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July 27th, 2013
08:33 AM ET
Why millennials are leaving the church
(CNN) - At 32, I barely qualify as a millennial. I wrote my first essay with a pen and paper, but by the time I graduated from college, I owned a cell phone and used Google as a verb. I still remember the home phone numbers of my old high school friends, but don’t ask me to recite my husband’s without checking my contacts first. I own mix tapes that include selections from Nirvana and Pearl Jam, but I’ve never planned a trip without Travelocity. Despite having one foot in Generation X, I tend to identify most strongly with the attitudes and the ethos of the millennial generation, and because of this, I’m often asked to speak to my fellow evangelical leaders about why millennials are leaving the church. Armed with the latest surveys, along with personal testimonies from friends and readers, I explain how young adults perceive evangelical Christianity to be too political, too exclusive, old-fashioned, unconcerned with social justice and hostile to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. I point to research that shows young evangelicals often feel they have to choose between their intellectual integrity and their faith, between science and Christianity, between compassion and holiness. I talk about how the evangelical obsession with sex can make Christian living seem like little more than sticking to a list of rules, and how millennials long for faith communities in which they are safe asking tough questions and wrestling with doubt. Invariably, after I’ve finished my presentation and opened the floor to questions, a pastor raises his hand and says, “So what you’re saying is we need hipper worship bands. …” And I proceed to bang my head against the podium. Time and again, the assumption among Christian leaders, and evangelical leaders in particular, is that the key to drawing twenty-somethings back to church is simply to make a few style updates - edgier music, more casual services, a coffee shop in the fellowship hall, a pastor who wears skinny jeans, an updated Web site that includes online giving. But here’s the thing: Having been advertised to our whole lives, we millennials have highly sensitive BS meters, and we’re not easily impressed with consumerism or performances. In fact, I would argue that church-as-performance is just one more thing driving us away from the church, and evangelicalism in particular. Many of us, myself included, are finding ourselves increasingly drawn to high church traditions - Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, the Episcopal Church, etc. - precisely because the ancient forms of liturgy seem so unpretentious, so unconcerned with being “cool,” and we find that refreshingly authentic. What millennials really want from the church is not a change in style but a change in substance. We want an end to the culture wars. We want a truce between science and faith. We want to be known for what we stand for, not what we are against. We want to ask questions that don’t have predetermined answers. We want churches that emphasize an allegiance to the kingdom of God over an allegiance to a single political party or a single nation. We want our LGBT friends to feel truly welcome in our faith communities. We want to be challenged to live lives of holiness, not only when it comes to sex, but also when it comes to living simply, caring for the poor and oppressed, pursuing reconciliation, engaging in creation care and becoming peacemakers. You can’t hand us a latte and then go about business as usual and expect us to stick around. We’re not leaving the church because we don’t find the cool factor there; we’re leaving the church because we don’t find Jesus there. Like every generation before ours and every generation after, deep down, we long for Jesus. Now these trends are obviously true not only for millennials but also for many folks from other generations. Whenever I write about this topic, I hear from forty-somethings and grandmothers, Generation Xers and retirees, who send me messages in all caps that read “ME TOO!” So I don’t want to portray the divide as wider than it is. But I would encourage church leaders eager to win millennials back to sit down and really talk with them about what they’re looking for and what they would like to contribute to a faith community. Their answers might surprise you. Rachel Held Evans is the author of "Evolving in Monkey Town" and "A Year of Biblical Womanhood." She blogs at rachelheldevans.com. The views expressed in this column belong to Rachel Held Evans. soundoff (9,864 Responses)« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 Next »
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The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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Opinion by Rachel Held Evans, Special to CNN
What I want is a SAFE sanctuary. One where my soul will not be damaged by clergy who are perverted. One where God includes my image as well as, the male. One where my voice can pray and lead in public, and not be silenced because I am not male. Not only is the "church" not up to date with current realities, It is not safe!
Check out the "church" of MGTOW, MRA, etc. Safe spaces for men are continually destroyed by women....but MGTOW/MRA is changing all of that.
