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Abolishing the Myth of Adolescence and Reclaiming Maturity for a New Generation
Adolescence, as we commonly understand it, is far from the timeless, natural phase modern society assumes it to be. For centuries, young people were not considered to be perpetually rebellious, subject to the “stages” that were imposed by humanistic educators. Young people in past eras actually aspired to become adults, becoming eager learners and devoted imitators of parents and mentors.
The rise of adolescence as we know it… marked by prolonged immaturity and self-focused freedom… stems from the doctrine of evolution and its influence on how we see human development. A biblical understanding of humanity restores the centrality of maturity and responsibility, showing that men and women were created to fulfill divine responsibilities from their earliest days rather than remain stalled in an artificial holding pattern known as the stage of adolescence.
How Evolutionary Thought Destroyed Childhood
Modern education teaches that adolescence is a normal stage of growth. Yet its foundations rest on an evolutionary worldview, suggesting that with each new generation, humanity evolves higher, leaving behind the “outdated” perspectives of parents and grandparents.
Historically, though, children on the cusp of their teenage years wanted to learn adult responsibilities and join in the work of fathers and mothers. These young people valued the skills and guidance of their elders, striving to become adults as quickly and earnestly as possible.
Evolutionary theory fostered the idea that childhood recapitulates every primitive stage in human history.
Even debunked claims… like evolutionist Ernst Haeckel’s fraudulent embryo sketches—continue to influence modern thinking. They reinforce that humans begin in an ignorant, almost subhuman state and gradually evolve into adulthood.
This assumption strips children of dignity and their true capacity, teaching them that they cannot handle higher-level knowledge too soon. By seeing children as “embryonic primitives” to be indulged and entertained rather than mature beings to be trained, we assign them to a perpetual state of childhood well into their teens or even adulthood. Thus, the rise of helicopter parents.
The Revolt Against Responsibility
According to Scripture, God created the first man, Adam, fully formed and mature. From the beginning, humanity was endowed with intelligence, moral responsibility, and the capacity to exercise stewardship over creation. Yet sin introduced “rebellion against responsibility,” a willful regression away from God’s design. Modern psychology often labels sin as immaturity or childishness. Still, at its core, it is rebellion: a refusal to abide by God’s standards of mature responsibility.
Humanistic culture amplifies that rebellion by promoting perpetual youthfulness. We prize childlike freedom and informality while discouraging the wisdom that comes with age. Clothing, entertainment, and public attitudes reflect a deep desire to remain forever young. Yet it takes maturity… anchored in a biblical vision of human capability to handle the difficult demands of life, of learning, and our respective callings.
What Ever Happened to Child Prodigies
Think about it. History is filled with examples of young people functioning at very high levels, often assuming adult duties in their early teens or even younger. Sea captains navigated entire crews before turning twenty. I’m thinking of Sir Francis Drake who was running pickups and deliveries on the River Medway when he was 12.
Brilliant minds like Pascal produced groundbreaking work in mathematics and physics at ages we would now consider part of “childhood.” These stories are not anomalies, nor do they all stem from raw genius. They reflect eras that taught children as though they were truly capable learners irrespective of their age.
Mothers are typically the first educators, teaching infants the immensely complex task of language acquisition. In the Colonial period, many a mother prepared their children for advanced intellectual work. The truth is, we wouldn’t have the Constitution if it weren’t for these moms.
Yet prevailing theories about “childhood readiness” holds kids back, requiring them to wait before encountering serious knowledge or subject matter. The result is a slow, protracted schooling process that caters more to entertainment than genuine achievement. Much of this was well designed by the teacher’s unions.
Before the Civil War, parents in this country taught the Scriptures from an early age, instilling moral and intellectual training that readied children for life’s responsibilities.
Education for God’s Purpose
From a Christian viewpoint, the purpose of education differs entirely from the humanistic goal of self-realization and self-gratification. We are God’s property, and knowledge equips us to serve Him better. That said, learning should be rigorous and meaningful, allowing children to aspire to higher levels of achievement rather than confining them to games, entertainment, and trivialities.
As Christian education adopts this biblical approach… favoring discipline, high standards, and genuine content… they have already found that students regularly surpass their peers in secular systems.
When education operates with a vision of man as God’s mature creation, many of the lame and stale routines imposed by evolutionary education theories get exposed as meaningless. Educators can accelerate curriculum, parents can take responsibility for a child’s continuous growth, and kids discover that they are neither intellectually helpless nor incompetent. With each new step, kids progress as whole human beings created for stewardship, echoing God’s commission to Joshua, which Christ reaffirmed in the Great Commission for the entire world.
Reclaiming a Culture of Responsibility
We have to face the fact that a society that worships youth and immaturity cannot endure. Humanistic thought undercuts genuine progress by denying human potential, citing our alleged “primitive” drives, and ignoring our God-given intellect.
By contrast, Scripture calls men and women to maturity, offering hope through a life anchored in Christ’s redemptive work. Children reared in a godly framework learn and grow without artificial limits, proving that “adolescence” is not an unavoidable stage but a cultural artifact we need to discard.
Rejecting Evolutionary Paradigms
When we reject the myth of evolution and return to the biblical account of creation, children become men and women in training… ready for the responsibilities of life, equipped to fulfill God’s command to rule and become fair and just stewards of God’s creation.
In doing so, we replace rebellion with responsibility and reshape our homes, schools, and entire culture around the truth that we are made for more than perpetual childhood. We are made for wisdom, for service, and ultimately for the glory of God.
