Creationism museum to be protested...

[goofy's friends]

I think one of the main reasons Christian parents feel such a importance on raising their children with their belief is the core belief in the after-life. Yes, they have a choice. They choose to live for Christ or not. They are brought up to understand what that means and they decide on their own if it's what they want. No one can tell your heart what to believe. However, The urgency for christian parents is for their children to have that relationship with Christ and live with Him in eternity. To Christian parents, it IS a life/death decision, therefore the urgency. I don't believe that other religions have that life/death decision, so there is more of a "freedom" to allow children to explore.
Did that clear anything up about Christianity or did I confuse the issue more??

 

[JoeEpcotRocks]

I respectfully disagree. While they live under my roof (my kids are grown), they participate in my religion or lack thereof. I'm the adult, they're children. I know better than they do what's best for them.

Amen!

 

[JoeEpcotRocks]

I think one of the main reasons Christian parents feel such a importance on raising their children with their belief is the core belief in the after-life. Yes, they have a choice. They choose to live for Christ or not. They are brought up to understand what that means and they decide on their own if it's what they want. No one can tell your heart what to believe. However, The urgency for christian parents is for their children to have that relationship with Christ and live with Him in eternity. To Christian parents, it IS a life/death decision, therefore the urgency. I don't believe that other religions have that life/death decision, so there is more of a "freedom" to allow children to explore.
Did that clear anything up about Christianity or did I confuse the issue more??

Yes, it is truly a life/death decision.

 

[Kath2003]

I just wonder, then, what these "life or death" parents would do when their 13-year old turns around and says "I don't believe a word of the Bible and I never have" and leaves Christianity behind.

What exactly do you anticipate happening to your child?

 

[jimmiej]

I just wonder, then, what these "life or death" parents would do when their 13-year old turns around and says "I don't believe a word of the Bible and I never have" and leaves Christianity behind.

What exactly do you anticipate happening to your child?

See post #260.

 

[goofy's friends]

I just wonder, then, what these "life or death" parents would do when their 13-year old turns around and says "I don't believe a word of the Bible and I never have" and leaves Christianity behind.

What exactly do you anticipate happening to your child?

Christian parents would be devastated. That child would be rejecting Christ and choosing to not live eternity with Him. However, the parent cannot decide for the child. It is an individual decision. The best a parent can do is guide, pray, and lead by examle.

 

[jimmiej]

I tend to pay more credence to the New Testament than the Old; how do you feel? Is it possible for the two to co-exist without conflict?





Rich::

See if this helps.

Hebrews 9

The Blood of Christ
11When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. 12He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. 13The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. 14How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death,[c] so that we may serve the living God!
15For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.

 

[Ariel Mae]

I respectfully disagree. While they live under my roof (my kids are grown), they participate in my religion or lack thereof. I'm the adult, they're children. I know better than they do what's best for them.

So, you would rather tempt pushing your children away from you, rather than pushing them closer? By telling them, "This is how it's going to be, no questions...", there's far more a chance of rebellion, whereas, "This is how it could be..." opens their minds.

Or is it so bad to have an open minded child?

Personally, I'd rather see my child find their own path, rather than push me away in finding a path that is different than mine in form of rebellion.

Say the child is in fact an adult, and is living under the parental roof. They're, say, Jewish, whereas, the mother is a Roman Catholic. What do you do there? Me, I'd say, "You do your thing, I'll do mine." Prevents the rebellion factor.

I've never heard a parent use the, "I'm an adult, you're the child, I know better" viewpoint. Sometimes, the child in fact does know better...in what's right for them. The parent doesn't always know what's right for the child, on account of the generation gap and the technological gap, and the age gap. My mother knows that loving me is what I need, but she doesn't know that Atheism is right for me. In fact, it wasn't. It was far right from me. She allowed me to find myself, and voila, I am found. It didn't hurt her, nor my father, nor my family's traditions. I didn't diverge 'just to be different'. I diverged because it felt right. Sometimes, what's right for the parents isn't perfection for the child. *shrugs*

Now, to the "Creationism Museum"...I say, what does it hurt anyone, if it's privately funded, if it opens? Simple solution if you don't agree with it: Don't go. End of. Don't churn over your money just to end up p'od.

 

[Ariel Mae]

I just wonder, then, what these "life or death" parents would do when their 13-year old turns around and says "I don't believe a word of the Bible and I never have" and leaves Christianity behind.

I know I had a friend thrown out of her house at 16 when her mother found she had 'strayed the Christian path'. In the end, though, the mother, a very devout Christian, allowed the daughter back in, recognizing that the daughter was still just that: Hers, her life, her love, her offspring. The title of her religion didn't effect who she was. It was just a title, something she did on her own time, never interferring with the family's outings/life.

Christian parents would be devastated. That child would be rejecting Christ and choosing to not live eternity with Him.

I think it's sad that a parent would push their child away over something as tiny as religion, but, alas, it is not up to me how to parent someone else's child. My child is my responsibility (future child), not the neighbor's, nor is their's mine.