The reasons you describe are true, but the biggest thing is the BS factor for many. You can't teach understanding and compassion and love for thy neighbor and then not allow LGBT individuals into your fold, or in the case of the Catholic church, not allow divorcees (or those that marry a divorcee) to participate in all your sacraments. In these instances, what you are teaching in reality is that "These people are not worthy". You tell us "Judge not lest ye be judged", but cast judgments on people in religions name.
Why worship at a Church when they are behaving NO better than culture that surounds it. When in Rome do as the Romans....
I think you could easily flip this question and ask why are they returning to Church...many churches offer opportunities for service to those in need, meet spiritual needs, when kids that grew up in the church have children of their own, they often return to churches. All the things that this article states, can be found in a church near you...just keep searching. It may be in your neighborhood...if you want the church to be a certain way, join the church and be that person that makes the church what you want it to be. Leaders are welcome at churches, it isn't a spectator sport.
So...community. The same could be said for your local Mosque, Buddhist temple, Synagogue, pagan spirit gathering, or witch's coven.
UGH - more BS from someone who thinks she knows the answers but doesn't even know the questions.
Milllennials aren't leaving the church. The churches are leaving the millennials.
Best article I ever read on the subject!
Sure, many millennials are leaving the church for those reason you listed. Many millennials are also leaving because much of religion doesn't make any sense.
Is anyone else being censored?
All atheists hate Truth. They hit report abuse on any comment they do not like and cause the censors to eliminate it.
Wow! I didn't know that. Then there is no point to this one sided point of view. I'm out of here:)
How do you know this, Colin?
...must be something he read in the bible LOL.
Not quite, Colin.
1. Believers do the same thing.
2. If a troll's post has been reported a number (?) of times, they get a message "comment under moderation" (or something like that) and all responses to that post do not show either.
3. There is a fairly new live moderator (Editor) who scans once in a while and deletes posts that do not conform in one way or another.
Colin,
Speaking of truth. why can't you come up with any answers to questions? You just run away rather than supply truth.
Seems to me this is another guy stealing profile names.
It is. Pretty easly to tell us apart by content, though. I might change my name until he goes away.
Pretty sad the individual has to steal profile names to try an spout his or her foolishness.
In what way are you being censored, dissidentfairy?
I gave what I thought was a profound statement and quoted a scripture to back it up that was perfect for this article and it didn't go through. I tried several times. Finally I quoted the scripture only which was very self explanatory on it's own and it too was deleted more than once. Thank you for asking:)
dissidentfairy,
Don't faint at some of these words - it's just the WordPress filter that they have in place here...
Bad letter combinations / words to avoid if you want to get past the CNN Belief Blog/WordPress automatic filter:
Many, if not most, are buried within other words, so use your imagination.
You can use dashes, spaces, or other characters or some html tricks to modify the "offending" letter combinations.
-
ar-se.....as in ar-senic.
co-ck.....as in co-ckatiel, co-ckatrice, co-ckleshell, co-ckles, etc.
co-on.....as in racc-oon, coc-oon, etc.
crac-ker…
cu-m......as in doc-ument, accu-mulate, circu-mnavigate, circu-mstances, cu-mbersome, cuc-umber, etc.
ef-fing...as in ef-fing filter
ft-w......as in soft-ware, delft-ware, swift-water, drift-wood, etc.
ho-mo.....as in ho-mo sapiens or ho-mose-xual, ho-mogenous, sopho-more, etc.
ho-oters…as in sho-oters
ho-rny....as in tho-rny, etc.
inf-orms us…
hu-mp… as in th-ump, th-umper, th-umping
jacka-ss...yet "ass" is allowed by itself.....
ja-p......as in j-apanese, ja-pan, j-ape, etc.
koo-ch....as in koo-chie koo..!
ni-gra…as in deni-grate
nip-ple
o-rgy….as in po-rgy, zo-rgy, etc.
pi-s......as in pi-stol, lapi-s, pi-ssed, therapi-st, etc.
p-oon… as in sp-oon, lamp-oon, harp-oon
p-orn… as in p-ornography
pr-ick....as in pri-ckling, pri-ckles, etc.
que-er
ra-pe.....as in scra-pe, tra-peze, gr-ape, thera-peutic, sara-pe, etc.
se-x......as in Ess-ex, s-exual, etc.
