Dr. Steve Blakemore, associate professor of philosophy at Wesley Biblical Seminary, has written an article for Catalyst Magazine. In Making the Truth Real: Ecclesial Challenges and the Millennial Generation, Dr. Blakemore asserts that the gospel the youth in our churches are learning is not the biblical gospel. He refers to the message the youth are receiving in our churches as Moralistic Therapeutic Deism. He defines Moralistic Therapeutic Deism in the second paragraph:
"Reductionist and generic in what it believes about humanity, salvation, and morality — even God’s nature — MTD posits god minimally as a deity that created and ordered the world that watches over human life. Second, this deity wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions. The third claim of MTD regarding this god’s purpose for us is that the central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself. Ironically, however, in spite of this divine destiny, MTD’s fourth pillar contends that god is not personally involved in one’s life (perhaps, because god is not needed?) except to resolve unusual crises. Finally, the ultimate category for human existence and morality is this: good people go to heaven when they die. Therefore, the designations 'Moralistic' (second and fifth propositions), 'Therapeutic' (proposition three), and 'Deism' (principles one and four) are apropos."
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