DOC A New English Translation of the Septuagint by From Oxford University Press in History

Description

Based on the National Study of Youth and Religion--the same invaluable data as its predecessor; Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers--Kenda Creasy Dean's compelling new book; Almost Christian; investigates why American teenagers are at once so positive about Christianity and at the same time so apathetic about genuine religious practice. In Soul Searching; Christian Smith and Melinda Lundquist Denton found that American teenagers have embraced a "Moralistic Therapeutic Deism"--a hodgepodge of banal; self-serving; feel-good beliefs that bears little resemblance to traditional Christianity. But far from faulting teens; Dean places the blame for this theological watering down squarely on the churches themselves. Instead of proclaiming a God who calls believers to lives of love; service and sacrifice; churches offer instead a bargain religion; easy to use; easy to forget; offering little and demanding less. But what is to be done? In order to produce ardent young Christians; Dean argues; churches must rediscover their sense of mission and model an understanding of being Christian as not something you do for yourself; but something that calls you to share God's love; in word and deed; with others. Dean found that the most committed young Christians shared four important traits: they could tell a personal and powerful story about God; they belonged to a significant faith community; they exhibited a sense of vocation; and they possessed a profound sense of hope. Based on these findings; Dean proposes an approach to Christian education that places the idea of mission at its core and offers a wealth of concrete suggestions for inspiring teens to live more authentically engaged Christian lives. Persuasively and accessibly written; Almost Christian is a wake up call no one concerned about the future of Christianity in America can afford to ignore.