sl-ut
sm-ut…..as in transm-utation
sn-atch
sp-ank
sp-ic.....as in desp-icable, hosp-ice, consp-icuous, susp-icious, sp-icule, sp-ice, etc.
sp-ook… as in sp-ooky, sp-ooked
strip-per
ti-t......as in const-itution, att-itude, t-itle, ent-ity, alt-itude, beat-itude, etc.
tw-at.....as in wristw-atch, nightw-atchman, salt-water, etc.
va-g......as in extrava-gant, va-gina, va-grant, va-gue, sava-ge, etc.
who-re....as in who're you kidding / don't forget to put in that apostrophe!
wt-f....also!!!!!!!
x.xx…
Well that seems odd as there are plenty of scripture quotes in the pages before 25. So, not sure what's up. Unless someone got angry with what you had to say and reported it (there is plenty of hate mongering going on in both the atheist and religious camps in this thread right now).
If it came from a "scripture" (I presume that means the Koran, Talmud, I Ching, Bible, etc) then I seriously doubt it was profound in any way. If I quoted Einstein or Hawking would you change your mind and embrace rationality? Of course not.
LinCA regularly posts a list of words that get stopped when it hits the filter. If you don't break these up or alter them in some way your post wont show.
Consti.tution
J.apan
V.ague
are examples.
Thank you both. I was aware of that and was being careful but their not even letting me quote a scripture without a comment.
Are you quoting T-itus, or something about wh-oremongers or have another word fragment hiding in there? Check your text...
Make sure none of your words have any strings thet could be hitting the censor.
t i t cannot be in any word like inst itution, for example.
"We’re not leaving the church because we don’t find the cool factor there; we’re leaving the church because we don’t find Jesus there."
The new generation understands that you can't find Jesus at church because he died 2,000 years ago and zombies don't exist.
you are a moron
You're welcome.
Read the bible and the stories. Yes, things happened long long ago and I am sure somethings have changed up some. But the essence is there. Things did really happen. God and Jesus are real. Why do they not save people before an accident or whatever I don't know. Why is there famine and all the other bad things on this earth? Why cant God, with the swish of his arms make everything perfect and no suffering for all? I don't know. It is called faith. I pray for help and everything seems to work out. At times not. But faith is what it takes to believe.You can't see them but believe me they are there. I am not bashing any non believers at all. They have a right to their opinion. Thank you for reading this. Just open the bible up and read the stories from a historical viewpoint.Have a great day.
Yes, sometimes prayers are answeered. Once in Vegas I prayed for a four to come up each of 600 times I rolled a dice, and God answered my prayers about a hundred times.
Clearly you should have praying for not 4!
I'm impressed, Colin. Ordinarily it would take close to 3 days to roll a die 60,000 times.
He only rolled it 600 times.
Hey Tom, Tom, have you noticed some jerk is also posting as "Colin." Pretty easy to tell us a part. He is a creationist.
Mostly he's on about sin. I believe it's a sin to cast a shadow, in his view. That explains why we must all be forgiven or judged.
Colin,
Don't worry about it. It's easy to tell you apart. You're the intelligent one.
Thanks Observer, but when I look at the other guy's comments, it's not exactly a high bar........
Colin,
Sorry, I had no intention of insulting you that badly. 🙂
If gods, even just one, and jesus are real, you will have no problem proving that. If The Babble is historically accurate, why does the Smithsonian officially disagree? I look forward to seeing you correct them.
If one is compelled to prove the existence of a God then they lack the faith to believe. It is those who seek to prove there is no God that carry that question to their grave.
God only exist in the hearts of mankind. Not in Religion or Theology. And science is Gods proof.
Blah, blah, blah. . . Thanks for the nice words with no meaning. You are just another delusional perpetuating silly childish myths.
@HotAirAce,
Would you prefer the puff the magic popped out of salamander spiel ?
I'm not here to judge you, we tend to fear only what we can't comprehend. And unfortunately religion has corrupted God and the views of people like you. Perhaps one day when you are a little older and more open to enlightenment you'll revisit the subject.
In the mean time, keep on keeping on.
