The Youth Factor

Sincere Christian parents face increasing difficulties in bringing Jesus to their children. Worldly competition, both without and within the church, is almost overwhelming. How many parents, their hearts in deep concern, have claimed God’s promise!

Yet there is a decided falling away of Christian youth from the faith. Playing upon the fears of parents and their desperate desire for the salvation of their children, liberal theologians and liberal church leaders have cruelly used what we would term the youth factor as a wedge to open the doors to lowered standards and principles, and to the acceptance of apostate doctrines.

How often we hear the necessity of enlivening church services by the introduction of various blasphemous modes of worship, with the catchcry that these techniques will preserve our children for God! Thus activities as diverse as Pentecostalism, the singing of "gospel" rock, puppetry, clown "ministries," emphasis of church youth groups on competitive sport, drama groups, the cinema, un-Christian video, and many more such activities have been accepted as "good" concepts designed "to save our youth." Indeed about the only tactic never suggested as a means of saving our youth is to bring to their hearts the love of Jesus through the study of His Word, an understanding of biblical doctrines, and a pure witness. But such a course would not subserve the hidden agenda of many liberal minds.

To follow the advice of liberal church leaders is to doom the church, for denomination after denomination has been decimated by policies which introduce worldly compromise as a means to retain the youth of the church. We say, Challenge the youth with the Scriptures and they will remain true. But compromise the standards and the faith, and youth will depart.

Perhaps the most disquieting feature is the way in which some theologians and senior church people presume to speak for the youth. Frequently they place in young people’s mouths words that they do not speak. Thus the youth are said to complain that the music is too dull, we are assured that they wish to move away from time-honored forms of worship, and many other claims are made in behalf of the youth. Usually it is found that until inserted into the minds of the young people by these persons, who believe themselves to be experts on the thinking of youth, many of these matters have scarcely entered their heads. It is almost as if a massive brainwashing of our young people is being orchestrated. The requirements of the youth are repeated so often that ultimately they assume that this must be what they believe.

Of course we believe that worship services should be vibrant and that the hymns of Zion should generate an enthusiastic expression. All this, as we study God’s Word, we believe He approves. But mixing the world and the church will never truly convert our youth; rather it will increase apostasies, for the world performs evil more effectively than the church.

It is in this general frame of reference that unceasing efforts are being put forward to convince our youth that they cannot comprehend the King James Version of Scripture. Only recently have youth commenced to mouth this sentiment, for they have now been told it so frequently that not only do they believe it; but in many cases they have not read the King James Version to verify or refute the "conventional wisdom." The result of accepting this pronouncement of liberal theologians is so appalling that one hopes that Christian parents will critically analyze their claim before accepting it.

But playing upon the fears of godly parents, some of these men used this line of reasoning as a carefully designed means to replace the Word of God from the purest Greek manuscripts, substituting versions based upon manuscripts both carelessly and deliberately corrupted. It was a cunning ploy, and it has succeeded no doubt beyond the wildest dreams of those who planned it. So successful is it that we frequently hear even very responsible laity echoing this misinformation. Now nearly all theology students are informed that modern translations are preferable to the King James Version. Men are graduating with Masters’ degrees in Divinity believing this error, without the slightest knowledge that the modern versions are based upon entirely different Greek manuscripts. Failure to highlight this fact in seminaries which promote the new versions is tantamount to a monstrous cover-up.

We are now treating our highly educated young people as if they were illiterate. We do them a gross injustice in this assumption. There is nothing wrong with a modern translation, but there is everything wrong with the use of mutilated manuscripts as its basis. Our young people deserve the very best—the uncorrupted Word of God.

In an era when higher education has never been so commonly achieved, we now pretend that young people cannot understand that which caused not the least difficulty to people with a mere elementary-school education only a few decades past. It is time that these liberal theologians stopped insulting the intelligence of our young people.

The early Reformers proposed to issue a Bible so easy to understand that the plough-boy could readily comprehend it. Today, we have reached the incredible situation where the plough-boys are in little difficulty in their understanding, while the theological professors find the beautiful English of the King James Version beyond their comprehension. Or do they? It may be that their real reason for displacing the King James Version is not to please our youth. It may be that the hiddden motive is to foist upon Christians an ecumenical Bible pleasing to Rome and to those who no longer fear her pagan practices.

Our youth merit far better than that. Let us not make them pawns in a subtle move to reverse God’s Word. By all means let us have a youth factor, but let it be the youth of the church proclaiming the pure Word of God.