"Acquire The Fire"

[Pangloss62]

and what makes their choice poignant -- they want to make themselves like Christ in spirit even though it sets them up to look like idiots to their friends --

It seems to me that they are just replacing one superficial culture with another. T-shirts, CDs, Christian Rock bands, light shows, etc. They shed secular trivialities for Christian ones.

And studies have already shown that their is lots of recidivism with teens that make such "pledges" of faith. I see these kids a being less "born again" that just being ripped off. The mega-churches are loosing their market share and they are desperate to recruit new members.