The first of these videos can be found at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wf79xW6RAh4
It is basically a documentary about the Emergent Church, which professes to embody the contemporary culture version of Christianity. People belonging to the Emergent Church are people who think that the traditional ways/practices of Church and worship are outdated and no longer acceptable.
Though each Emergent Church is different and unique, they all share several defining characteristics, such as:
1. A very casual, relaxed setting
2. A large emphasis placed on the experiential; truly experiencing a relationship with God.
3. Worship that is multi-sensory, meaning people are encouraged to tangibly express their spirituality
It is also observed that members of the Emergent Church are less certain of theological ideas, and are mostly focused on the experience, rather than on the knowledge or truth.
Leaders of the Emergent Church describe it as a place of conversation, dialogue, and movement, and that their journey to spirituality and a connection to God is just as important as the end result, which is Heaven, ideally.
In my opinion, the Emergent Church Movement with end up pulling people away from Christ, instead of drawing them to Him, because the emphasis on the teaching of the Gospel is fading in that movement. It is becoming more focused on being comfortable and connected to a higher power than developing a personal relationship with Christ. It seems to me that the appreciation and recognition of what Christ did for us is being put aside and saved for a rainy day, instead of being that first priority.
The second video can be found at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTSKU0FgZts&feature=related
It is comedian Taylor Marley's view of post-modernism.
Marley suggests that our society has become so engrossed with conflicting feelings that we're the most aggressively inarticulate generation. Society considers it "uncool" to sound like you know what you're talking about, and that you believe in what you're talking about. Marley has noticed that, as a result of this, people nowadays rarely speak with conviction. He ends with saying: "Contrary to the wisdom of the bumper sticker, it is not enough to question authority, you have to speak with it."
I believe Marley speaks with excellent wisdom, regardless of the fact that this is a comedy bit. People that speak with passion and conviction about a certain topic are disregarded as overzealous and often judgmental. They seem not to have an "open mind" when in fact they are just passionately expressing their opinion. People are losing their voice and influence in America, because they are too afraid to stand up against the common thought of society. They are afraid of being judged, so they decide that it is better not to say anything at all.
The final video can be found at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLDgrBGwMX8&feature=relmfu
It is a video by Francis Schaeffer, in which Schaeffer discusses the roots of the Emergent Church, and what effect this movement has had on Christianity.
This movement found many of its roots during the Middle Ages, during which time it was recognized that the Bible shared authority with the Church. This idea grew until the teachings of the Bible and the teachings of prominent philosophers were mixed together. Eventually, the authority of the Church and of the philosophers was valued over the authority of the Bible.
This allowed a form of humanist Christianity to emerge, that has begun to take the focus away from accepting Christ as our Savior.
I think Schaeffer is absolutely right in his reasoning. Humanist ideals have crept into Christianity, and corrupted it. Many Christians are more focused on being good people and earning their way to heaven, than they are on developing a relationship with Christ. The Bible is the absolute, infallible word of God, and the fact that some people believe the authority of the Church is more important than the authority of the Bible is ridiculous and dangerous.
