That seems to the the main point of the article, and most of the threads below.

I have met some spiritually deep teenagers, but not many. And they were still young people at heart, meaning they want to belong to a group--with their own slang and "rituals."

I don't find it odd that we see a parallel universe of shallow and disposable Christian culture along side of a shallow and disposable secular culture.

The key isn't the observation about teenagers; it's the obvious profit motive inspired by that adolescent lack of reason. An entire industry was created by the '60's Youth Movement that goes well beyond Christian pop culture.

The genius--and maybe the vulnerability--of American capitalism in the modern era is that it takes any kind of provocative new idea and immediately renders it moot by turning it into a consumer product. Don't misunderstand me: I'm a firm believer in free market capitalism. But one cannot help but notice the trend.

A tattoo used to be a symbol of rebellion; now, I've got 15-year-old female students who get tattoos for their birthday from mom and dad.

My concern is that idealism in this modern age will always get deflated by consumerism. That's what's happening to Christianity, at least when you look at the pop culture that has descended from it.

Stop-T-D, you're accurate in your account of the immaturity of the teenage mind. Hence, why we've determined that, while physically mature, they are not mentally adults, nor are they capable of handling big-picture issues.

There is some truth to what both you and Anse are saying. However, I'd like to point out that generating a consumer product doesn't render an idea moot. As a Christian, I don't think my faith is moot just because a few people found a way to make some money off of certain "Christian" products. I do fully agree, though, that one can focus way too much on the consumerism of a particular idea rather than the meat of the idea itself. I think the modern music industry is a good case in point.

I think that any idea worth talking about can transcend the fad-crazed materialism that permeates the culture. With respect to religion, I think that absolutely must be the case. Otherwise, there is no faith beyond what we can see, touch, hear, and purchase.

"I've got 15-year-old female students..." - Anse

That explains a lot.

"Public education is a socialist monopoly, a real one." - The Late Milton Friedman

Fascist Benito Mussolini was a teacher too! I'm reading "Liberal Fascists" by Jonah Goldberg. It's about people like Anse.

"Public education is a socialist monopoly, a real one." - The Late Milton Friedman

Milton Friedman was not opposed to public education. His only caveat was that it had to be extremely localized and should not be regulated by the federal government, and he did not support public funding of higher education or vocational training.

<link>

Milton Lunch.

I don't feel threatened in my faith because some people are shallow or miss the point. I think the "Love Jesus and get rich" people do enormous damage to the faith, because richness is not found in material things. The non-believer sees prosperity Gospel, shrugs his shoulders and goes on his way.

God wants his children to have good things in this life, and sometimes that means money, and sometimes not. He does not want a relationship with us to be based on a consumer transaction--plug in your faith ATM and get the money you want. God is God, not Santa Claus.

Part of the reason Christian college kids can watch Jon Stewart and not feel guilty is that Stewart is a comedian above all. He's not a "thinker", nor does he represent a movement of one sort or another. He just goes for laughs. College kids like to laugh and it's not a bad thing that they can laugh at themselves with Stewart. A joke that's funny in the end is still just a joke. The author's view that there is a contradiction at play when college kids enjoy Stewart's jokes is just another joke, nothing more...

I don't know about that, I know some people that base their ideals on Stewart's words or those of news agencies on tv or in newspapers. Though I would have to say that the Daily Show is better because at least you know right out it's a joke. Just because they didn't tell a lie, doesn't mean they told the whole truth. I agree that teenagers are short-minded and mostly unable to think individually, but the Christian mindset should be to bring them up in the fear of the Lord our God and to teach them truth so they will know it when they see it. We can not blame teenagers for acting the way they do when we as adults do not lead by example. As adults, mind you with jobs and income, buy into commercialism so much more and in fact pave the way. Forgive adolescence, don't ignore it; and don't forget wisdom doesn't come with maturity or age, but with the confrontation of one's own actions, mistakes and their consequences.