Are Christian Kids Indoctrinated?

This is part 2 of the video of Richard Dawkins, an avowed atheist speaking about why he thinks children should not be indoctrinated in religion.

The atheists accuse Christians of keeping their children cloistered away from other views and indoctrinating these young and impressionable minds as opposed to presenting them with a range of choices. Which they say is unfair to the children.

According to dictionary.com, the word ‘indoctrination’ means to instruct in a doctrine, principle, ideology etc. especially to imbue with a specific partisan or biased belief or point of view. It goes on to say that indoctrination involves teaching someone to accept doctrine uncritically and that a synonym for the word is brainwashing.

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Does God Send Disaster

According to Wikipedia ‘Act of God’ is a legal term for events outside of human control, such as sudden floods or other natural disasters, for which no one can be held responsible. In other words, if we don’t understand it and/or we can’t find any humans to blame for it, then God must have done it.

Although the logic is highly flawed, the truth is when we hear that yet another disaster has happened, most of us wonder what part, if any, God had in it. Did he do it? Did he allow it? Why didn’t he prevent it? People in the media know that we wonder. Ever notice that when disaster strikes and some preacher somewhere seems to say, “God did it” it becomes front page news.

If we wonder, then what do we say to our children when they sit with us and see the TV images of rescue workers pulling damaged or dead humans from the aftermath? What do we say when they hear the report that Reverend so-and-so said God sent the killing blow? Read more

Atheists Against Christian Parenting

The attached video is of Richard Dawkins, an avowed atheist speaking about why he thinks children should not be indoctrinated in religion. Part two will be attached to my next blog.

Recently, there has been a rash of books written by atheists vilifying religion and blaming it for the woes of this world. One best-selling book generated a wave of controversy because it suggested that efforts be made to eradicate religion. The author also takes aim at parents who teach their children religion, calling it a form of child abuse.

Here’s their logic (as far as I can see it). There is no God. Humankind invented God and created religion. Religion is destructive in that it polarizes people, and therefore, causes wars and all sorts of atrocities. The reason religion continues to thrive is that religious parents indoctrinate their children. Therefore, stop allowing the indoctrination of children and the world will become atheistic and wonderfully peaceful.

First of all, let me touch on the things that I agree with. Humanity has suffered much in the name of religion. Also, there are some religious groups in the world that teach violence to their children. There are also many religious parents worldwide that indoctrinate their children, or in other words, tell them what to think instead of teaching them how to think. I agree that all of these things are inappropriate parental behavior.

However, the author in my estimation, has built a very flimsy argument when it comes to Christianity.

Yes, the history of Christianity gets demerits for violence, but to blame present day Christianity for the mistakes of those in the past who did wrong in the name of Christianity is hardly fair. That would be like calling for the end of today’s German culture because at one point it spawned misguided people who caused wars.

The very word Christian means Christ-like or follower of Christ. Everyone who has read the Gospels even once knows that Jesus promoted love, forgiveness, humility and godliness. He did not promote violence, war and insurrection.

The Body of Christ worldwide has come a long way and is a force for good on our planet. When a catastrophe puts people in harms way anywhere in the world, it’s the Christians and Christian relief organizations that dig the deepest and run to care. Millions of Christians and Christian churches worldwide reach out to help and love their families, neighbors and communities every day. These heartfelt charitable acts are a big part of what it is to live a Christian life.

It’s hard to study the history of Western Civilization without seeing the amazingly wonderful impact that Christianity and individual Christians, compelled by their Faith, have had on the world today.

For a great summary read this link:  http://crossandquill.com/journey/?page_id=267

Furthermore, what is it that Christian parents are teaching their children? If you examine the words in red (Jesus’ teaching), you’ll find that a large percentage of what he taught wasn’t about what we believe, but about who we are and how we behave. We teach our children to love, to be caring, kind, generous and considerate of others, to be involved in their communities, to be team players and to be respectful of others who have contrary opinions or beliefs. How can this be damaging to our planet?

Going back to the general arguments about religion being a planet damaging force, studies show that children raised in religion are happier, more other-focused, and less prone to get involved with crime and high-risk behavior. They even tend to exercise more, eat better, and volunteer more frequently.

(Check one of the studies here:  http://www.youthandreligion.org/news/preliminary.html )

A brief study of history will show even the casual reader that things like political agendas, territorial disputes, racial differences and yes, even atheism (the murder of countless religious people in the name of communism, for the sake of the state) have been behind some of the greatest carnages visited on mankind. Should we forbid the teaching of politics, patriotism, property rights, racial uniqueness and atheism?