Blah, blah, blah. . . More nice sounding but meaningless words. You have not a clue about what religious investigation I have done or my age. The only reason I would revise my current view is if I was given factual, objective, independent and verifiable evidence for the existence of any god, the supernatural claims made by believers, and the pompous but meaningless claims such as you have made. Admit it, your faith is nothing more than you pretending to know something you do not.
Most blasphemy must be 90% correct to infiltrate the Church... Its not mentioned on your two intro lines, and is only mentioned in half a line at middle but, its gays at church that this is about.. Either we prove several verses in the Bible that deal with the gay issue are false; we declare, like the Pope does, infallibly that those pages will be struck from Bible; we add new verses so the other verses are neutralized; we stop reading it, prohibit its usage, like Catholics, and have: idolatry, Popes, idols, saints, priests, infant baptism, purgatory and gays in the "christian church"! What the heck, lets have everybody back in Church! Lets kick Jesus out, its just one guy and his silly and superfluous, outdated father!
A little bigoted towards Catholics and the Gay community aren't we? I thought we were trying to reserve judgement for God and accept all his children in hopes of their salvation. Not ridicule them for being different or having varying views. Sounds as if you are willing to kick folks out of your church. It's hard to believe that's what Christ teaches. That is what she is referring to in the article. Hypocrisy drives intellectuals (of any age) away from the church and has been for generations. Much of the attendance in the "good ol' days" was due to community pressure and good old entertainment value. You know, those guys that talk like auctioneers when they preach... or taking up of serpents. I mean really, how many went just to see if someone was going to get bit and die? And of course, there was the near party or feast atmosphere after church.
In less than 500 years, religions will be a thing of the past, like witchcraft. It will be something that only ignorants and fools believe in.
That's what it is now. We just have too many ignorants and fools.
Fellow millenial here. This really resonated with why I ended up leaving the American Baptist Churches (though I eventually found another church home). To hit on a few points:
1. Internal politics
2. Trying to be relevant, there was style over substance.
3. The "hip" worship band told my mother that prayer in the prayer chapel was unimportant, but setting up fingerfoods in it was.
4. Being told I wasn't a Christian if I wasn't Republican.
5. No one had answers for my theological questions; I was told to shut up and believe. Meanwhile, the Catholic Church has only encouraged me to question why things are and to read the Early Church Fathers, the Catechism, and of course...the Bible. To quote one priest, "I want people to know why they believe what they believe."
6. I was never encouraged to read the Bible.
7. Unofficial shunning until baptism.
8. Being told evolution was a lie and that science was at war with faith.
It is unfortunate that the Republican Party has associated itself so closely with bible-thumping conservative Christianity. It is valuable to have a competition between political parties, and there's no popular alternative to the Republican Party for the number two spot. It will be hard to rehabilitate once its base finishes its implosion.
BTW, why do you believe what you believe?
Phil...so sorry of your experience within the American Baptist Church. Not all "bodies" are the same as you mentioned. I belong to one in which we wrestled with questions (for years) like, "what happens to your soul when you die". " why was satan allowed to live on this planet", Arminianism vs Calvinism, etc.
Walk with Jesus and put Him first and He will lead you to a "body" that will feed you.
"He who fart in church, sit in his own pew." This is why church attendance is dwindling.
The only issue I have with this is, sin is sin period. A lot of Millennials do not like being held accountable, they choose to talk about things, if you stand for nothing you fall for anything. No one wants to admit they have failed especially this generation.God does not like sin yes he loves us all, but once we become born again we are to repent and turn from our sin, and the things of this world are to become strangely dim. This is not about us but God we are made to serve him. If you want to be "real" and have substance it starts with the word of God, you cannot embrace certain parts of it and discard what does not fit your life agenda. This topic really upsets me because we are supposed to give what the word of God says to have people in that say they are Christians that openly live a life of sin for what? More money? When the Lord returns the ones that have lived according to God's word will be the ones to be saved. It will be too late for Millennial to take responsibility but then it would not be their fault it would be the leaders of the free, love church's like my Pastor said this morning God's grace is killing us!
Why do you assume that non-believers don't like being held accountable?
And who determines what is a sin? Your holy book? Someone else's holy book? Whose holy book wins?
Strangely dim indeed.
"you cannot embrace certain parts of it and discard what does not fit your life agenda"
so Laura, I assume you sequester yourself when you have your period and never eat lobster?
