It is Time for Millenial Christians to Boldly Share Their Faith
For 3 straight years, life expectancy rates across the US have declined – not because of worse medical care or a Coronavirus-like plague. No, they have dropped because of a dramatic increase suicide, opioid overdoses, and alcohol-related diseases. These are often referred to as “deaths of despair”.
Google “US Life Expectancy drop”. You’ll find articles emphatically declaring it a side effect of our “worsening inequality”[1] or “rising unemployment”[2]. And while it may be true that challenging financial situations have pushed more than a few past the brink, they were likely already teetering on the edge.
In fact, 1 out of 5 American adults are diagnosed with mental illness each year[3]. Of those that are diagnosed, 30% are diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorder, or depression.
The groundswell in deaths by suicide directly correlates to this uptick in mental disease diagnoses. To be accurate, 90% of people who die by suicide had shown symptoms of mental disease according to interviews with those closest to them.
But there is good news.
Religious activities have been shown to have a positive impact on mental health.[4] In a recent study comparing groups with high-risk factors for depression such as family history, it was found that those who identified religion as “very important” reduced their risk of experiencing depression by 90% compared to those that did not.
Of course, researchers attribute this reduced risk to physical changes in the brain caused by faith in the Divine.
What physical changes, you ask? Well, they can’t exactly say. Just trust that there will be an answer… someday.
Blah, blah, blah…
What most scientific researchers can’t bring themselves to say is that faith in God offers hope to those that hold it. Atheism does not.
If you believe that life arose through a cosmic accident and we all evolved undirected from the “primordial ooze”, I’m not sure how you translate that into your life having meaning or purpose. If you believe that you will live until you die and then you will forget ever having lived, I agree that would be enough to depress even the happiest among us.
But for religious folks, knowing that we are created in God’s holy image gives life a sense of purpose. Understanding that we did not get here by accident but as a result of a Divine plan – the depths of which we cannot begin to understand or fathom – leaves us with a sense of appreciation and wonder. Believing that God came to Earth as incarnate flesh in the form of His Son, Jesus Christ, only to suffer and die to atone for our iniquities, shows us the true meaning of love: a self-sacrificing, holy love.
Folks that know God also know joy and happiness.
This is why religious people are happier. It’s that simple.
But Christianity Continues Its Precipitous Decline
According to recent research commissioned by Alpha USA, almost 50% of Millennial Christians believe that proselytizing or evangelism is at least somewhat wrong.[5] This unwillingness to share their faith stems in large part from fear of offending those would-be converts. Roughly 3 out of 5 (65%) of Millennial Christians believe people will be offended if they share their faith.
It is no wonder then that Christianity is rapidly declining in the U.S., especially among Millennial Christians.
In 2014, Americans that identify as “no religion” made up 23% of the population, up 7% from 2007.[6]
In total, the percentage of the American population that identifies as Christian fell from 77% in 2009 to 65% in 2019[7].
That is a drop of 12 percentage points in just 10 years!
Most of this drop can be attributed to younger generations turning away from the faith. Fully 35% of Millennials identify as “no religion” compared to just 17% of Baby Boomers.
Well, should you tell them?
Millennial Christians are in a unique position.
We need but look around us to see the devastation wrought by the hopelessness of the atheist worldview.
We see it daily in our lives and in our newsfeeds.
Not only do we know personally of the importance that faith plays in keeping our lives grounded and meaningful, we have research showing that faith in God allows everyone to lead happier, healthier lives.
And yet, almost half of us are afraid to share our faith… Why?
Seriously… Why?
Conclusion
People are taking their own lives in record numbers. Millennial Christians can no longer sit on the sidelines. We must become that beacon of hope this world so desperately needs. It is time that we lead by example. It is time that we show some fortitude and boldly share our faith with the masses. We must live out Christ’s “Great Commission”. People are literally dying to hear it.
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Matthew 28:16-20 New International Version (NIV)
If you enjoyed this post, check out our other blog posts on the ontological, cosmological, and moral arguments for God. If you’re interested in learning more about how A Millennials Divine Defense came to be, click here.
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References
[1] Woodward, A. (2019, November 30). Life expectancy in the US keeps going down, and a new study says America’s worsening inequality could be to blame. Retrieved February 24, 2020, from https://www.businessinsider.com/us-life-expectancy-declined-for-third-year-in-a-row-2019-11
[2] Boseley, S. (2015, February 11). Unemployment causes 45,000 suicides a year worldwide, finds study. Retrieved February 24, 2020, from https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/feb/11/unemployment-causes-45000-suicides-a-year-worldwide-finds-study
[3] Mental Health By The Numbers. (2019, September 1). Retrieved February 26, 2020, from https://www.nami.org/learn-more/mental-health-by-the-numbers
[4] Azab, M. (2019, April 5). Can Religion Help with Depression? Retrieved February 25, 2020, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/neuroscience-in-everyday-life/201904/can-religion-help-depression
[5] Kinnaman, D., Stone, R. L., & Hempell, B. (2019, February 5). Almost Half of Practicing Christian Millennials Say Evangelism Is Wrong. Retrieved February 26, 2020, from https://www.barna.com/research/millennials-oppose-evangelism/
[6] Lipka, M. (2015, May 13). A closer look at America’s rapidly growing religious ‘nones’. Retrieved February 25, 2020, from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/05/13/a-closer-look-at-americas-rapidly-growing-religious-nones/
[7] In U.S., Decline of Christianity Continues at Rapid Pace. (2019, December 31). Retrieved February 29, 2020, from https://www.pewforum.org/2019/10/17/in-u-s-decline-of-christianity-continues-at-rapid-pace/
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