Subjective norms and Objective norms: the big choice for the SDA younger generation

koot van wyk (DLitt et Phil; ThD)

Kyungpook National University

Sangju Campus

South Korea

conjoint lecturer of Avondale College

Australia

16 August 2009

Depending on what their parents did and their grandparents before, the younger generation would have gone to highschool and college with the SDA principles in their subconscious.

Depending on their personality type, they would have done some efforts to understand the role of faith in their lives.

Depending on their friends they would have stand like Daniel or fade away like the prodigal son.

Depending on their own choice, they will either embrace or reject or just be cool about the religion of their parents and grandparents.

The young generation today is experiencing a paradigm shift from neo-platonism as it is manifested in Christianity that sees value or reality as outside the human domain, at least the controlling part of it, and neo-aristotelianism which claims all value lies in the existence.

The only rule of faith and living is the Bible. This is how the modern generation through about it as well as pioneers and before. Any move away from it, however small, is a move away from the Bible.

Why the Bible? Because the Bible is the revelation of God given to men and written by them with their imperfections sometimes in their expressions but edited by the Spirit of God, considered to be efficient for salvation and living.

The first step to move away from the Bible is to stop reading it.

Just to listen to the word of God now and then is not fulfilling the role the Bible can and should play in our lives. Not to listen or read the Bible finally becomes a shutting down of religious systems and a shutting down of value systems as well.

The Bible is an objective norm for our living since it is outside of ourselves.

When the Bible is not read any longer, the substitute norms which are humanistic systems, like feeling, taste, like and dislikes, sensuality, takes the place of the value system.

Suddenly, there is no concept of what sin is, no concept of the need for salvation, no concept of what a Christian ought to be and the mind allows all people of all kinds and all actions by all people as no problem at all.

Relativity steps in.

What is good for you is not necessarily good for me. I will not judge you and you do not judge me. You are OK and I am OK. Everyone does what is good in his own eyes. No offence.

Many humanistic norms are set up for propriety and they give the appearance that they are sophisticated, but they lack one element: there is no mention of the solution to sin in eternal sense.

Slowly, God is ruled out of their pattern and what makes them move from day to day are their friends, fashion, CDs, tapes, music, TV shows, pop-culture idols, lights, beauty, strong, good smelling and good food.

Let us eat and drink and be happy for tomorrow we die, becomes their lifestyle.

This is neo-aristotelianism.

Norms that use to be outside of man and objective is now replaced by a subjective one run by feelings, emotions, senses and rational decisions.

God expects us to worship Him with the norms that He gave us.

The task of each pastor is to cultivate the love for the Bible.  When a pastor only cites a text from the Bible, preach about all kinds of things and then return at the end of his sermon to one text just before he step out, he is ransacking the role of the Bible in people's lives.

Even though young people say that they find the Bible boring, then the Bible should still be used for study and majorly so, since the Holy Spirit will assist the situation and study.

If a pastor thinks he want to crossbreed entertainment and Bible study, or entertainment and worship, he may see some increase in numbers but the fallout in the long run is more.

People fall out of the church for lack of knowledge, lack of knowledge of the Bible. If they can leave with Bibles to cling to, they will circulate back for that is where the navigation will lead them to.

Saul Tchernichovsky was a jewish poet who grew up in a wealthy house, could have studied in rabbinical schools, could have studied the Bible without interference, but he chose not to. In fact, he wanted to study in non-Jewish schools. When he had chance to make his own decisions, he decided to not accept the Biblical norm for himself. Because the Bible says David was a hero, he chose Saul. He liked the Greek gods and thus expressed himself in his poems as a paganist. Jewish blood but non-Jewish heart!

Many young people in the SDA church goes through the same cycle as this modern Hebrew poet. He died at the age of 68 from leukemia. He became alienated to his upbringing.

Dear God

Your Word is a light for my way. Even though others may feel they do not need it, do not read it, do not live by it, for me it is the source of life itself. Touch the untouched with your Word.

Amen

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