I see signs all the time time, "He died for us". I am also reminded millions of soldiers have since died for us.
Laura would fit in the "don't ask questions" camp. The author of this piece is not saying young people do not want to be held accountable. They do. But they want to be held accountable for living holy lives, not accountable for complying with a list of rules that are often culturally rooted. Once , there was someone who seemed like an ordinary man who believed the same thing. He spent much of his time with the diseased, the outcasts, and the layabouts, and he criticized the religious establishment for its obsession with "the rules." Remember His name?
Laura is probably ugly and jealous of all the free love she imagines everyone but her is getting.
"A lot of Millennials do not like being held accountable"
A lot of Christians do not like being held accountable, that is why they find such comfort in allowing someone else to take the punishment for their "sins". If they had any moral conscience, they would deny that supposed sacrifice and take the punishment they feel they deserve. But they won't, because they are snivelling cowards
"if you stand for nothing you fall for anything. "
A fine bumper sticker philosophy, if you are into getting yours from bumper stickers
"No one wants to admit they have failed especially this generation"
Of course, every generation thinks the next ones are less moral
"God does not like sin yes he loves us all, but once we become born again we are to repent and turn from our sin"
Sin is a man made concept
"This is not about us but God we are made to serve him."
And you desire eternity with this egotistical pr1ck?
"If you want to be "real" and have substance it starts with the word of God"
If you want to be "real" and have substance, it starts with thinking on your own and taking responsibility for your actions, not allowing the sainted scarecrow/scapegoat to take it for you
"This topic really upsets me"
Good, choke on it
"When the Lord returns the ones that have lived according to God's word will be the ones to be saved."
Interesting that you desire eternity with a being from whom you have to be "saved"
"It will be too late for Millennial to take responsibility "
Ah, the proxy threat. What would any good christian pleading be without it?
"like my Pastor said this morning God's grace is killing us!"
Your pastor is as delusional as you are
As a Christian you let Jesus take your punishment for your sins, so in the end you aren't really held accountable for anything are you?
The only comment that I have on this matter is that a true Christian will never intentionally judge another person for their choices. I know the choice that I made and where I stand. I am quite content with that and each person has to make up their own mind what they believe. However, that doesn't mean that I won't pray for the needs of others.
Peace to you brother.
Alias
You do not have data or proof.
If you write down your dreams, and share them with other people before they come true you will have something.
If all of them come true you will have proof.
that did happen
Alias, if you think i become unhuman an don't have normal dreams that are nothing that would be stupid.
also, yes in fact about 4 times they were written down fist and i was able to share this fact upon immediate and provable situations. I allready had them written down first and people could see this first hand.
Like most christians I know, you are willing to lie for your church.
Alias listen to one . I had a dream that i toured a house, went out back and there was an above ground pool, a deck around it with a privacy fence. two days later, the kid in my dorm sleeping next to me, showed me a blue print of a house he drew, with an above ground pool, a deck around it, and a privacy fence on the blueprint.
He allready knew I was having visions. he showed it to me, and i said wait, look,and i pulled the dream out of my file with the date and time allready on it.
I had a dream that i would make a long trip and a short trip.
The very next day i went to work (43miles) and the 7eleven (1 mile). Does that prove a specific god exists?
Above ground pools need decks as a matter of function, and most states have laws that require security fences around pools for safety.
Nonsense, Austin. You did not share these visions beforehand and you know it. Does Jeebus approve of your lying?
This is sad! I mean Rachel Held Evans is saying that millennials are leaving the church because the church won't accept LGBT friends. REALLY?!? Is the church suppose to change their beliefs to fit all sin? I mean really?!?!? God's word says what is right and wrong, and if you believe differently then that is between you and God; because whether you want to believe it or not everyone will stand before Him, and if your name isn't in the book of life then you will suffer the consequences.
Think of the "rules" or what is right and wrong, like a parent who sets guidelines for their child to keep them safe, and when they step out of those guidelines a good parent disciplines the child. It is the same way with God. He has boundaries to keep His children safe and when we step out of those boundaries we have no joy. It doesn't mean that He doesn't love us, it means HE DOES!!!
