Spiritual Junk Food [Paperback]

Cathy Mickels (Author), Audrey McKeever (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 19, 2002

Spiritual Junk Food: The Dumbing Down of Christian Youth is a stinging indictment on the state of educational curricula promoted by leading Christian publishers. This is one of the most important issues facing the Christian church today. Drawing from fifteen years of experience in public education, Cathy Mickels and Audrey McKeever make a convincing case that Christian publishers are marketing shallow, fast-food methods for teaching spiritual truths. The faith of Christian youth is being undermined with theories first espoused by humanist educators, not people interested in sharing the truth of God's righteousness and power. In this well-documented expose, parents are warned that the same worldly, humanistic ideas and activities Christians have fought in our nation's schools have now invaded the church. Straightforward biblical teaching is being traded for relativism, group thinking, and controversial games. Whether it is by teaching Christian youth to hug trees and "think green," role-play a Bible passage soap-opera style to simulate the excitement of temptation, or view Steven Speilberg's Raiders of the Lost Ark for a lesson on the Book of Revelation, the authors predict the result will all be the same: the dumbing down of Christian youth.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Cathy Mickels: is the Washington state president of Phyllis Schlafly's national conservative organization, Eagle Forum. She has been an effective voice on behalf of many pro-family and education issues, such as strong oppostion to outcome-based education.

Audrey McKeever: has a Bachelor of Arts from Western Washington State University and has tought in both public and private schools.As regional director of Eagle Forum in Washington state, Audrey has focused on the radical transformation taking place in public education.She has alerted parents to the dangers of controversial public school curricula.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Pleasant Word-A Division of WinePress Publishing (November 19, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1579211690
• ISBN-13: 978-1579211691
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #912,009 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars urgent and well-targeted book, June 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Spiritual Junk Food (Paperback)

This book is very important for all Sunday school teachers. I'm buying several copies of it to give away. It talks about the "dumbing down" of Sunday school curriculum, specifically the inclusion of sub-Christian and anti-Christian messages. For example, "The Gospel According to St. Bernard" promises to be "one of the most comprehensive theological and practical Christian courses available to churches" but in reality is video-based curriculum about a dog angel that grumbles, speaks at irreverently about God, and casually disobeys the rules of the home where God has sent him. One popular publisher suggested teachers set up a tent and have children imagine they have run away--hardly something to romanticize in Sunday school! Some of the curriculum they critique is used heavily in the Christian publishing world; I have seen some of it, and it is indeed as bad as they say. The authors are specifically talking about youth groups, but a large percentage of the book deals with curriculum for younger Sunday school classes, and of course it has ramifications for the whole church. It's not a "review of Sunday school curriculum" specifically; it is written as chapters, with one exploring "tolerance," one looking at self-worship, one looking at "tweaking Scripture," and so forth, with quite a few examples. It also looks at a biblical model for youth ministry: the older people of the church teaching the younger. The one problem I saw is that it is not very well edited. (I'm an editor, so I notice these things.) In places it repeats unnecessarily, and in other places the authors' passion comes through as shrillness. But overall, what it says urgently needs to be heard by anyone who cares about Christian education.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A discerning look at what we're allowing into our minds., July 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Spiritual Junk Food (Paperback)

A fantastic book, full of quotes and scripture verses that reveal the truth about what is being fed into the minds of children and adults alike. The authors do an excellent job of going to the heart of the material by exposing what the originators of unbiblical teaching practices really believed. Have a pen or highlighter handy when you read this book!

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My Suspicions Have Been Confirmed, November 5, 2001

By 

Helen P. Steele "for GGC" (Bellingham, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Spiritual Junk Food (Paperback)

The authors have confirmed that Secular Humanistic material exists in the church. I noticed things myself when teaching Sunday school to 7th & 8th graders several years ago and could not believe my eyes. I admire and envy the authors' passion and how they are on fire for the Lord's work, until He comes again. This book is a must for Christian parents and Sunday school teachers.