If your children are old enough, have a chat with them about what the atheists believe and are saying. Perhaps even let them read this blog and help them think it through. Our children need to know their Faith well enough that they can refute this kind of distorted logic when it’s leveled at them.

(RICK OSBORNE / Christian Author, Speaker & Bible Teacher)

Daniel at School

Daniel’s life and the details surrounding it fascinate me. This man of God, full of deep integrity and wisdom, wrote some of the most detailed and much-studied prophecies in the Bible.

As a teenager, Daniel was uprooted from his home and taken as a captive to Babylon. He ended up in the royal court after the king ordered several young Israelite captives of noble birth to be brought to the palace (Daniel 1:3). Until the time Daniel was taken captive, he evidently grew up in either the royal family or in a very influential home.

Daniel was a young boy when the very godly Josiah ruled Judah. So since Daniel probably grew up in an influential family during Josiah’s reign, he likely was raised with spiritual training and with a godly world view. Read more

Answers To Your Kid’s Prayers

(photo by vaniadasilva)

The best way to explain to our children how God answers or doesn’t answer their prayers is to draw a simple parallel between their asking us for things and their asking God for things.

There are basically three answers children can anticipate when asking parents for something: yes, which may come with some stipulation or adjustment to the original request; no, which is usually accompanied by one or more good reason; and maybe, the category that most parental responses fall into.

• Our children make certain requests of us with the expectation of getting a yes answer – requests for things that they basically already know our will on. For instance, if we always let them have friends over on the weekend, let them watch a certain television show, allow them to have a snack at a certain time, or take them out for lunch after church, they’d anticipate a yes. Read more

Speed Racer

SYNOPSIS: Story of Speed Racer, who’s Mach 5 vehicle can jump, go under water and clear trees. When he’s not racing, he’s battling villians with his girlfriend Trixie, kid brother Spritle and pet monkey Chim-Chim.

GENRES: Action/Adventure, Science Fiction/Fantasy and Adaptation

TIME: 2 hr. 15 minutes

RATED: PG for sequences of action, some violence, language and brief smoking.

 

 

OUR THOUGHTS ON THIS MOVIE

(Recommended Age Group: 10+ years)

We watched the movie ‘Speed Racer’ thinking it was a kids movie. We are very glad to announce that there were no young children present when this movie was reviewed. It is NOT a movie for kids under 10 years of age. If you watch it with your tweens, we suggest that you make mental notes as you watch and talk with them about it afterwards.

We don’t recommend this movie for children for many little things. Remember, we as Christian parents need to look beyond the surface method of using amounts of violence, nudity, scary stuff and swearing to measure its suitability. Speed Racer contains many little scenes and comments that promote non Biblical ideals and taken together they add up to trouble. For example the youngest boy in the movie is constantly doing what he wants to do without regard to what he’s told. The writer’s portrait this behavior as normal and cute and make the dad look bad for expecting him to actually obey.

We’d normally go further and provide you with ‘What The Bible Says About That’ discussion topics for you to use with your children but since we’re recommending you pass on this one for the kids we’re going to take this another direction.

We actually will recommend this movie to you, parents and young people who will one day become parents. Why? Well first of all, for those of us who are old enough to enjoy a movie while ignoring Hollywood’s lack of Biblical morality and Christian world view, it contains a parenting lesson that we’d like to push a little further.

In the movie the dad, played by John Goodman, has three sons all born about eight years apart. When his oldest son is basically an adult, he makes a decision about his life that dad really opposes. When dad realizes that he is no longer in control and that the son is set on this particular course, dad makes a classic mistake in a last ditch effort to turn things around. He basically says, “If you walk out that door, don’t ever come back.” Ouch!

We won’t tell you what happens (no spoilers here) but the results of dad’s ultimatum are disastrous and he does learn his lesson (in a well scripted way) before the end of the movie.

When our children are young they need discipline, direction, training and consistent boundaries that are all (for the sake of our children) loving but authoritative. When our children become teenagers, our role as parents must change. We need to gradually stop being authoritative and progressively (as they prove responsible) hand our children the control of their own lives. If we do it right, by the time they are ready to leave home, we should be in a supportive and advisory role only.