So you believe that it's a sin to be gay? What an ignorant, hateful point of view.
God also said it is a sin to divorce and re-mary.
Are there any members of your church on their second or third marriages?
Why let those people in, but keep out the sinners you think are ucky?
I like these parent/child an-alogies that are offered up, it almost makes it too easy.
So... I'm a parent, hell, I'm a loving, kind, thoughtful parent who wants nothing but the best for his children. BAM! I make them gay and because I'm the shoe-in for Father of the Year, I beat the crap out of them for the way I made them. Makes sense, yes?
Because of the Fall of Man, humans are born 'broken'. Our bodies get sick with colds and disease, the natural world is struck with blight and animals devour animals for survival. Our thinking is broken also, until we bring Jesus into our lives and ask Him to order our thoughts and ways. He redeems us from our brokenness, delivers us from the evil one, and bestows upon us Eternal Life. It's 'righting' the relationship God desired before the Fall of Man. Eternal separation from God, from all that is good is a long time.
Indeed, and once you've bought into that "Fall Of Man" crap it's a short, easy step to oppressing Jews as Christkillers and enslaving Africans as Children of Ham.
Stalin did the same thing, holding extended families and even entire villages responsible for the transgressions of one or a few people. Hardly surprising he had been a seminarian, is it? At least he held fast to that lesson.
Most millennials with a high IQ are living the church because they realize that it is a lie, like Santa and the tooth fairy. It's called evolution; smart individuals no longer need a fairy tale to try to explain our world.
Most intelegent people live church, for the synchronicity
Synchronicity is a bunch of BS, just like religions.
That's an interesting stance to take. Especially considering that for all the "facts" that exist, your belief in evolution is still based on a "faith" that it's actually true. For all the constant reference to evolution there is no empirical data in existence today that any species has ever transformed form one species into another. Evolution, identical to religion, is based 100% on FAITH.
Seriously? 'I didn't see my cat turn into a dog today so evolution is untrue'? There is neither face, nor palm, big enough for what you deserve.
Rebellion[edit]
"In classical literature apostasia was used to denote a coup or defection. By extension the LXX[21] always uses it to portray a rebellion against God (Joshua 22:22; 2 Chronicles 29:19)."[20]
Turning away[edit]
"Apostasy is also pictured as the heart turning away from God (Jeremiah 17:5–6) and righteousness (Ezekiel 3:20). In the OT it centers on Israel's breaking covenant relationship with God through disobedience to the law (Jeremiah 2:19), especially following other gods (Judges 2:19) and practicing their immorality (Daniel 9:9–11). . . . Following the Lord or journeying with him is one of the chief images of faithfulness in the Scriptures. . . . The . . . Hebrew root (swr) is used to picture those who have turned away and ceased to follow God ('I am grieved that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me,' 1 Samuel 15:11). . . . The image of turning away from the Lord, who is the rightful leader, and following behind false gods is the dominant image for apostasy in the Old Testament."[20]
Falling away[edit]
"The image of falling, with the sense of going to eternal destruction, is particularly evident in the New Testament. . . . In his [Christ’s] parable of the wise and foolish builder, in which the house built on sand falls with a crash in the midst of a storm (Matthew 7:24–27) . . . he painted a highly memorable image of the dangers of falling spiritually."[22]
Adultery[edit]
One of the most common images for apostasy in the Old Testament is adultery.[23] "Apostasy is symbolized as Israel the faithless spouse turning away from Yahweh her marriage partner to pursue the advances of other gods (Jeremiah 2:1–3; Ezekiel 16). . . . 'Your children have forsaken me and sworn by god that are not gods. I supplied all their needs, yet they committed adultery and thronged to the houses of prost.itutes' (Jeremiah 5:7, NIV). Adultery is used most often to graphically name the horror of the betrayal and covenant breaking involved in idolatry. Like literal adultery it does include the idea of someone blinded by infatuation, in this case for an idol: 'How I have been grieved by their adulterous hearts . . . which have lusted after their idols' (Ezekiel 6:9)."[20]
