I have no specific affiliation, and I don't have faith in the Almighty. Preston's view on the whole situation is "What's it gonna hurt to believe?" Preston doesn't go to church nor does he pray....he doesn't even try to live a Godly life. All of my family believe in God and the Bible....and they attend church events as a family. Christmas is a big time for everyone to get together and do the church thing....which I stopped doing when I was 10 and old enough to make up my own mind about the whole religion thing and how I felt and what I believed. So, should I instill the Bible into Alexis' life? Should I read Bible stories and tell her how to pray and what God is? I'd feel like a big hyppocrite, since it's really not my way of believing. But, I don't want her to not know about God and praying and then when she gets in school and they pray before nap time (In this town, they do....) and she feel left out or be looked at differently by the teachers and students. I don't want to come off as a bad person to her for not teaching her about that kind of thing. Of course, she's going to be raised with morals and manners and know right from wrong....but, is God neccesary in the life of a child growing up? Preston doesn't really have any strong feelings on the subject, so I'm coming here for some sort of answer. I don't know how any of you believe....or what any of you believe. I'm just asking....should I introduce the idea of God into her life? Or any religion? Or wait until she's old enough to make up her own mind and decide whether or not she wants to be religious?
I'm a Christian, and so of course, the introduction of God and Jesus will come very early in Moire's life. However, in yours, if you feel that introducing religion isn't needed until she's older and better understands the concepts, then do what you feel is best for your daughter and your family.
I have a very christian family, also. My Dad is actually a pastor, I've been raised in church my whole life and ended up not really liking the whole thing. I've decided personally that I'm not going to try to inflict any religion onto my children, and I figured my parents would take care of the whole taking them to church, and teaching them about Christianity thing. I'm not going to talk down about religion or anything, but I'm going to be very honest about my opinions with my kids, and whichever religion they choose, if any, will be their choice. I think it is good for kids to at least know a little bit about religion, all of them, just to know about the different ways people live and things like that. I also think church is a positive place to be with good people. Not all of them, though. My Dad's church is a small, not-so-conservative church and I like to take Lily there (Mya hasnt been there yet) to play with the kids. But anyway, to answer your question, I dont think there's anything wrong with teaching her about the Bible and all the stories and stuff like that. It's the whole "do this or you're going to hell" thing that I dont think kids need to hear.
i was baptized as a catholic and when i was about 13 i stopped going to chrch and church classes But i still beleive in god i am not a religious person but i do beleive and that is all i need is to beleive in god and pray to him/her in my own litte way. So if you feel that you should introduce the idea/concept of god into you child's life then do so. I really havent done so with aiden though. I let him watch veggie tales (stories from the bible modernized done with animated veggies) and he absolutely loves it and the show gives good morals and teachings without preaching about god this and god that and bla bla bla. It's fun and entertaining and you learn a bit about god and the bible.
Moonflower... I really know how you feel being here in Kentucky religion is a huge issue everyday I encounter people trying to force their thoughts of god down my neck... I personally have some pretty specific views on my own beliefs but my boyfriend dose not and my family well they are southern Baptist and have always harped on me because im not godly blah blah blah... I grew up in church my mother never really attended but my grandmother made me get up and go and I hated it... Personally I love to learn about religions and other cultures and plan to make my excitement for other people’s way of life a big factor in what my child grows up seeing... I plan to teach her from very early on that everyone is different and has different beliefs and that someday she can chose her own beliefs... I want to make it clear to her that no matter what choice she makes I will support her... I have found children books on all kinds of beliefs and religions that I want to read to her I want her to go to bible school in the summer because it is fun and you get to interact with different people... of course my personal beliefs will shine through at times even though I don’t want to sway her opinion on religion... the number one thing I want her to understand is that respecting other peoples ideals is number one priority when my step dad says grace we will bow our heads out of respect when invited to attend a gathering we will go and discuss different aspects... I don’t think god is necessary in a childs life...
I think that it's important to teach your child your morals, your values, your religious or nonreligious beliefs. We are exposing Dakota to a lot of different beliefs but the only formal celebration that he sees at this point are the celebrations in our belief system. We see no point in teaching him stories about god when we don't believe, worship, or celbrate god in any way. We do not teach him about the bible because to us it's just a book. We go to family holiday celebrations because it's a family thing to do. His Jewish Aunt ,Uncle, and Cousins attend for the same reasons. It's about family. And if your public school ismaking the kids pray before meals or naptime, I'd be raising hell. No one is going to teach my son religious values except me. To teach religion in the school is against the law. Kathi
We are both pretty much agnostics, and believe there is a big difference between God and religion. Religion is a total load of rubbish as far as we are concerned. But we got our boys christened yesterday, just in case. I don't see that there would be any harm whatsoever in teaching your little girl about God and the Bible. Just like you and everyone else here, she will make her own mind up about it all when she gets older anyway.
