church was pushed out of the sphere of public and objective truth. As a result religion, faith and even morality became personal expressions. Europe has embraced this mentality longer than the United States has. The middle-class was somewhat protected from it until the age of the Millennial. The church must take a stand against relativism.

7. The Church of Straw
"New Atheists" have used the internet to volley a number of attacks on Christianity. Most of these attacks paint a false picture of Christianity. Rather than the church that fosters peace and stability it is the church of the crusades. Rather than the church that abolished slavery it was the church that practiced it. Rather than a faith that is anchored in the historical record of Christ and his resurrection as laid out in the prophetic record it's a faith no different than faith in a Flying Spaghetti Monster. Oh, and Hitler was a dedicated follower of the Jewish Messiah. Millennials are not necessarily more atheistic than other generations but they do have an aversion to the term religion. Religion is now a naughty word. "Call me spiritual."

6. Trophies for All!
Millennials have always been told how awesome they are. They've earned congratulations and trophies for accomplishing very little. Everyone wants them. Everyone tries to figure them out. Why should eternity be any different? If God exists and if there's a heaven I'm sure I'll get the trophy because I am awesome.

5. Church and State
Millennials haaaaaate the mixing of church and state. Progressives have done a good job of demonizing the religious right. However, progressives, social justice warriors and politically correct fanatics embrace the trappings of religion and look to legislate their own morality. Most Christians understand the value of separating church and state but it doesn't mean we ought to embrace a Marxist-like extreme or cater to the secular zealots. Marxists, whether they are economic or cultural, hate the church and it should concern most Americans that many of the college and university systems give off Marxist vibes.

4. Chronological Snobbery
When I lived in Asia I noticed how that the general population honored the elderly and held them in high esteem. While there is evidence that IQ scores are diminishing, many millennials seem to assume that they are the beneficiaries of some sort of evolutionary spurt that has given them an extra dose of enlightenment compared to all the morons of history. For a generation that is so sensitive to bigotry it is astounding at how bigoted they are toward the ancients. "Why should I care what the Bible says? It was written by a bunch of goat-herding bronze-age woman-bashing Neanderthals!"

3. Sex
There are a number of studies indicating that Millennials are not very sexual. Why? Well, in a world of instant gratification sex with another human being takes too much work. Nevertheless, for the Millennial it's very important that sexual freedom abounds. Self-control and self-denial have taken a back seat to sexual liberation. Biblically, the decay of religion is often combined with a sexual demand for freedom (see Romans 1) as the focus turns from the Creator to the created and procreation.

2. Privilege
Augustine once prayed, "You have put salt in our mouths so that we may thirst for you." Millennials have lived their lives with mouths full of honey. Millennials hate privilege and preach against it but fail to see that they are one of the most privileged generations in history. Jesus said that it is hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God. The same is true with a wealthy and privileged culture. Godlessness increases as wealth increases. Those who are humble and in need tend to look for help from their Creator.

1. Human Nature
Millennials have a warped view of human nature. While the Bible, all of human history, and a toddler stealing a toy from another toddler demonstrate with out a doubt that there is something fundamentally wrong with humans, Millennials believe that humans are by nature good.  Millennials naively believe that human misbehavior is a result of a corrupt system. This is why Millennials are socialistic, sensitive and take offense to a comical degree. "How dare you insult Holy I!"

I'm sure other reasons could be added to the list. They are not in any particular order of importance. Many of these reasons overlap and depend upon one another. Are there any that you would add? Oh, and if you feel offended or triggered by any of these observations - I don't care; I'm a grumpy Generation X-er.

3:The Number of Deity

The following is a list of Biblical references where God is associated with the number three:

1. Abraham is visited by three angels.
2. The Aaronic blessing is divided into three. Interestingly the priest would also give the Vulcan "live long and prosper" hand sign when delivering the blessing.
3. The Great Shema. While Judaism embraces this passage as they rightly preach the oneness of God, the threefold use of God's name is noteworthy. "Hear O Israel the Lord our God the Lord is one.
4. The tabernacle and the temple were divided into three.
5. The angelic choir sings: "Holy Holy Holy. Lord, God, Almighty." (Rev. 4:8, Is. 6:3)
6. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
7. God appeared to Israel on Mount Sinai during the third month after to days of preparation.
8. Jesus' ministry lasted three years and he rose on the third day.
9. The Christ was prophesied as prophet, priest and king.
10. Old Testament was divided into the Law, prophets, and writings.

