If you are not Christian, what is your opinion of Wyldlife, Young Life, etc.?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Christian kids don't ever get why non-Christian kids wouldn't just come along for the ride. To them, the religious stuff is so secondary to the fun that they don't see how it infuses every aspect of the organization.

It sucks being a non-Christian kid in an area where these organizations suck large numbers of your classmates out of school events and weekend availability, and it can be so tempting to just go. From experience (and I'm not even religious), the Christian element wears you down pretty quickly -- there's Christian music, and talk about missions, and frequent references to "the Lord" and Jesus and being blessed in passing, and there are short prayers for various purposes throughout.

I was happy to have a strong youth group through my temple, and didn't miss it much, but these groups foster bonds that are hard to get with these kids otherwise. Doesn't matter in a large, diverse area, but in a small area, it can really leave some kids out.

Same for SCA in high schools, which most Christian kids join (Society for Christian Athletes).

And OF COURSE the goal is to keep the youth in the church, and attract new youth. It's not called "evangelical Christianity" for nothing.

I think you mean FCA (not SCA). Also, totally hear you about kids being left out but from the opposite perspective. My dd is Christian and there is very little in terms of Christian groups around us and friends very non and some anti religious. She feels left out at times.

YL group is a faith group, not just fellowship. And, in a faith community, it is more like family, so strong bonds makes sense. Hopefully, your temple youth group provided the same for you. I hope every kid can find a group that connects them.

+1,000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Christian kids don't ever get why non-Christian kids wouldn't just come along for the ride. To them, the religious stuff is so secondary to the fun that they don't see how it infuses every aspect of the organization.

It sucks being a non-Christian kid in an area where these organizations suck large numbers of your classmates out of school events and weekend availability, and it can be so tempting to just go. From experience (and I'm not even religious), the Christian element wears you down pretty quickly -- there's Christian music, and talk about missions, and frequent references to "the Lord" and Jesus and being blessed in passing, and there are short prayers for various purposes throughout.

I was happy to have a strong youth group through my temple, and didn't miss it much, but these groups foster bonds that are hard to get with these kids otherwise. Doesn't matter in a large, diverse area, but in a small area, it can really leave some kids out.

Same for SCA in high schools, which most Christian kids join (Society for Christian Athletes).

And OF COURSE the goal is to keep the youth in the church, and attract new youth. It's not called "evangelical Christianity" for nothing.

I think you mean FCA (not SCA). Also, totally hear you about kids being left out but from the opposite perspective. My dd is Christian and there is very little in terms of Christian groups around us and friends very non and some anti religious. She feels left out at times.

YL group is a faith group, not just fellowship. And, in a faith community, it is more like family, so strong bonds makes sense. Hopefully, your temple youth group provided the same for you. I hope every kid can find a group that connects them.

Of course it did. But in a city of 200,000 people, there were 4 Jewish girls my age. Meanwhile, fully half of the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grade girls at the three schools the four of us attended were all doing some kind of Christian youth group. It's not the same as not joining the team or not doing the play or not joining the scout troop; it's a major activity that just wasn't available for us in the same way. Nothing illegal or discriminatory about it, but it still makes you feel left out.

So are you saying YL and other Christian youth groups shouldn't exist because... you're not Christian? Anyone and everyone are welcome at Young Life. My best friend in high school wasn't religious at all, and she loved going. You can either go or not go, but you certainly can't blame "feeling left out" on the fact that it has a Christian focus. That's just silly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are atheists although I grew up in the Episcopal Church with several that were downright evangelical (yes, back in the 70s, there were such thing as "born again" Episcopalians...weird).

Having gone through my own childhood exposed to all sorts of "harmless" (but not really) youth groups, there is zero way I would let my children attend any religious youth group. There is always a proselytizing goal whether it is explicit or implicit.

The whole point of the program is to introduce kids to Jesus. It’s nothing but proselytizing.

What would you call a Jewish youth group? A Muslim youth group? Hindi?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Weird post.

If you are not Jewish, what is your opinion of Birthright Israel, etc? Does it bother you that one set of American kids get invited to travel to a foreign country based on religion, and yours do not?

Exactly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Grew up in the South. In NC the YL groups were mostly popular kids who jabbered about how Christian they were while drinking, smoking, and hooking up with each other. It was definitely a status thing. Yes they did bible readings and talked about the good word but yet ostracized people who didnt believe in God or their hypocrisy.

That's too bad. Sounds nothing like the YL group I attended, where everyone was welcome and no one drank, smoked, or hooked up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Weird post.

If you are not Jewish, what is your opinion of Birthright Israel, etc? Does it bother you that one set of American kids get invited to travel to a foreign country based on religion, and yours do not?

I don't believe you understand this thread. The question had to do with repeated invitations to a young girl despite her having told them that she was not a Christian. Ultimately she was isolated by not going. Birthright does not seek others to join. No one is questioning the legitimacy of having Young Life. The post is questioning its evangelical nature.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are atheists although I grew up in the Episcopal Church with several that were downright evangelical (yes, back in the 70s, there were such thing as "born again" Episcopalians...weird).

