Christ, Youth and Culture

In today's world, many young folks have grown concerned with issues pertaining to social justice, Christians among them. However, in the pursuit of justice, it's become clear that many young Christians have gone about doing so in ways that more resemble the world than Christ himself. In response, Pastor David M. Choi draws our attention back to Christ's command to love one's enemies, and among other things sets out to undercut the usual presumption that love and justice stand in contradiction to one another. Pastor David shows how love and justice are in fact held together in Christ, and thus the difference this makes for those who are truly concerned about God's justice on earth.

In this episode of the podcast, we are joined by three doctoral candidates from Yale University: Alexander Batson, Matthew Denney, and (returning guest) Justin R. Hawkins. Together, we discuss a variety of things related to university education, such as how (Christian) students today may go about discerning their college futures both practically and spiritually; the distinction between secular and Christian universities (please see note below); the importance of community/accountability throughout; education not merely for economic ends but also for the end of growing in one's own humanity; the significance of the liberal arts; and the theological significance of grace within a meritocratic context. Note: Nearly halfway through, Justin introduces into the conversation Bible colleges, which needs to be distinguished from Christian colleges. Christian colleges are liberal arts schools that typically provide a wide variety of learning (i.e. STEM and the humanities) through a Christian framework, whereas Bible colleges are specifically geared towards theological and ministerial training.

This is the inaugural episode of the second season! In this Thanksgiving special, Pastor David is joined by his students, Lulu, Adam, Janet, Tony (and towards the end Sophia and Allen), for a conversation on gratitude and the role it plays within each of our lives. We begin by exploring the nature of gratitude, and then consider its connection to joy. Along the way, a distinction is made between being grateful for something (the gift) as opposed to being grateful towards someone (the giver), by which the significance of Christian belief is highlighted. Joy for disciples of Christ shall always be eternal and ever-increasing, because we have an eternal God to whom we shall always be grateful towards.

In this episode, CYG's worship team offers their timely reflections on what it's been like to worship from home during the covid-19 pandemic. They go through some of the positives and negatives of remote worship. Afterwards, they discuss the theological distinctions between "formal" and "informal" sanctuaries, and the practical implications therein for churches in the process of reopening.

Pastor B(yung) Ham of Ponce Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, GA is a widely sought after speaker. He brings to the table years of ministry experience working within multiethnic churches, not to mention the experience of his own unique upbringing as a Korean-American within inner-city Baltimore. Pastor B touches upon numerous complexities with respect to the Asian-American proximity to whiteness, and speaks to the various ways in which Asian-American identities may shape and be shaped by racism in and outside of the Asian-American church.

We are once again joined by the political theorist and Christian ethicist, Justin Hawkins! As an appendix to the prior episode, Hawkins fields some pressing questions regarding the practical import of Christian beliefs to political action. Some of the questions we go through are: How should Christians think about the relationship between faith and politics? Is it appropriate for Christians to voice their theological convictions within the public square? Does Christianity favor liberal democracy, or does Christianity incline towards other forms of political governance? Drawing from the deep wells of Christian political thought, while employing scriptural nuance, Justin frames his overall response by way of the moral virtue of prudence, and gives listeners much to think on.

In this episode, CYC is joined by Justin R. Hawkins, a PhD candidate at Yale University who is specializing in the fields of political theory and Christian ethics. To begin, high school students talk about how they and their peers tend to view and experience politics, and how they often go about engaging in that narrower view of politics, typically through social media. Justin then offers a more expansive approach to politics, including better modes of political engagement. For Christians, political activism is not 'slacktivism,' it is neighborly love. Moreover, politics is not the be-all end-all, but is rather an earthly means by which we may come to better enjoy God and love others.

In this first episode, Calvary youth group students discuss with Pastor David the various ways in which this generation of emerging adults is being spiritually and existentially impacted by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. We hope you enjoy!