We may claim that we would never give our child such an ultimatum, but if we seek to control them as oppose to guide them, when they get to an age where they need us to help them make their own decisions, the result is the same. We will push them away from us.

The Bible teaches that children must “leave their parents” and become responsible adults in their own right. We must let go. The best way to accomplish this is to do it very gradually helping our children to mature and take over small bits of responsibility at a time. The process should start when they’re tweens and hopefully be complete before they leave home.

Continuing to use an authoritative parenting method on teenagers will always result in head butting and possibly, in the end, a parting of ways.

Jesus said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” Once we are God’s children, our Heavenly Father commits to walk with us and help us grow up no matter what. God will never give us an ultimatum that makes us reject him. Love never gives up on someone. So even if we find ourselves at odds with or even extremely against something our older teens or young adults are choosing, shutting them out and attempting to use our affections as a method of controlling them will not work and is not right.

We need to follow God’s loving example and never withhold our love and support. We may need to gently make it clear that we don’t agree and explain why but then move on to let them know that we love them and will always be there for them no matter what.

Enjoy the movie and watch what happens to dear old dad in the end. If you’ve seen the movie then post a comment, if not come back and do it after you’ve seen it.

If you watch this with your tweens and teens spend some time talking about the above parenting lesson. It may be a great opportunity for both you and them to talk about the gradual shift of responsibility and authority. Your kids will always feel like they don’t have enough autonomy. Help them understand that no one gets more authority and freedom just because they want it but because they show themselves mature and responsible enough to handle it.

God Understands

God understands. He will always listen, understand, and respond to our children, no matter what happens in their lives. God is always right there for them. He understands everything they feel and go through, and he’s always ready to encourage them to go forward, to give them wisdom, and to help them out. God is on their side.

The New Testament book of Hebrews tells us that Jesus is fully sympathetic, understanding even the toughest things we go through because he also went through them. Sometimes we forget that Jesus was once a child and then a teenager. (The Bible even records a time when his parents didn’t understand him!) Jesus had to be obedient to his parents, go to school, do chores, and grow up in a community of friends, neighbors, and family. The single incident from Jesus’ childhood included in the Bible – something that happened when he was twelve years old – seems to have been recorded to show us that Jesus had to grow up just like everyone else. Read more

How can I explain to my children what God’s character is like?

In some ways, God is very different from us. He’s God, and he’s awesome. He’s the creator, and we’re creatures. But that doesn’t mean that we should talk about God in terms of his being so big and mysterious that we can’t possibly understand who he is and what he’s like. Even the unique and awesome things about God can be put in simple terms for children to understand.

Yet in many ways God is similar to us, and that’s what we should focus on first when we talk to our kids about God. He made us “in his image.” People have debated a lot about exactly what that phrase means, but one thing is for sure: everything good that God created as part of who we are is part of who God is, even though he’s not limited to or by any of these things. Read more

Helping your kids include everyone

The YouTube video attached is one of my all time favorite animated short films. The little blue birds are so into their exclusive ‘only our kind’ club and eliminating all threats to uniformity, that they’re blinded to what’s going on around them.

Children left to themselves tend to act exactly like that. She’s too young to be with us, he’s a boy, she’s my sister not my friend, they aren’t part of our class, club, team, school etc. If we’re not careful we can excuse this behavior as normal childhood antics. However, if we do, these seemingly innocent weeds can lead to full blown exclusive adult attitudes and behaviors such as prejudice and a lack of compassion and empathy for those that are different. Read more

Hilarious retelling of the Bible’s big story

Someone sent me the following as an email forward. The email gave no credits or links, so I’m not sure who it was written by. However I do know that it’s hilarious. It was reportedly written by a young person who was asked to do a book report on the Bible. Enjoy.

The Bible

In the beginning, which occurred near the start, there was nothing but God, darkness, and some gas. The Bible says, The Lord thy God is one, but I think He must be a lot older than that. Anyway, God said, ‘Give me a light!’ and someone did. Then God made the world.

He split the Adam and made Eve. Adam and Eve were naked, but they weren’t embarrassed because mirrors hadn’t been invented yet.

Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating one bad apple, so they were driven from the Garden of Eden. Not sure what they were driven in though, because they didn’t have cars.

Adam and Eve had a son, Cain, who hated his brother as long as he was Abel.

Pretty soon all of the early people died off, except for Methuselah, who lived to be like a million or something. Read more

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