Google isn't Evil?

I invite you to help me think about “youth theology” or a you(th)eology according to some of our presenters so far by TAG, #tag10:

Jeff Jarvis – “Youth used to be something you had to get over.  Now youth is an asset.”  Amen.  Unfortunately Google, Facebook and others mine information for targeted adverising of young people, to make money, that is exploitation of their value.  Shame on them! Don’t be evil?  What about being good?  Google should give 1% of their funds to end extreme poverty and starvation of children around the globe.  That would be good.  To not do so is evil.  Is Google is in violation of their “mission statement”?

Roger asked, “How can I teach my children about a God who waits, when they are used to instant results"?   Great question! And what about the converse?  “What can adults learn about God from young people?”  Youth have a particular experience that adults do not.  They are natural waiters.  Youth are always waiting for something: waiting to be a teen-ager, waiting to be able to drive, waiting to be able to vote, waiting to be able to drink (hopefully waiting), and waiting to be an adult and therefore know something about God (sarcasm).  Let the generations learn from each other!

Philip Clayton said Gen X and Millennials are not jointers.  Is this because youth culture has changed their social behavior, or is it because they are not treated as full human beings?  What if churches invited youth to teach adults about God just as much as adults teach youth?  Then they might become joiners!

Monica Coleman – Yes thank you for witnessing to the community that can form online.  Why does resurrection matter?  Young people can teach us about this too.  They embody transformation.  They live in the midst of fear drenched world in perpetual angst about death, yet everyday they offer hope for the world. 

Adam Walker Cleveland hosts conversations.  This is youth theology.  He allows a plurality of voices to participate in theological conversation.  This is a theological practice that brings youth/adults to church.  Thank you!

Callid Keefe-Perry – You want to bring the margins to the middle.  Adolescence is itself a marginal space between childhood and adulthood.  Jesus was a teenager at one point in his life.  God called Samuel the boy prophet, Esther the young woman, and many others in the prime of their youth.  Did they conform to the status quo?  No they did not.  They challenged social structures to bring about justice and righteousness.  We need justice and fairness for young people, who are co-workers in the Kingdom of God.

What say you?