Gen Alpha’s Fiery Furnace

It seems every generation has its own fiery furnace. That is, some threat for refusing to give your obedience and attention (i.e. worship) to the idolatry of the day. In ancient Babylon, for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, the empire demanded that they bow down to a ninety-foot statue made of gold. In our day, with 5 of the last 6 U.S. Surgeon General’s nation-wide advisories targeting the social isolation and parental exhaustion connected to the youth mental health crisis, and with a 52 % increase in teen suicide over the last two decades, it seems clear that the threat of the fiery furnace remains today.