I believe that it is wrong to put a religion onto a human being who can not think about these types of things. Why not let her decide on her own when the time comes? My parents forced me to go to church and church camp. It was horrible because I wasn't allowed to make my own decisions.
My parents simply raised my brother and I with the morality they thought was best but without religion being a factor. We learnt about other religions in school and such, but were pretty much left to make our own minds up. Am so grateful for that; having those values but still a 'blank slate' to find my own path. Which I do now, and feel such pride & contentment that it is all my own efforts. That said they did baptise us, because it was just the done thing. And I am still pretty pissed about it. If they'd actually meant it well that would have been understandable but they had no intention of taking us to church or anything. Always known I will never be a Christian but was stuck with it. Kept wanting to find a way to 'unbaptise' myself. So yeah that was a waste of holy water.
This has come up for us many times. Neither my wife or I are religious. We both believe in living morally without the threats. However, both sets of Grandparents tell them things constantly. It sometimes is a problem. My older daughter is 6 and we watched some of the evolution shows on Discovery. She was really into it so we watched and discussed. A week later she tells me that the show is wrong and that God created everything, Grandma said so. We just try and tell her that their are many different beliefs out there and that one day She will have to decide what she believes. I tell her that not everything that someone else believes is true but not to insult their beliefs. I know it confuses her some but I can't just let them discount science and rational thinking to her.
what insane said. in my home, we are agnostic, this it what we'll "teach", if you can even call it that. lol. when Christmas rolls around this year, we will explain why the big fuss, but we'll continue to teach and focus on nature and our uncertainty. we'll answer questions that come up as best we can. the older the child gets, the more we will teach about other religons, but we'll keep it basic for quite some time i'd imagine.
They learn from the example they are shown in everyday living, not by the examples they read about in a book, or hear about in church. All children learn from that is to regurgitate the stories/verses, etc. to please the adults. The standards are love and compassion.
KY is probably a lot like NC in religious issues. Halloween is right around the corner and every year some kid tells one of my kids that they are worshipping the devil if they dress in a costume or color a jack o lantern. I pity those kids because you know they want to join in the innocent fun, but their fanatical parents have them regurgitating what their church has them regurgitating. And it's all based on someone's fear. The best teaching, is to teach them to think, not to blindly follow what everyone else is doing. The explanation of bowing their heads to pray at the grandparents, out of respect for their g'parents is a good example. You have provided a good explanation of why to do it.
^^^ I like this. I also think it's important, especially as kids get older, to teach them about different religions, not (or not just) because of faith issues but more as a matter of general knowledge. Like, I'm not Christian, but I'm glad I know the basics of Christianity because it is a big part of popular culture, particularly in regard to things like art history. The same goes for other religions - putting faith aside, it is important to know about a range of religions because of the influence they have on politics, economics, philosophy and yeah, popular culture, like music, art, film, tv. I think it's possible (and vital) to educate your kids about religion(s) purely for their general knowledge. Whatever faith you want to bring in to it is a more personal decision.
Where we live, more parental teaching has to be done to clear up the misconceptions kids hear from other kids and adults alike which are presented as fact. I, for one didnt know that there were people who didnt believe in the "young earth" school of thought amongst christians till I was a young adult. I thought the 2 options were evolution and God created earth no more than a few hundred years before Jesus' birth. That's just the way things are presented here.
I like that. My parents don't pray before meals or anything....I don't think they pray at all. They just have faith and sometimes my mother will go to church. I'm definitely not planning on bringing any religion up for quite some time, I just wanted to know your opinions on the matter for future reference. I wasn't trying to come across as saying God is the only religious figure....just that's the popular one here and I know she'll hear about God eventually. I celebrate Christmas and Halloween, but since she'll be about 3 months for X-mas and 1 month for Halloween, there will be no need to explain the fuss just yet. Thanks for all your replies.
Meh....this is a small town....of the conservative persuassion. I'll just let her know that it is ok if she chooses not to participate in the praying. If someone has something to say about it....they can come to mama.
I always liked this motto TEACH YOUR CHILDREN Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young by Graham Nash You who are on the road Must have a code that you can live by And so become yourself Because the past is just a good bye. Teach your children well, Their father's hell did slowly go by, And feed them on your dreams The one they picks, the one you'll know by. Don't you ever ask them why, if they told you, you will cry, So just look at them and sigh and know they love you. And you, of tender years, Can't know the fears that your elders grew by, And so please help them with your youth, They seek the truth before they can die. Teach your parents well, Their children's hell will slowly go by, And feed them on your dreams The one they picks, the one you'll know by. Don't you ever ask them why, if they told you, you will cry, So just look at them and sigh and know they love you.
I am Pagan, but I do not force any of my beliefs upon them. I will love them no matter which spiritual route they take in life. I am simply teaching them to be loving and peaceful beings, to respect life around them. That's about it. The rest is up to them. I personally don't agree with forcing any religion upon my children. I feel that when they are old enough, they can make that choice for themselves.
