Formation: An Ancient Answer to a Present Problem
You can't out argue someone determined to believe in falsehood. But you can appeal to the heart.
Almost every week, I have someone in my group of friends who laments the way in which young people, particularly young men, are tempted toward some really perverse ideas from the Internet. I’m talking about the descent from genuinely good and conservative truths to conspiracy theories and wicked ideologies such as anti-semitism, racism, and hatred of women. I think the most acute of these is anti-semitism. I’m troubled by how mainstream it has become. I am not as pessimistic about all of this as some, such as Rod Dreher, are, but I am concerned. Ask your teenage kids and I, I’ll bet they know someone who knows someone who is into figures like Nick Fuentes or Candace Owens. They believe some of this stuff. It’s not merely happening out there somewhere. It’s spreading among kids who grow up in Christian homes.
Many thoughtful people have pointed out the factors that have led to this moment and suggested solutions. I do think the combination of smartphones, social media, and increasingly dysfunctional and split families is a major factor. I think widespread (and in many cases, earned) distrust of institutions is another factor. Lastly, I think perennial teen rebellion against what is perceived as the confining norms of their parents.
But I wonder if we are missing something in all of this analysis. It struck me as I was reading Romans 12:2 while our pastor was preaching through a series on worship. I‘ll just post it here and then offer some reflections:
Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God (Romans 12:2).
Do not be conformed to this age. This is the Christian Standard Bible, one of my favorite translations. Other, older translations render “of this age” to “to this world.” Both are appropriate.
“The world,” as Scripture conceives it, is the world system, the ideologies and forces that are aligned against God. The Bible says that God “loves the world” (John 3:16) and that we’ve been sent “into the world (John 17). The world God loves to whom we’ve been sent as ambassadors is the people of the world, whom we should love as image-bearers (Genesis 1:26), who need to hear of God’s saving love in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:14-21). The world we are to resist is the devilish ideas of the age that raise themselves against the knowledge of God (2 Corinthians 10:5). “Love not the world,” we are told, “neither the things in the world (1 John 2:15-17). Friendship with the world, James writes, is “hostility toward God.”
Let’s go back to Romans 12:2. Paul, after eleven chapters outlining the good news of the gospel, of God’s rescuing, saving, matchless grace toward us in Christ, says that the response to this is worship. Romans 12:1 calls it our “reasonable service (KJV)” or “true worship.” You give your whole selves over to the one who has given himself for you. You pledge your life to the one who rose from the dead and will raise you from the dead at the end of the age.
What does this look like? “Do not be conformed to this age (or to the perverse thinking of this age) but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
There is a choice offered to Christians. We can allow ourselves to be shaped and molded by the untruths of the age, we can be tossed about with “every wind of doctrine (Ephesians 4:14), or we can experience true spiritual transformation.
Do you understand the difference here? It’s not just about a competing set of belief systems. It is. But it’s also two competing ways to live. The world—the false ideas and false idols—demands utter conformity and tribal allegiance. Values are measured not by an unshakeable standard of truth but by whatever the tribe thinks.
Christ offers transformation. Not merely a new way of thinking, but a new way of living. Spirit-filled Christians, while becoming more like Jesus, don’t all look and sound the same. We have varied gifts. To be like Christ is to become fully who we were created to be, with our unique mix of gifts, talents, and callings.
This is important when it comes to our original concern. A practice of renewing our minds through the spiritual disciplines has an impact. “That you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.”
Formation through Scripture reading, prayer, church attendance, and thick Christian community forms us so we have discernment to separate the good from the not-so-good. What’s more, it transforms us. How? By the power of the Spirit, we begin to display this fruit: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).
I think it’s important for us, in this age, to communicate to the next generation the importance of intentional spiritual formation. We must help our kids develop habits of Bible reading, prayer, church attendance, and rich community life. We should, as much as we can, try to place our kids in environments that will form them. We should seek to limit, with whatever power we have, the malign voices that are available on every possible media platform. This is how we renew minds for discernment and for transformation.