The divinity of the ascended and exalted Christ leaps off the page in the book of Revelation. Divine attributes are consistently applied to Christ including various threefold descriptions. Consider a brief section in the first chapter of Revelation,

Revelation 1:4-5
Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. 

       who is, and who was and who is to come

       from him who is..., and from the seven spirits, and from Jesus Christ (Note the Trinity).

       faithful witness, firstborn from the dead, ruler of the kings of the earth

Revelation 1:5b-6
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priest to serve his God and Father - to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen. 

     loves us....freed us...and made us

Revelation 1:8
I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.

     who is, and who was and who is to come,

     Alpha and...., who is..., the Almighty

This is but a sampling of threefold descriptions of the person of Christ in Revelation and throughout the rest of Scriptures.

Chiasm: God's Literary Highlighter

One of the most amazing literary devices in the Bible is the chiasmus or chiasm. Simply put, a chiasm is a way of structuring a verse, paragraph, or entire book in an a, b, b, a format. These devices are employed extensively throughout the Scriptures and seven part chiasms seem to be the most common (a, b, c, d, c, b, a). One of the more incredible chiasms in the Bible is the flood narrative. Old Testament scholar Gordon Wenham analyzed it and came up with the following:

A: Noah and his sons (Gen 6:10)

  B: All life on earth (6:13:a)

   C: Curse on earth (6:13:b)

    D: Flood announced (6:7)

     E: Ark (6:14-16)

      F: All living creatures (6:17–20 )

       G: Food (6:21)

       H: Animals in man’s hands (7:2–3)

        I: Entering the Ark (7:13–16)

         J: Waters increase (7:17–20)

          X: God remembers Noah (8:1)

        J: Waters decrease (8:13–14)

       I': Exiting the Ark (8:15–19)

      H': Animals (9:2,3)

     G': Food (9:3,4)

    F': All living creatures (9:10a)

   E': Ark (9:10b)

   D’:No flood in future (9:11)

  C': Blessing on earth (9:12–17)

 B': All life on earth (9:16)

A: Noah and his sons (9:18,19a)

Why are chiasms awesome? Here are a couple reasons:

1. Helps you find the main theme. Usually the most important part of a chiasm is the center. In the above verses the phrase "God remembered Noah" is the position of importance. Often when the Bible is taught or preached the context is neglected. Searching for chiasms will help teachers grasp and teach the Bible more effectively. 

2. Demonstrates the integrity of Scripture. Many people assume that the Bible has been corrupted or changed throughout centuries. If there is a detailed literary structure in the text then when cannot assume that it has been changed or corrupted over time.

3. Good riddance JEDP. The documentary hypothesis that prevailed during the 1800s can and ought to be placed within a coffin. These so-called "biblical scholars" assumed that the repetition with in certain Biblical narratives was due to multiple authorship. Nope, the repetition is due to a literary structure. 

4. Facilitates Memorization. Perhaps not sot so much for modern Western man but you can see how this structure helped the ancients memorize large sections of Scripture. If you can track these seven part outlines it would be easier to file scripture away into your mind. 

Here's another chiastic structure from the book of Daniel. Notice the theme that is highlighted in the center of the structure:

A. Daniel is exiled (Chapter 1)

     B. Vision of a statue representing four kingdoms (Chapter 2)

          C. Fiery Furnace (Chapter 3)

                  D. Nebuchadnezzar is removed (Chapter 4)

                  D. Belshazzar is removed (Chapter 5)

          C. Lion's Den (Chapter 6)

      B.  Vision of beasts representing four kingdoms (Chapter 7-9)

A. Vision of Exile (Chapter 10-12)