Why The Generations Hate Each Other | Doug Wilson & Michael Foster 

We also made a huge mistake by having separate Bible studies or Sunday school classes based on age/ circumstances instead of putting older & younger together. I am in a Bible study now that is blended & we have laughed and cried and prayed for each other. It is amazing!

Saved at 42. I wasted considerable time on regret. Then I heard Spurgeon preach on Joel2. "I will restore to you the years that the locusts have eaten...". When the sobbing had finished, the healing began. Great stuff! You're life is only wasted if you die without Christ.

my difficulty is that a lot of dads in my generation knew they were not really raising kids actively. they were very passive, and wanted to play with hobbies instead of getting the kids ready to be adults. makes me sick.

I’m 19 and single and I just got so excited thinking and doing the math. If I get married this year and have kids at 21 my kid will be 20 when I’m 41 and if he has kids at 20 I’ll have a twenty year old grandkid at 61 and then, God willing, then if my grandchildren had kids at twenty I’d have great grandchildren at 80 years old. Haha that would be awesome. I’ll keep it in prayer and keep seeking the kingdom of God, what comes after that is God’s blessing and that’s all I want and need. God bless you guys, I thank God for giving me older parents and for them raising me in the Lord. I thank Jesus for softening my heart and giving me salvation. Glory, and Honor, and Praise to God. Amen :)

I probably have listened to "It's Good to Be a Man" audiobook at least ten times by now. That book alone has been worth the whole Canon+ subscription. It is unvaluable advice in this age we, men, miss them so much. Just watched the doc, and it was great too. This comment is just me publicly saying: Thank God for Canon+. I hope God bless his work through your hands and this streaming service become as big as I see it becoming in my heart.

Michael always brings a calm, thoughtful approach to difficult topics

I am so sad that I'm now just a part of the "people aren't getting married young" group. I appreciate the content I'm seeing now about singleness being an affliction because it definitely is. Some of us didn't ask for this.

Thank you for acknowledging the validity of those who are lonely! I’m not lonely, I’ve been married 38 years and had four children, all in their 30s now, BUT!: I have only one grandchild. I long for grandchildren! But my kids just don’t want kids. That’s a desire not being met as well. A whole generation of older parents have young adult children who are refusing to marry, refusing to have children, or putting both off with a vague wave of their hands for “Maybe later, Mom.”, later being their late 30s or their 40s. I’ve told them till I was was blue in the face that biology doesn’t care about their life plans or feeling “ready”, that humans are meant to marry and reproduce in their 20s. They don’t listen. God designed us to survive beyond reproductive fertility, (unlike most animal species), because He intended - designed - grandparents to participate in the rearing of children, the passing on of knowledge and wisdom, and elders in general to benefit their society with their understanding. Yet here I am, my arms bereft of grandchildren, my one granddaughter torn far from me to live with her polyamorous LGBTQ parents in the heart of darkness, and all we can do is pray. We raised our daughter (our granddaughter’s mother) in the Lord, and Satan has devoured her. Our other adult kids? No children. Heartbreak is our daily lot, but Jesus is our hope.

The biggest problem I see, at least at my church, is that the boomers don't understand that the younger generation is deeply damaged. For example, the boomers at my church said the young people today need to grow up and need to pull them self up. I explained that one, they don't know how. Two, you need to not lecture them, They know they are messed up they want help, just be patient. Well, they ignored me and continued complaining that the younger generation does not know how to do things. The boomers act like adult children, and the younger generation acts like toddlers.

It was so refreshing to hear these topics about generational conflict, masculinity, and singleness. There's so little talk about these things, let alone a recognition of the struggles of younger millenial men, like myself. Or even of the lie that is told to women that they can be single into their middle age and be happy. It's sad, but I don't hear any of this addressed in my own church at all.

That spidey sense reference was excellent and very true. So many younger ones aren't keying into situations that may require non vocal assessment & a possible heavy interactive remedy.

This is great, I'm 16, and I have a long way to go yet, but this was a good motivation for me, thanks for this, and I cant wait to listen to the doc!

Thanks Doug for all God uses you for. Have a great weekend

"Bach is better than Lynyrd Skynyrd and Lynyrd Skynyrd is better than what they're doing now". At 53 years old, just one of the many resounding statements I loved hearing in this discussion. 😂 Brilliant insight throughout. God Bless

Being a kid in the 1980s-90s it is so interesting hearing Michael's comments on the history and progressive decline of morality that has brought us to the place of depravity we now find our society in. He is so accurate with his comments here. May God have mercy on our land, or at least stay His righteous judgement yet for a time.