When I grew up in the 90’s, my parents and the leaders in my life were vigilant to urge me to resist the pollution from Hollywood and pop culture. At times this seems overly restrictive (because, at times, it was), but I’m grateful for the constant warnings. “Garbage in, garbage out” was the simple refrain I heard at every youth camp and in many sermons.
This warning still holds when it comes to unbiblical ideologies from Hollywood and pop culture. In many ways, we’d consider this the left side of the ideological spectrum. Though things have shifted in recent years, the left still holds a lot of control over our cultural institutions of influence.
However, we should not delude ourselves into thinking that the left has a monopoly on perverse ideas. The world system that is at enmity with God can also inhabit the right. Perverse ideologies can worm their way into conservative circles. Satan is bipartisan in his seduction. He is just as thrilled to use right-wing framing to warp minds as he is to use left-wing framing. This is where many of our communities are vulnerable. Now I want to be clear: I don’t think there is moral equivalance between conservative political policies and liberal political policies. I think you know by now, after reading me this long, that I’m a conservative. But Satan’s deceptions are cunning.
Still, we are more likely to ingest poison from a trusted source: a pro-life leader who indulges in Jew hatred, a conservative political hero who starts wondering if Hitler was really that bad, a right-wing influencer who is anti-woke but also demeans and objectifies women. It’s like when a detective investigating a murder discovers that there was “no sign of forced entry” into the home. Betrayed by a friend.
Scripture tells us that Satan was “more crafty than any beast in the field (Genesis 3:1)” and that Satan “masquerades as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14).” There is a reason we need “the full armor of God” to withstand the “wiles of the devil (Ephesians 6:11).”
We should not hesitate to resist left-wing lies. But we should also be wary of spiritual deception that creeps into conservative communities, dressed up with friendly right-wing clothing. Satan is fine leading someone to hell as a Republican.
So how do we teach our kids to discern? How do we discern? It goes back to these two ideas: Formation and transformation. Though we should argue against the perverse conspiracy theories and ideas that arise when someone follows a dark internet rabbit trail, we ultimately won’t argue them out of deception.
I know of someone who was deep into some really dark ideas and theories. I know friends and family members spent hours trying to argue them out of these ideas. But ultimately, what worked was not another email with links and proofs. It was an appeal to the heart. This has made you a different person. This is alienating you from family and friends. This is making you mean, withdrawn, and sullen.
Formation and transformation. The way out is to step back. To evaluate what is entering the mind. Maybe fewer news podcasts. Maybe more sermons and Bible study podcasts. Maybe less time alone on social media. Maybe more time with good Christian brothers and sisters.
For those with young people in their homes, this means involved moms and dads. Constant conversations. Probing about friends and influences. Spiritual environments. It means engagement.
I also think pastors have got to be specific about this. We need to prepare our people to live in a digital age where content is coming at them at warp speed. Garbage in and garbage out. We need to remind them that the devil doesn’t only live on the left. He has a vacation home on the right, too. The only way we can “discern what is true and good and beautiful” is to fill our minds and hearts with God’s word, rich Christian teaching, and spiritual friendship.
The psalmist says:
“How can a young man keep his way pure?
By keeping your word.
I have sought you with all my heart;
don’t let me wander from your commands.
I have treasured your word in my heart
so that I may not sin against you.Psalm 119:9-11
Ultimately, we have to consider that in every generation, there is a spiritual battle for the hearts and souls of impressionable young people. This is especially true for Christian young people.
Though I’m concerned about what we talked about above, I’m actually not pessimistic about this generation. I see a lot of young people excited about following Jesus and eager to live lives of purpose. I’m bullish on Gen Z. And I do believe that no challenge, however big, is impossible.
This verse is still true in 2026: “His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness (2 Peter 1:3).”
Notes:
My book, Biblical Wisdom for Everyday Life, will be released in May. In this book, I help Christians think through ethical choices on issues like marijuana, gambling, military service, IVF, cohabitation, and other things.
If you want some reading for this Lenten/Easter season, you might enjoy The Characters of Easter.
My latest World column is about the 80th anniversary of the first computer and how Christians might think about our digital age.