Wow. I wish I had seen that documentary. It's so easy to fall for all this stuff, though. I do it myself. Just goes to show you how important a moral grounding really is.
Caleb | Homepage | 03.31.06 - 11:35 am | #

You can: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/fr...hows/cool/view/
Anonymous | 03.31.06 - 5:04 pm | #

Thanks!
Caleb | Homepage | 03.31.06 - 9:32 pm | #

Mr. Kupelian (plus his family) are good friends of our family. Thanks for posting this!
Natalie | Homepage | 03.31.06 - 10:16 pm | #

Wow! That was fascinating and eye-opening...and scary. I agree with Caleb--even though we are aware of this "brainwashing", we get sucked into it (or at least I do). Thanks for the post--it's given me a lot to think about.
Allison Van Meter | 03.31.06 - 11:22 pm | #

The article from WND does a great job of illustrating the omni-present nature of youth culture: from television to clothing to "body modification", the culture has managed to satisfy every carnal urge found in teens today. That leads to my question: Have we given up the high ground? Are we fighting in an arena we cannot hope to win in?

Much of CCM and the Christian youth culture is an "alternative" to the secular world. Are you into Limp Bizkit? Try Thousand-Foot Krutch. Like Vanessa Carlton or Sarah McLachlan? You can listen to Jennifer Knapp. There are alternative clothing lines, alternative comic books. The whole kit and caboodle.

The point is: who said that this is what teens had to listen to, to read, and to wear? Haven't we let someone else define the battleground? Just because youth culture appeals to the base senses of teens, why does that mean we should accept that as our goal? Why shouldn't we call Christian youth to partake in higher art, such as classical music or jazz? To enjoy Romance or Modernist Art? Rock and roll and classic R&B were predicated on a "sexual beat", one that our grandparents found so offensive. Is that what we hope to use our abilities for? Let's face it: modern youth culture is based upon sexuality and utter indulgence, and Christian alternatives, by definition, can't match secular stuff in those departments. No matter how hard we try, we can't be as angry, as promiscuous, as rebellious, as the secular alternatives.

I deeply appreciate the efforts many Christians have made in CCM or in other youth outreaches. It strikes me however, that what has happened is rather than being "in the world but not of it", the Christian culture is "of the world but not in it."

I'd love to hear others; thoughts, especially Alex and Brett.

(Full Disclosure: I'm a 21 year old college student in the Midwest, so please no charges of "old fogy".)
Snowden | 04.01.06 - 9:26 am | #

Snowden: We'll see if Alex and I get a chance to respond in the near future (however, this is definitely an issue we plan to address).

You need not fear accusations of being an "old fogey" . . . The question we must ask when confronting modern youth culture is "What must be rejected and what can be redeemed?"

There are ditches on both sides of the road; either we try to redeem everything, or we try reject everything.
Brett Harris | Homepage | 04.01.06 - 10:36 am | #

Very interesting and thought provoking, guys! I'm in full agreement with your thoughts and exhortations. Thank you for calling us to action!

I'm getting really excited about RoC and the mass of Rebelutionaries everywhere. The Lord seems to be working powerfully in this generation.

(Just a side note: Allison, I didn't expect to see you here!!!!! What a pleasant surprise! How did you find the Rebelution?)
David Peyton | Homepage | 04.02.06 - 10:04 am | #

Wow. That was definitely an eye opening article. Our culture is definitely empty, self indulging, and overtly sexual. A great article--it kind of shocks me; because this is not just any generation or people's culture--this is my generation being inundated with crap. Go rebelutionaries.
Nate | Homepage | 04.02.06 - 5:47 pm | #

Great article! It is scary to realize how targeted our generation is, targeted to not think, just feed our flesh.

Thank you, Brett and Alex, for all you are doing to make us (the future of our country) aware of the many challenges we are facing.
Zachary | Homepage | 04.02.06 - 8:45 pm | #

David, hi! Wow--fancy meeting you here! I stumbled upon The Rebelution about 4 months ago and I was blown away by what these guys are saying. It really exhorts me to be excellent. How are you doing? My email is BlueSkies_1986@hotmail.com in case you want to continue this conversation elsewhere (so we don't bug everyone else!) Good to hear from you. Allison
Allison Van Meter | 04.03.06 - 6:54 am | #

wow, keep it up!
Dan | 04.03.06 - 8:48 pm | #

Hey guys, I found an article on, "Grups" and the Peter Pan syndrome. But this one tackles some additional questions, such as: "What will the kids of these Grups become?" Despite three F words in the middle, this article is well worth the read.

http:// www.printthis.clickabilit...partnerID=73272
Skystrider | Homepage | 04.05.06 - 8:33 pm | #