Having gone through my own childhood exposed to all sorts of "harmless" (but not really) youth groups, there is zero way I would let my children attend any religious youth group. There is always a proselytizing goal whether it is explicit or implicit.

The whole point of the program is to introduce kids to Jesus. It’s nothing but proselytizing.

What would you call a Jewish youth group? A Muslim youth group? Hindi?

I can't speak for Muslim or Hindi, but Jews in general do not proselytize.

[Anonymous]

I'm not familiar with these specific organizations. However, a town we lived in out west had a mega church that had very active youth programs. I can't tell you how many times we were asked if our kids wanted to participate. Found out later that families who did participate were encouraged before each get together to "bring 10 friends" as part of the church's strategy to get more adults to join by working through the kids.

[Anonymous]

I think the consensus is in regarding the evangelical nature of the group. No one is saying a Christian group should not exist. The outreach nature,which may involve isolating non-Christians and clique behavior, may be problematic in a teen social environment. There are lots of religious youth groups, and there is no reason that they should not exist. However, based from what I've read here, this child in question is being manipulated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Weird post.

If you are not Jewish, what is your opinion of Birthright Israel, etc? Does it bother you that one set of American kids get invited to travel to a foreign country based on religion, and yours do not?

Exactly.

Exactly? How? This has nothing at all to do with the original question. Go back and read.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are atheists although I grew up in the Episcopal Church with several that were downright evangelical (yes, back in the 70s, there were such thing as "born again" Episcopalians...weird).

Having gone through my own childhood exposed to all sorts of "harmless" (but not really) youth groups, there is zero way I would let my children attend any religious youth group. There is always a proselytizing goal whether it is explicit or implicit.

The whole point of the program is to introduce kids to Jesus. It’s nothing but proselytizing.

What would you call a Jewish youth group? A Muslim youth group? Hindi?

They are different. I hung out with Catholic youth groups all the time. Nobody tried to talk reglion to me. Some proselytize. Some don’t. This one does.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Weird post.

If you are not Jewish, what is your opinion of Birthright Israel, etc? Does it bother you that one set of American kids get invited to travel to a foreign country based on religion, and yours do not?

I don't believe you understand this thread. The question had to do with repeated invitations to a young girl despite her having told them that she was not a Christian. Ultimately she was isolated by not going. Birthright does not seek others to join. No one is questioning the legitimacy of having Young Life. The post is questioning its evangelical nature.

The girl referenced in the OP was not "isolated" by not attending. How ridiculous. She chose not to go - that was her choice. She was certainly invited. You, and others, are trying to spin this into kids being "ostracized" by declining to participate in YL. So ridiculous. If you had a book club that you repeatedly invited a neighbor to, and she repeatedly declined, would you be "isolating" her by continuing your book club? Of course not. She's welcome to attend, she simply chooses not to.

Honestly, some of you seem to have been brainwashed yourselves. Just because a teen chooses not to join a group (ANY group) doesn't mean s/he will then be ostracized because of it. YL is not some sort of cult, no matter how you try to spin it that way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cult. They always recruited kids with difficult home life’s or going through a breakup.

Absolute B.S. and you know it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Weird post.

If you are not Jewish, what is your opinion of Birthright Israel, etc? Does it bother you that one set of American kids get invited to travel to a foreign country based on religion, and yours do not?

I don't believe you understand this thread. The question had to do with repeated invitations to a young girl despite her having told them that she was not a Christian. Ultimately she was isolated by not going. Birthright does not seek others to join. No one is questioning the legitimacy of having Young Life. The post is questioning its evangelical nature.

The girl referenced in the OP was not "isolated" by not attending. How ridiculous. She chose not to go - that was her choice. She was certainly invited. You, and others, are trying to spin this into kids being "ostracized" by declining to participate in YL. So ridiculous. If you had a book club that you repeatedly invited a neighbor to, and she repeatedly declined, would you be "isolating" her by continuing your book club? Of course not. She's welcome to attend, she simply chooses not to.

Honestly, some of you seem to have been brainwashed yourselves. Just because a teen chooses not to join a group (ANY group) doesn't mean s/he will then be ostracized because of it. YL is not some sort of cult, no matter how you try to spin it that way.

If the kid has repeatedly declined, and clearly the reason is clear, and the invites continue with the child finally saying " everyone is going" and therefore wants to go, what is that? You are way off, PP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are atheists although I grew up in the Episcopal Church with several that were downright evangelical (yes, back in the 70s, there were such thing as "born again" Episcopalians...weird).

Having gone through my own childhood exposed to all sorts of "harmless" (but not really) youth groups, there is zero way I would let my children attend any religious youth group. There is always a proselytizing goal whether it is explicit or implicit.

The whole point of the program is to introduce kids to Jesus. It’s nothing but proselytizing.

What would you call a Jewish youth group? A Muslim youth group? Hindi?

Hindi is a language. Jews do not proselytize to non-Jews. Islam historically is a proselytizing religion, but that doesn't mean that Muslim youth groups in the US proselytize.