Am in Botswana 🇧🇼(Africa) alot of the negatives that were said i saw in me. We need to do and not just consume content. This was a gem of a conversation. Only the Holy Spirit can give such wisdom. 🙏

Gen X is pretty much ignored in all this, and we're fine with that

A 44 minute interview about a 49 minute documentary. I love em both.

I’ll finish this soon. Foster makes a good point about not resenting older generations. It’s hard for this millennial not to resent Boomer pastors/leaders knowing that most of them retreated from apologetics and culturally significant ideas.

In Titus it talks about various demographics in the church training up those who are young. I don’t think that it is necessarily the church (organizations)’s responsibility to be teaching men how to be men and teaching women how to be women, but I do think that it is the responsibility of Christians to be discipling each other in righteousness, and that means the older men train the younger men, and the older women train the younger women. That also means that as a younger person I am responsible to be a disciple and to allow that to happen.

The boomers set in motion many of the societal problems we have in America now, and I believe younger people are tired of being lectured by a generation they feel failed them. Props to these guys for considering the passing of rebellion down starting in the 60s (reap what you sow). However, getting angry without course correcting won’t fix anything.

Thank you for sharing your wisdom. I’m 26 and feel so enlightened to hearing all of this. I could rant about how effective hearing this has been, but I’ll keep it short and have you know I’m grateful. Praise our Lord Jesus Christ. ❤️‍🔥

Thank you about "stop telling lies". I'm sick of married telling me "God is your husband" and I want to say, "go home alone and do that day after day and then tell me that the single don't need human contact."

Great conversation, thank you gentlemen.

YES GENERATIONAL REPARATIONS! So glad you gentlemen are leading the way.

Since the 1980s, there has been a trend of women outpacing men in educational attainment. However, what often gets left out of discussions about singleness is the growing social and economic divide highlighted by Charles Murray in his book "Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960-2010." Murray argues that America is increasingly divided along class lines, and that education and socio-economic status have become more important in shaping marriage patterns than ever before. This has made it harder for some groups, particularly working-class men, to find compatible partners. The declining availability of well-paying jobs for men without college degrees is a major contributing factor to this trend. Recently, an article in the WSJ noted that around 80% of new jobs in California do not pay a livable wage.

This is a great discussion. I was born in 1971 with parents born in 1938 and 1942. I have many of the traits, thoughts, and ideas from my parents. That makes me old fashion in that respect. My son is 19 he has grown up in this information age with having everything at your fingertips.

17:00 "They have a hatred toward screens a resentment." Astute observation.

Since a lot of younger men are having trouble finding their masculinity. The church is so important because that’s we’re old meet young and spread wisdom to them and how to act like a man in the scriptures.

Excellent talk, thank you Pastors!!!!

Great convo!

I'm not a Boomer ... too old. The six of us kids were born during the depression or the war. Three of us remain. We weren't church folks and mom claimed to be an atheist, but we assumed the morals of the day as normative. Over half of us had had at least one divorce while Ike was president. Although things only got worse for the rest of my family, I got saved after joining the Army ... then from the Oakland Army Terminal boarded the JD Sultan troop carrier bound for SE Asia. That was 1965.

This is so good. Thank you.

God bless you guys great work

What had primarily been a polarization between political alignments has become a division between generations, sexes, and pretty much any other special interest you can name. I don't know how to fix it, but I know you can't maintain a society for long that is this fractured and divided.

Woe to those who go to great lengths to hide their plans from Yahweh, who do their work in darkness and think, “Who sees us? Who will know?” You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, “You did not make me”? Can the pot say to the potter, “You know nothing”? (Isaiah chapter twenty-nine)

That checklist bit needs to be jackhammered into Gen-Z. I’m Gen-Z and there’s a big issue my wife has pointed out (and social media has pointed out) in young men not doing things and asking their wives for a checklist and refusing to take initiative and risk on basic things.

Evengeical has been shaking men down for years

If Doug's and Michael's critics wanted any sane people to take them seriously, the first thing they would do is imitate them by giving it a rest with lies and pious-sounding ramblings devoid of tangible, applicable substance.

Man, this is really needed. Looks great!

This is really touching on something here!

