Breakpoint Challenges in Teen Sadness, What Is Church? and Is Easter Pagan?
John and Maria discuss new findings in teen sadness and what it means for culture. They also discuss a recent podcast by Jen Hatmaker and what it means to misunderstand what church is and what church is for.
To close, John explains the landscape of a recent BreakPoint commentary on the roots of Easter. He shares how Easter is a pivotal moment in history that changed the course of humanity.
-- In-Show Mentions -- Segment 1:
New York City subway shooting attack timelineFrank R. James, the 62-year-old man accused of popping a smoke canister in a crowded New York City subway car before opening fire during the Tuesday morning rush hour, is in police custody after a good Samaritan spotted him walking down a Manhattan sidewalk in broad daylight Wednesday.
In 30 hours between the attack and his arrest, investigators obtained and distributed images of the suspect in the hope that the public could help catch him. They searched a storage unit and apartment linked to him in Philadelphia, which he had spoken of in numerous videos posted to a now-disabled YouTube channel. And he may have taunted investigators by calling in the tip line to report himself, according to law enforcement sources, even as a security camera technician spotted him in the East Village and turned him in.
Why American Teens Are So Sad
The United States is experiencing an extreme teenage mental-health crisis. From 2009 to 2021, the share of American high-school students who say they feel "persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness" rose from 26 percent to 44 percent, according to a new CDC study. This is the highest level of teenage sadness ever recorded.
The government survey of almost 8,000 high-school students, which was conducted in the first six months of 2021, found a great deal of variation in mental health among different groups. More than one in four girls reported that they had seriously contemplated attempting suicide during the pandemic, which was twice the rate of boys. Nearly half of LGBTQ teens said they had contemplated suicide during the pandemic, compared with 14 percent of their heterosexual peers. Sadness among white teens seems to be rising faster than among other groups.
Derek Thompson on This Week in Startups>>
Segment 2:
What is Church? With Jen Hatmaker
1999: 70% of US adults said they belonged to a religious institution. 2020: It fell to 47%. Why are people leaving & where are they going? Is the church experience still relevant & what is its future?
Is Easter a Pagan Holiday?
Most Christians consider Easter to be a sacred and joyous celebration of Christ's resurrection. But what about the claim that Easter and its accompanying traditions originated from a pagan spring celebration?