The Special Challenges of the 21st Century
On August 19th, 2005, Brett posted the first part of a four-part series on character. Over the next week, we’ll be going through that series, both for the many who have not read it, and for the others who cannot be reminded enough about the critical importance of biblical, principled character.
On August 9th, 1995, Netscape, the first mainstream web-browser, went public; and the world has never been the same. But the incredible benefits provided by the Internet are accompanied by lethal dangers. It took three years for the Internet to even begin to take off, but there were already 14 million pornographic Web pages. From 1998 to 2003 that number jumped to 260 million; a 2,000% increase in just five years.
This post is not about pornography; but it is all about how technology presents tremendous new challenges to Christian character; and about what we need to do about it. I strongly believe that it is foolish for my generation to assume that the next ten years will treat them the same way the last ten have. If we think technology has peaked and that things will remain largely the same with just a few added “conveniences,” we are gravely mistaken. Think of any ten-year-olds you know. The Internet is ten years old.
Technology itself and the challenges it presents are in their nascent form.
Over the next 5-10 years advances in technology will allow pornography and the sex industry to push so far into mainstream culture that they will no longer be generally considered dirty or taboo. Yet this is only one of the challenges our generation faces. According to Marvin J. Cetron and Owen Davies from the World Futures Society, medical knowledge and development are currently doubling every eight years. The speed of change in the medical field is outpacing the public’s opinion on the ethics of things such as stem cell research, genetic engineering, cloning, DNA mapping, surrogate motherhood, infertility solutions, selection of a child’s sex, use of fetal tissue, artificial organs, organ cloning, and life support.
Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington, writes: “Technology will continue to reshape people in such a way that their attention spans will be shorter and they will have difficulty distinguishing truth and lies, and the deluge of information will become so great that separating the useful from the trivial will be laborious. [Furthermore] the tsunami of information and services customized to please individual people will create a culture of self-absorbed, narcissistic people consumed with themselves and unconcerned about serving other people.”
These are barely the tip of the iceberg; but their magnitude and scope are unique to our generation. Which is why you must be aware of them. In a world that continues to celebrate debauchery and advance technologically the moral challenges facing our generation will be unlike anything we’ve ever seen.
I am convinced that as our world continues to change it will become more and more difficult to actually avoid exposure to sin and will become more and more necessary to develop the strength of character to resist it, fight it, and conquer it.
I’m calling you to be the kind of young men and women who are willing to fight the fight against sin. I’m calling you to cut off your hand or gouge out your eye rather than lose your soul (Matthew 5:29-30). Character is a victory, not a gift. It requires war, not diplomacy.
The time for lukewarm Christianity is behind us. This country will not survive another generation of Christians that fit in.
April 7th, 2006 at 2:11 pm
Thanks for the post. I’ll defenitely keep that in mind.
April 7th, 2006 at 2:34 pm
“This country will not survive another generation of Christians that fit in.”
That is so true. We are called to be different! The very nature of God demands that we show to this world how different we are. Thank you for a very timely post!
April 7th, 2006 at 5:29 pm
Thank you for this post. It really is a war to have and maintain Christian character.
April 7th, 2006 at 5:31 pm
Thank you, for this good use of the internet. I enjoy reading your blog a lot.
April 7th, 2006 at 9:11 pm
Awesome post!! Thanks a lot!!
April 8th, 2006 at 4:31 am
This is a very true post.
I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
April 8th, 2006 at 5:05 am
This I think is one of your best posts. It hits the nail right on the head.
April 8th, 2006 at 8:27 pm
Excellent post, Alex.
April 9th, 2006 at 3:40 am
What a powerful post.
Suzanne Eller
April 9th, 2006 at 5:53 am
Wonderful post; timely reminder.
November 1st, 2006 at 1:37 pm
WOW. That was a powerful message against conformity. Sometimes when I hear the truth, I feel a little intimidated, but fear is the opposite of what God has in mind for us. This post was really encouraging! Thanks
January 9th, 2007 at 10:07 am
Wonderful Post. Indeed, it is a timely reminder.
January 16th, 2007 at 8:36 pm
The article read “The time for lukewarm Christianity is behind us”.
