Like His Dad, Younger Dobson Takes on Cultural Issues
by Randall Murphree
November 24, 2003
(AgapePress) - Today's teens and young adults are a generation being destroyed by "manic tolerance," says Ryan Dobson, pop culture specialist. And you could say the young author is very close to his subject -- he's talking about his own generation. 
For his book Be Intolerant (Multnomah, 2003), Dobson tacked on a timely subtitle: "Because some things are just stupid." In the intro, he says, "I wrote [this book] for young people who feel pulled apart by two powerful forces -- God and the rest of the world."
Of himself, he writes, "... I like speed. Whether I'm on my surfboard in the head-high California surf or dropping in with my skateboard on a twelve-foot vert ramp, I can't get enough of the stuff."
Secondly, he says of himself that he is "... totally intolerant. Totally, radically intolerant." Dobson is accustomed to speaking up when he sees something that's morally wrong. He came by the habit honestly -- yes, he's the son of Dr. James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family (family.org).
However, the younger Dobson deserves a lot of respect and credibility for accurate observations regarding today's culture. And he's established himself as one who'll persevere in saying or doing what's right. During his college days, he lost count on how many times people slashed his tires -- at least ten.
He says he doesn't stand up for principles or challenge people to love Jesus just to be a jerk. He does it "because I love them." Early in Be Intolerant, he reminds readers, "Out of love for us, Jesus Himself was intolerant -- and He paid the ultimate price to take His unpopular stand. The least I can do in return is suffer a few flat tires."
Dobson challenges Christian teens to get into the Word, for there we can all find strength and wisdom. Then he pushes them to get off the fence and take a stand in their various circles of influence -- school, family, friends, work, church. "I want to take you to a new place," he writes, "where you will gladly stand up for Jesus Christ, no matter what the cost." Pretty radical.
He shares stories of friends he's seen succeed in the Christian walk, as well as stories of friends who have fallen flat on their faces. For example, he writes about "Mike," one of his close friends from boyhood. "If you were ever in a crisis situation," Dobson writes, "Mike could get you out. Mike was the go-to guy for everything. If you ever needed something built, fixed or bandaged, he was the guy. If a fight broke out, he would have your back."
But as a young adult, something happened that led Mike to just go off the deep end -- drugs, booze, promiscuous sex. Dobson speaks of the pain of having to "pull away" from Mike because his friend refused to deal with his sins.
There is only one element in Be Intolerant that brought a negative response, and that's some of the movies he recommends. For example, he writes that he loves one movie in which a character is the epitome of moral relativism. But one Christian review service gives the same movie a moral rating of "Very Offensive." Another Christian reviewer reports that the movie's primary worldview is humanistic, and that it includes 38 obscene expressions and 18 profanities. If a movie takes God's name in vain 18 times, it hardly seems advisable to use our God-given resources to be "entertained" by characters who profane His name repeatedly.
With that one exception, Be Intolerant is commendable. It accomplishes Dobson's purpose in a short volume that is well-conceived and very readable. For all of us, life is filled with hard choices. Ryan Dobson's book will help teens and young adults deal with them responsibly -- and keep their faith intact.
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Randall Murphree, a frequent contributor to AgapePress, is editor of AFA Journal, a monthly publication of the American Family Association.