Other images[edit]
A variety of colorful images are used to describe Israel’s apostasy: "a rebellious ox, a prost.itute, a wild vine, a stain that will not wash off, a camel in heat and a thief caught in thievery (Jeremiah 2:19-28)."[24] Images of peril attend apostasy, for to have forsaken God is to come under his judgment (Exodus 22:20; Deuteronomy 6:14–15; 17:2–7).[24] "The New Testament contains a host of images of apostasy, including a plant taking root among the rocks but withering under the hot sun of testing (Mark 4:5–6, 17 par.), or those who fall prey to the wiles of false teachers (Matthew 24:11), heretical beliefs (1 Timothy 4:1; 2 Timothy 4:3–4), worldliness and its defilement (2 Peter 2:20–22), and persecution (Matthew 24:9–10; Revelation 3:8). The Christian apostate is pictured as a branch that does not abide in the vine of Christ and thus withers and is cast into the fire (John 15:6). Animal behavior is evoked in a dog returning to its vomit or a clean pig returning to the mire (2 Peter 2:22)."[25]
Rebellion[edit]
"In classical literature apostasia was used to denote a coup or defection. By extension the LXX[21] always uses it to portray a rebellion against God (Joshua 22:22; 2 Chr.onicles 29:19)."[20]
Turning away[edit]
"Apostasy is also pictured as the heart turning away from God (Jeremiah 17:5–6) and righteousness (Ezekiel 3:20). In the OT it centers on Israel's breaking covenant relationship with God through disobedience to the law (Jeremiah 2:19), especially following other gods (Judges 2:19) and practicing their immorality (Daniel 9:9–11). . . . Following the Lord or journeying with him is one of the chief images of faithfulness in the Scriptures. . . . The . . . Hebrew root (swr) is used to picture those who have turned away and ceased to follow God ('I am grieved that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me,' 1 Samuel 15:11). . . . The image of turning away from the Lord, who is the rightful leader, and following behind false gods is the dominant image for apostasy in the Old Testament."[20]
Falling away[edit]
"The image of falling, with the sense of going to eternal destruction, is particularly evident in the New Testament. . . . In his [Christ’s] parable of the wise and foolish builder, in which the house built on sand falls with a crash in the midst of a storm (Matthew 7:24–27) . . . he painted a highly memorable image of the dangers of falling spiritually."[22]
Adultery[edit]
One of the most common images for apostasy in the Old Testament is adultery.[23] "Apostasy is symbolized as Israel the faithless spouse turning away from Yahweh her marriage partner to pursue the advances of other gods (Jeremiah 2:1–3; Ezekiel 16). . . . 'Your children have forsaken me and sworn by god that are not gods. I supplied all their needs, yet they committed adultery and thronged to the houses of prost.itutes' (Jeremiah 5:7, NIV). Adultery is used most often to graphically name the horror of the betrayal and covenant breaking involved in idolatry. Like literal adultery it does include the idea of someone blinded by infatuation, in this case for an idol: 'How I have been grieved by their adulterous hearts . . . which have lusted after their idols' (Ezekiel 6:9)."[20]
Other images[edit]
A variety of colorful images are used to describe Israel’s apostasy: "a rebellious ox, a prost.itute, a wild vine, a stain that will not wash off, a camel in heat and a thief caught in thievery (Jeremiah 2:19-28)."[24] Images of peril attend apostasy, for to have forsaken God is to come under his judgment (Exodus 22:20; Deuteronomy 6:14–15; 17:2–7).[24] "The New Testament contains a host of images of apostasy, including a plant taking root among the rocks but withering under the hot sun of testing (Mark 4:5–6, 17 par.), or those who fall prey to the wiles of false teachers (Matthew 24:11), heretical beliefs (1 Timothy 4:1; 2 Timothy 4:3–4), worldliness and its defilement (2 Peter 2:20–22), and persecution (Matthew 24:9–10; Revelation 3:8). The Christian apostate is pictured as a branch that does not abide in the vine of Christ and thus withers and is cast into the fire (John 15:6). Animal behavior is evoked in a dog returning to its vomit or a clean pig returning to the mire (2 Peter 2:22)."[25]
No there is a mountain of evidence for evolution: geographic distribution, tree of life, simpler organisms are older, inheritance, DNA, etc. and no evidence for creationism – unless you've seen a woman created from the rib of a man.