 

[Buckalew11]

This is why I do not believe in infant baptism (and I was baptized as an infant). Yes, I have guided my child toward what I believe is the Truth (I believe in an absolute truth not "one's own truth" but to each their own). I have taken her to Sunday School and church. She goes to a Christian school. However, she knows a lot about other religions (she is an avid reader and has an excellent teacher at school). But I do believe it is a decsion one has to make on one's own. It can't be about what mama and daddy are and what your heritage believed in. It has to be right within your heart at the right time. You could be 10 or 50.

Not everyone who is raised with Christian parents remains in the Christian faith so I truly do not believe anyone is ever forced into it. My sister was raised exactly as I was and yet she is a believe in good deeds get you to Heaven. I know kids I grew up with in church who do not have faith at this point in their lives and some who have yet a different faith.

Look at Jenny, she was raised a Catholic and yet looked at different denominations and JW and ended up being drawn to Judiasm. I think most people search at some point for what they want to believe in. Or so it seems to me.

 

[goofy's friends]

"Devastated" doesn't mean "pushing away".

 

[Ariel Mae]

But it can, and that's not something I want for my child. I don't want to be the mother who raises her child into something and, if the child diverts, look at the child in an unknown light, as if I know longer know he/she anymore. That's what can happen, and rather than that, I'd rather see my child in a brilliant light, a light she turned on herself.

 

[jimmiej]

So, you would rather tempt pushing your children away from you, rather than pushing them closer? By telling them, "This is how it's going to be, no questions...", there's far more a chance of rebellion, whereas, "This is how it could be..." opens their minds.

Or is it so bad to have an open minded child?

Personally, I'd rather see my child find their own path, rather than push me away in finding a path that is different than mine in form of rebellion.

Say the child is in fact an adult, and is living under the parental roof. They're, say, Jewish, whereas, the mother is a Roman Catholic. What do you do there? Me, I'd say, "You do your thing, I'll do mine." Prevents the rebellion factor.

I've never heard a parent use the, "I'm an adult, you're the child, I know better" viewpoint. Sometimes, the child in fact does know better...in what's right for them. The parent doesn't always know what's right for the child, on account of the generation gap and the technological gap, and the age gap. My mother knows that loving me is what I need, but she doesn't know that Atheism is right for me. In fact, it wasn't. It was far right from me. She allowed me to find myself, and voila, I am found. It didn't hurt her, nor my father, nor my family's traditions. I didn't diverge 'just to be different'. I diverged because it felt right. Sometimes, what's right for the parents isn't perfection for the child. *shrugs*

Wow! I could not disagree more. Do you have children? Seriously wondering.

 

[goofy's friends]

I'm sure it can happen and probably has. It's not what all Christian parents would do, however. They would still be my child.
ETA: You can love and still be devastated by choices they make.

 

[Ariel Mae]

Wow! I could not disagree more. Do you have children? Seriously wondering.

No, I don't have children, but I know this is how I would raise them. Leave them open minded, and free to explore the world, explore and find their own sexuality, religion, friends, and career. Granted, I couldn't let them go onto a shooting rampage, there would have to be limits, but for a child to be who they were meant to be, they have to find themselves on their own. I did. I'm here.

 

[Buckalew11]

I would never disown my child or force them to believe in my religious beliefs. Yes, I'd be heartbroken. But I would never, ever turn her loose from my love.

 

[jimmiej]

No, I don't have children, but I know this is how I would raise them. Leave them open minded, and free to explore the world, explore and find their own sexuality, religion, friends, and career. Granted, I couldn't let them go onto a shooting rampage, there would have to be limits, but for a child to be who they were meant to be, they have to find themselves on their own. I did. I'm here.

Ariel Mae, I respect your opinion. Let me tell you reality though. You never know how you'll raise your child until you have one. When you're responsible for a real life, your opinions may change. Just a voice of experience.

 

[goofy's friends]

Ariel Mae, I respect your opinion. Let me tell you reality though. You never know how you'll raise your child until you have one. When you're responsible for a real life, your opinions may change. Just a voice of experience.

I was getting ready to say the same thing.

 

[dannyh23]

I think it's sad that a parent would push their child away over something as tiny as religion, but, alas, it is not up to me how to parent someone else's child. My child is my responsibility (future child), not the neighbor's, nor is their's mine.

I can't agree more.

I think it is very sad too -- it's also really sad that some children are going to be scared into paying lip service to their parents because they don't want to disappoint them, or get scared in to "going to hell!"

In the end, it doesn't matter what any fundamentalist wants to preach. If an all-loving God really exists, and gives us the ability to think, but then damns us to fire and brimstone because we think different than what he thinks we are suppost to think, then God is a "tricky" God. I don't believe in a "tricky" God that's just playing with our minds -- a tricky god that puts scientific evidence, such as the age of the earth, that conflicts with a literal interpretation with the holy bible as it exists today.

 

[dcentity2000]

Children often offer insight into things that adults cannot; they are untarnished by the world and are innocent to it's evils.

This plays both ways.



Rich::