Don’t teach, it won’t work. Lead by example.
I’m sorry. I am about to sound judgmental and I am truly NOT. Your relationship with God is not my business…it is your business, and no one else’s. Particularly not mine. I’m so far from perfect that all I can do is bless God that He provided the means for me to be forgiven…not sinless, just forgiven. Christ paid the price. I had nothing to do with it, except to accept the gift of salvation. And I have.
If you want to raise your child in the faith, you cannot do it easily unless you are there as well. The Bible is not a “fun” book. It is not an “everyone has a happy ending” book. Everyone does NOT have a “happy ending” in the Bible. You cannot just send your child to church and expect them to realize this faith. Being a Christian is not an easy thing, all you have to do is read this board and you’ll realize that. And it is not necessarily something you can send your child to church to learn. Although, I have to say that I have seen numerous children come to Christ when their parents had no interest in God. Mostly it was because a neighbor, or a friend, or a loved one took the kids to church…and the kids gained a realization of God.
Besides, why would you WANT to? I mean, why would you want your child to gain something you are not interested in yourself?
You will have to go there with him. Well, no…won’t HAVE to. I just think you SHOULD.
The thing is, you either believe that the Bible is the Word of God, or you don’t. If you do, then you need to find a church where YOU feel comfortable with their interpretation of the Scripture for the most part…or (as is my case in the church I was raised in, and which I still attend) you need to evaluate whether the Pastor’s interpretation of the Scripture makes sense to you FOR THE MOST PART…and that the church body itself fulfills the Scripture. Even if there are things you aren’t in agreement with, and let’s face it…there will never EVER be a church where you will be in agreement with EVERYTHING the pastor says/does…they are things that you do not have vehement disagreement with. That they do not contradict the Scriptures, the words of Christ.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t send your son if you can’t bring yourself to go. I’m just saying I don’t understand why you’d WANT to if you don’t believe. If you don’t, send him anyway. God loves him, and God loves you.
I’ll be praying for your family.
When the lad gets older, a Bible story book I recommend is Walter Wagnerin’s
THE BOOK OF GOD FOR CHILDREN - and of course, C.S. Lewis’s THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA.
I second the recommendations that you think through for yourself your relationships with God, Church & the Bible, and go from there. Honestly, I do think some group worship & fellowship is necessary for a full Christian life.
I’m sorry. I need to say this: please don’t do this to your kids.
Teach them about ethics, honor, integrity and self-discipline. There is absolutely no need whatsoever to expose them to religion in any way. When they get older and start asking questions, you can then point out how religion does not hold with any of those life skills; they will be old enough to understand at that time.
For all those saying “don’t raise him with any religious instruction, raise him as a good person” - that’s not his question. He wants to raise his child as a Christian, as he is. That’s not wrong. It’s not wrong to raise your child with your values. It’s wrong to shut them out if they choose another path as an adult, but not to teach them what you believe.
StG
I’d say that a lot of children’s picture books and novels, those with good interesting stories and strong morals about helping others, offer far more insight to Christianity than the gorier tales in the Old Testament. They’re also far easier for a child to connect to.
I’m not necessarily talking about specifically Christian pedagogical tools, Bible stories etc. I’m not even talking about stories with specifically Christian undertones, like CS Lewis. Just read them an interesting kids’ book where the protagonist faces a choice between good and evil, where good values are rewarded and bad ones punished. They’ll get the message.
Well said.
Sorry, I am just getting back to the thread. Thanks for all the discussion. Most of it was very helpful.
What I guess I failed to convey is that I am very comfortable with my personal faith. It comes from many years of restless nights, deep thinking, and personal decision making. Basically, I decided that I believe in the core tenets of Christianity and have committed to them. The rest, I decided, was just man’s presence corrupting a beautiful thing (we’re known for doing that).
The problem is, nuanced positions like that are not easy to explain to a three year old and are the type of life decisions best decided by the person.
But I would not have come to this decision if I had not had the basis of a Christian upbringing. That is what I am trying to give to my son because I WANT him to come to the same conclusion as me, without forcing him to do it. However he turns out, that is his decision. This is true of many things. But it is not uncommon for a parent to want to start a child off in a certain direction. That is kind of where I am at with this.
Side note: I expected a little “don’t raise him Christian” discussion. When I saw Diogenes had entered the thread, I thought to myself, “here it comes!” I am a GD lurker and I recalled that Diogenes was an atheist and at times seems…how to put it…to enjoy a great debate. No wallflower is Diogenes the Cynic.
But I thought his post was incredibly helpful and kind. I already appreciated his logic, but I now admire him personally as a father and husband. His situation is tougher than mine as he is teaching something he feels is entirely folklore just because it is important to someone else. His suggestions, as well as others in this thread, have been very enlightening.
Thanks.
It’s true, The children must have knowledge about Jesus and Bible, it’s help to increase our human morale. But the children not interested at all to read any mythology. Now it’s not a big deal, online Bible stories and about Jesus characters are available with animation. Which are very liked by children, they enjoyed to watch and read animated stories.
- Welcome to SDMB
- You are responding to a thread that is 8 years old and the child involved is probably 13 or so now.