Rebellion vs. Rebelution by Hannah

On January 11th, readers were given the following assignment:

In “Challenge of Youth” (1974), Professor Friedrich Heer documents and analyzes historically-significant youth movements, from the time of ancient Greece through the hippie era, and concludes that:

“[T]he harsh light of historical fact [is] that every significant youth movement is in its own time crushed by the forces in power, and its spirit frequently perverted or bent to other uses[.]”

It is also interesting to note that Professor Heer identifies the common characteristic among all youth movements as being “the symbolic rejection of the father (authority), and frequent adoption of a new ‘father’…” and references Malachi 4:6 (“…turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers…”) to conclude that “it is the fathers who have the last word.”

As a presuppositionally-Christian youth movement, how do you think the Rebelution differs (or should differ) from the youth movements Professor Heer described?

Rebellion vs. Rebelution by Hannah

Note the question: “As a presuppositionally-Christian youth movement, how do think the Rebelution differs (or should differ) from the youth movements Professor Heer described?”

First of all, I would like to offer you a definition of the word rebellion. My trusty friend, dictionary.com, defines it as either an “open, armed, and organized resistance to a constitued government” or “an act or a show of defiance toward an authority or established convention”.

If the common characteristic between all youth movements is “the symblic rejection of the father (authority), and frequent adoption of a new ‘father’…” then I believe that we should view the latter of the two definitions as fitting in our context.

If, as Professor Heer argues, the youth movements of eras past had a tendency to rebel against and reject the current authority, then the Rebelution should certainly differ from these! While the Rebelution certainly does go against the grain of our society’s slacker/entitlement view of things, I do not believe that the the Rebelution rebels in the way that the dictionary or Professor Heer define it.

The Rebelution shares the characteristic with other movements in that it wishes to enact change from the current way of life. In contrast to past movements, however, the Rebelution does not seek to bring about some new change or way of life. Instead, the Rebelution seeks to return us to a lifestyle of responsibility and integrity, a lifestyle of a Biblical seeking after the Lord to help us to Do Hard Things.

In effect, the Rebelution is attempting to reverse the rebellion of movements both past and current that are trying to lead us down the wrong road, a road leading us into laziness, irresponsibility, and a destruction of our society.

Could it be said, then, that the Rebelution is the antithesis of rebellion, as it seeks to undo the countless years of damage brought about by our culture’s rebellion against God, the ultimate authority?