I’m sorry to say it, but I must disagree. I realize that’s not how you meant it, but I don’t think there ever was a time for lukewarm Christianity. Jesus puts it best:
Rev 3:15 “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
V.16 “So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth.”
Thank you for your article and your desire to exhort others in the faith!
July 12th, 2007 at 10:18 am
That article is very prophetic! Thank you for helping my eyes to open on the real seriousness of seperating ourselves from the world. Thanks
August 2nd, 2007 at 6:30 pm
The technological advancements are both a blessing and a curse… a blessing because there are better ways to preserve life and help those who are sick, and a curse because the scientists dont know how far is too far in regards to experimentation with life, and new tehnologies are providing easier ways for sick-minded and sinful people to circulate porn and promote the sex industries.
That is a very strong verse/challenge… that if parts of our body cause us to sin or stumble, it is better to enter heaven without them than lose our soul.
by the way… great post!
`Elisabeth J. Gruber
April 14th, 2008 at 7:21 am
my peers make me sick. I am ashamed of them. but what can I do? I am a minority.
April 19th, 2008 at 6:15 pm
We are supposed to be “One Nation Under God.” it is up to us (the next generation) to keep it that way!
May 2nd, 2008 at 7:17 pm
Awesome post! Very inspiring. That quote from Mark Driscoll was great! His sermons are really great too.
June 17th, 2008 at 11:01 pm
whoa, scary thoughts, but so true. thanks for the reminder to actively fight to live in a way that pleases only God. Godly character does require war against sin.
June 25th, 2008 at 10:50 pm
“I’m calling you to be the kind of young men and women who are willing to fight the fight against sin. I’m calling you to cut off your hand or gouge out your eye rather than lose your soul (Matthew 5:29-30). Character is a victory, not a gift. It requires war, not diplomacy.
The time for lukewarm Christianity is behind us. This country will not survive another generation of Christians that fit in.”
Wow… The whole thing shows us that we need to step out of our comfort zones so that we could really live. This is inspiration to step out of my comfort zone so that I can really live life.
July 8th, 2008 at 10:04 am
Great job. Keep up the good work!
August 19th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
This is a good post!
September 3rd, 2008 at 4:56 pm
I read this post, then sat for a few moments. I went back to my room, got on my knees, and asked God to help me overcome an obstacle that’s been in my life, really been making me lukewarm. And in God’s hands I will overcome it. Thank you, brother.
September 23rd, 2008 at 9:48 pm
Wow guys that is so true!
this is my look on this blog:
My reflection on this article is that the internet from is point of start (1995) has
grown dramatically worse but better at the same time. The internet today has over
240million porn sites out there. And that is only from 2003. It is crazy the amount of
allowed everywhere, and then there will be no marriage. People maybe will walk around
naked one day cause now people do not think that porn is a bad thing to be a part of. The generation I am in is going to be the hardest yet. We will have so much stuff being
thrown at us and most will not be able to deflect it. And who knows maybe one day we
will have a gay president, or maybe gays will be allowed to be married in churches. Life
it seems is becoming a joke to most people. You live it have fun in it, but make it hell for anyone after you. That isn’t fair and it needs to stop! I really think we need something big to happen to our world to see that God is the one that is to be followed not man. When that happens maybe then will there be peace, or will the nations agree with each other.
September 27th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
“This country will not survive another generation of Christians that fit in.”
neither will the rest of the world. we must stand for what we believe, no more couch potatoes, no more sitting on our butts all day. the time to act is now!
tell all your friends about Christ, tell your enemies also. saying hi to some one can change your life. it’s time for a revival and i think it will start with teens telling their friends about Christ. so what are you waiting for? get out there and start spreading the news!
October 9th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
Wow. That’s really convicting. “Character is a victory, not a gift”. We need to start living our faith out and stop “fitting in”.
It’s funny because I’ve been thinking about this very thing lately and how open and easy to find and more acceptable things like pornography have become. Even if you’re not trying to, when you get on the internt you expect to see something you’d rather not see. So many people are constantly using the internet so it’s very difficult to escape.