Really interesting subject. A few thoughts: I'm a millennial, married and raising my own kids, have operated youth outreach and youth ministries at churches for probably 10 years. Also operate a business and have done apprenticeships with people in the millennial and zoomer demographics. What makes these generations different is the quality of the parenting. Circumstances have changed as discussed here but the quality of the ideas and strategy of parenting has consistently declined for many decades now. Things that really worked well are now cast aside by people who don't know any better or don't care, and from my reading on the subject it's been that way since at least the 1950s in the US. Tremendous respect for the greatest generation (my grandparents) but culturally the major shift started with them, not the Boomers. Who raised the Boomers? Most adults now are too scared to draw the line and enforce behavioral expectations even in their own home, much less in the public square. Some are scared of the risks, some are unprepared for the negotiation of consequences, and many don't even think you do that with kids anymore. I have a journal of writings from my great-grandfather who was born in the 1880s, things he wrote in the 1940s and 50s, and one of the things he wrote almost as a proverb is that you can tell the quality of the man and his wife by the behavior of his children. Of course there have always been prodigals, but many adults today don't even believe they have any control over their children's behavior. Many people in traditional, Biblical churches believe this, and we will continue to pay a terrible price for this until the adults decide to contend for the steering wheel again. You want to get back into the game? Get some old school parenting books. Start with John Rosemond...or Proverbs. Or stuff (no joke) from like 100 years ago, it will open your eyes. Your young men and boys need to have fearful respect of your grown men in your community, and if they don't...we have what we have now. Against this backdrop, what can you do? Well, I think the first thing we shouldn't do is overcomplicate things. We don't need to worry nearly as much about cultural relation, the important stuff has been largely the same for thousands of years. I was a kid in the 90s and saw all of that hip Youth Ministry stuff and we mostly rolled our eyes at it. Kids know when you are being genuine with them. Young men (and boys) need regular time spent with older men doing serious work. Expectations need to be set reasonably high. If the work is done and done well, provide a good reward. You need the carrot and the stick. Tolerate mistakes, but don't tolerate a lack of effort, be willing to kick people out. Losing a couple slackers is the price you pay for everyone else taking the exercise seriously and learning the lesson. Men in the church (not just the pastors or staff) HAVE to take to time to get to know and encourage the young men and boys in the church. If boys are graduating from high school in your church and they DON'T know several of the older men in the church well enough to joke around or hang out with them outside of church...those boys aren't coming back. They're gone. Church never become "The Family of God" to them and they will get devoured by the culture unless they are highly independent. Nobody else is setting expectations for these young men, you have to take that responsibility. They aren't used to cold calling someone, ordering their own food at a restaurant, setting and pursuing goals in real life, talking to girls or strangers, getting their own driver's license, etc. It's OK to have a frank conversation about why they must develop these skills as long as you are respectful about it. I always frame these things as a "toolkit" they have to have to get what they need from life. Then invite them along to demonstrate and teach them the lesson of how to do it, and follow up with them to help hold the standard. They might get offended the first time. Give it some time, they'll get over it. Young men in business I have to talk to about things like: If you ignore people, they're going to think you don't like them. Here's how to make small talk with a stranger and get to know them (step by step, like finding common ground stuff). When you finish a task at work, you must either find something else that needs to be done, or ask your supervisor for a new task...you can't just play on your phone or waste time. Here's all of the things in your life that won't happen until you have a driver's license, here's how to get one. People can never read your mind, you must ask from them what you need. When things are subpar in a situation where you're depending on other people, you must confront them about it. Here's how you look up how to fix something when it's broken. If there's a problem nobody is trying to fix, all of the complaining in the world can't fix it. These young men need COURAGE more than anything. The screen may be enticing but companionship, community, discipleship, confidence....that stuff is still at core of what people deeply desire. Where God has given you testimony of both His work in your life and also the TRUTH of his Word (even just the practical advice stuff)....that has to be shared with these young men, it doesn't just come to them genetically. Plan a little work and a little adventure, and then bring them along for the ride. I've seen plenty of young men put down the Xbox controller and come out into the daylight for a chance to play some real basketball at a local park or to help work on a classic car. Don't worry so much about the generational stuff, we live in a world that just spent $300 million on a movie about 80 year old Indiana Jones. Half of the time I turn on old music or show kids an old game or favorite past time....and they get a huge kick out of it because it's fresh to them if it hasn't been on TikTok. It's only old to us.

Boomers screwed everyone- change my mind.

Brilliant.

I’m struggling and want to find a church with such wondrous pastors. No idea where to even start.

Thanks! Good stuff!

My issue with boomers is that they refuse to let the economy crash, compete to make the best product, or give up their Social Security. They will jeopardize their children and grandchildren before they endure any hardship. This is not all boomers, but that's the bulk of them. Also in regards to dating, the reason men are so timid in regards to women is because of the risk of dealing with them. Every man around 30 has seen some guy being drug through the mud (or worse) for simply trying to be friendly. Women are ruthless to people they don't like and they have the law on their side.

Doug Wilson loves to hear himself talk

Just a friendly note at the end there: the “holy” Roman Empire was anything but holy

Brilliant

The problem with Bach, is it Gid turned into bugs bunny background tracks. Similarly Classical art becomes boring because you’ve seen so much of it that it’s boring and almost invisible. So Bach, is not better than skynyrd because it doesn’t resonate and skynyrd does. So many teens today hate their generation’s music and retreat to the seventies.

Personally I don't hate any of the other generations, however I do hate the fact that so many of my fellow millennials say the word "literally" far too much. Well I guess the gen z lingo is pretty stupid. That's all. 😊

17:00 ooooff gut Punch! Yeah feel that. I'm 39 and hate our current moment in our family with screens for myself and children. Pray for me. But really the struggle is real. They are like a drug

26:50 “Hey Big Bear! What’s with this Michael Foster guy! He said the word Gama!”

15:15 'what they are doing now.' A vague and unhelpful generalization.

I don’t think a waitress at a restaurant these days is going to be a godly woman…..

Abram went to learn the ways of righteousness from Noah and Shem. Hopefully our times are not quite that wicked and we can learn from our fathers the way of righteousness

Being a man in this situation circa 3 years ago, there is no hope for these women. Do not put these women's sins at the feet of these men.

Alright, so you want to have empathy for the 37 year old bitter childless woman who was married to casual sexual flings/serial monogamy, her educational achievements, and her career successes. She willingly prioritized these things over traditional nuclear family formation and probably had dozens and dozens of enthusiastic male applicants to be her husband over the last 2 decades of her life, but you believe all humans have dignity before God and we should show some compassion to her. Fair enough. But don't these women bear some of the responsibility for being in this lonely predicament to begin with? I mean you guys believe that not just men but women too have free will and possess moral agency, right? If men need to "man up", is it really a ridiculous thing if I were to say that "women need to woman up" also? I believe both men and women choose which master they serve and it can only be 1. We either follow Christ and His narrow path or we don't follow Christ and His narrow path. You can only pick 1.

Hearing all this talk about "young men." 30's still young, right? It's wonderful and necessary y'all are talking about the teens and early 20somethings but tons of us older-but-not-middle-aged guys are in the same boat as the zoomers and alphas

We need to make times of necessary effeminacy a thing of the past as soon as possible our young men need to harass the devil into seeming like a saint somewhat quickly for idealest USA times and even his own best possible outcome actually the return of the son of God is mainly needed but it appears that the only God can not be coerced into giving us this.

20:59 whoa, slow down pastor

This isn’t a new topic Ivan Turgenev already discussed this 150 years ago!

I'm 49, I have not spoken to my mother for 17 years. The boomers are reaping what they sowed. I chose not to have kids, so I am the end of the bloodline. I am simultaneously not part of the problem AND not part of the solution, Good Luck to all of you, you're going to need it.

Is Corb Lund bad music?

Yeah, don't lie to us.

"It's good to be a man." A slogan never to be seen on a beer can. So backwards these days.

Just stop lying at church! Amen

Soli Deo Gloria

No, Tranz Movement is good because everyone is pulling thier kids out of public school.

I love reformed faith and you in particular, however, you have no idea how to win.

Boomers: Not since the days of Noah has one generation destroyed the whole earth.

Is Jearmy Taylor evil?

Honestly guys, there's nothing about being overweight and physically undisciplined that speaks to strength, leadership and personal discipline. Sloth and an overweight unhealthy appearance go hand in hand (which a big beer belly certainly is).

You 'in Christ' have always hated each other.

Been listening to one to many dating roaches.

Because of the boomers 🤣

Okay boomers.

Religion = The probloem Fighting over beliefs, that nobody could ever prove

The fruits of womens sin. Show women what they do! Fathers have no replacement. Womens custody of our children is a sin against a generation.