I know that God punishes nations, Nineveh being the biggest example. It was this Super nation that was rich, powerful, etc., and yet they were doomed to fall. That’s the direction America seems to be heading. Everyone thinks we’re the leading country and all, but our morals, expectations, etc. all are falling. Soon enough we’ll fall into the trap we’ve been making for ourselves since this nation was born and which recently has already grown so large. I can’t imagine what the next generation will have to go through. I just pray that us youth today will be able to speak out against the evil!!!
October 10th, 2008 at 5:26 pm
Julia,
You and I and every one else on this blog are, on there own, a minority.
But together we make a army. Fight the good fight and with Gods help we will make a difference.
October 20th, 2008 at 8:11 am
[...] Character: Challenges of the 21st Century Building Your Character House Meet Your Commander n’Chief The Bible or the Bullet [...]
October 24th, 2008 at 3:13 pm
Its sad how many pornographic sites there are.
January 7th, 2009 at 10:57 am
This is a great post, and I’m going to go ahead right now and read the rest. It’s true that it’s time for Christians to REALLY stand out.
February 20th, 2009 at 10:55 am
It has been three years now from when you first posted this article, and it is true, things are getting worse.
The body of Christ, the Church has grown so complacent!
What is happening?
We need to cry out to God for mercy on our country!
Share the love of Jesus Christ with others, If there is a time our world needs His love it is now it is this generation!
Thank you for this post and everything else you do to encourage teens to step out and make a difference for the glory of God.
March 16th, 2009 at 7:08 am
Guys, the article is awesome, i guess the song “Jesus Freak” is becoming more and more relevant to this generation af christians, we do need to start being enthusists for christ. I sent this article to all of my friends on myspace, because this does need to start being more and more realized. God bless you and thank you.
April 11th, 2009 at 2:21 pm
Another great post! By the way, why are some of the comments black and some red?
May 28th, 2009 at 7:47 pm
This is deffinitly true.
July 7th, 2009 at 9:31 am
Please delete this post. I’m just testing whether the “A HREF” HTML tag works in the comments section.
Link to Google
September 3rd, 2009 at 5:45 pm
I appreciate that post. It has a lot of good points, especially that the internet does have a lot of compromising information. But too often we focus on the negative and not the positive. Take this website for instance. It is a good character building, God fearing organization. There can and will be both positives and negatives for the internet, it’s really bout how you use it. Just a thought.
November 11th, 2009 at 1:04 am
While technology does present a lot of difficulties and opportunities for evil, it also presents a lot of opportunities for good. The Rebelution is a good example of using technology for Jesus! It is great that there are things like this on the web. Exciting things could happen if more Christians would start using the internet to further the kingdom of God!
On the other hand, it frustrates me exceedingly when things that are labeled “Christian” go against God’s standards. I have started to read many books that turned out to be that way, and I just watched a movie tonight that was supposedly Christian but turned out to have bad standards.
Lord, please send people to be good witnesses to You in media. Please send people who are committed to You and will not compromise, but share things that are real- real love, that doesn’t involve immorality, real living that doesn’t involve getting something out of every good deed. You said that the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few. You have the power to change what comes out of the media. Please change it and make it pleasing to You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
January 15th, 2010 at 7:08 pm
Amen!
This is…wow. Moving. “Character is victory, not a gift. It requires war, not diplomacy.” Well said. But even more importantly, truthfully said.
January 15th, 2010 at 11:17 pm
I agree with the article and think that it is very challenging. I’ve been very burdened recently for my generation. (I’m about to turn 17.) And I believe that if the Christians of this generation will have the burning desire in their hearts to take a stand, serve God with all that they are, and be willing to be different, that we can make a huge and lasting impact in this world and especially in America. America and the world, if we’re going to take a step in the right direction, is going to have to have teenagers and young adults who have character. Who are not out just to please themselves but out to help others and to do what is right! I want to be that kind of person.
February 24th, 2010 at 9:19 pm
I hate how in the 21st century with all this new technology, our society is still pretty narrow minded. I grew up with if you don’t fit in with the cool crowd you get labeled and made fun of. Then you either spend the rest of your life trying to fit in or you group with your own kind, whether it be nerds, smarty pants, ghetto people and etc. I think that needs change also!