assuming you don't want to brainwash, what is the proper age to introduce religion

[rdean]

You have to get them as young as possible. Once they get a little older and you try to pass off fables like "Samson" and "Jonah" and "Moses" and "Noah" and "turned his wife into a pillar of salt" as true historical events, they won't believe you. Not only that, they might even question your sanity.

You also might want to skip teaching them about "Santa" and "The Easter Bunny". They won't understand why some children's characters are true, like angels and sprites and holy ghosts, but others aren't. Wait a second, are "sprites" in the religious lexicon?

 

[Care4all]

leave the kid alone..he can choose when he gets older...why push anything on him?

What if the parents go to Church or Mass every Sunday, do they just leave their children at home with a baby sitter every Sunday?

I would venture to say that it is IMPOSSIBLE to not introduce religion of any sort, to ones own children, if the couple is religious themselves.

Besides the fact that it is NOBODY'S BUSINESS to dictate how parents raise their children regarding Faith....not to mention it would be unconstitutional....

But I suppose the op is a philosophical question, not one that is truly feasible...at least in the USA.

 

[American Horse]

You have to get them as young as possible. Once they get a little older and you try to pass off fables like "Samson" and "Jonah" and "Moses" and "Noah" and "turned his wife into a pillar of salt" as true historical events, they won't believe you. Not only that, they might even question your sanity.

I was taught all of those in Sunday school (an hour a week) , and also in vacation bible school in the summer (2-hours two times a week for 4-weeks). I saw the fallacy in those propositions, as did the others in my cohort. But the story of Samson did leave a positive impression on me which had nothing to do with cutting his hair.

You really do under rate the ability of children to see these as fables. I guess you see yourself as immune but everyone else (and we know who they are) as being totally susceptible.

But on the other hand how capable is a young child to see the distortions they are being taught when they are immersed emotionally and informationally as I described in my post #19 above? Quite a contrast really. It really is hard for one who is a True Believer to not be blinded by their own ideological filter, and I'm not referring to the TB of religion, which has enough incredible scenarios in it that even kids of ordinary intelligence can discount them.

 

[midcan5]

leave the kid alone..he can choose when he gets older...why push anything on him?

I agree, allow the child an opportunity and the freedom to fit into whatever religious and social situation you now exist in. Our boys were raised as we were and eventually they came to their own conclusions about religion and how it fit or didn't fit. There is enough complexity to growing up in modern society why complicate it.

 

[mudwhistle]

Morality doesn't only come from religion, chanel. That's another common fallacy.

Oh contraire.....the Bible is a lesson in morality.

That is no fallacy.

Obeying it's teachings can prevent alot of things including drug-abuse, unwanted pregnancy, disease, depression, suicide, etc,.

 

[Gadawg73]

How about the folks that lived in remote areas for thousands of years and had never been exposed to anyone other than their own tribe?
Do they go to heaven? How can they accept Jesus if they had never heard of them?
Doesn't seem fair.

 

[RetiredGySgt]

How about the folks that lived in remote areas for thousands of years and had never been exposed to anyone other than their own tribe?
Do they go to heaven? How can they accept Jesus if they had never heard of them?
Doesn't seem fair.

That is why they will be given an opportunity to learn about Jesus and God after the Judging. These people will be given an opportunity to learn and either accept God or they will be permanently dead.

Go ahead, find in the Bible where it says they will not be given the chance to learn.

 

[blu]

I think that people should wait until they have the full ability to read and comprehend.
If you took a grown man, who had never heard anything about any religion , and let him read the bible, he would immediately declare it as a poorly written horror story.

That is why missionaries have been converting non Christians to Christianity for centuries right?

stories of 'do this or burn in hell' are strong. so is 'convert or die'. you also have the aspect that many people converted were poor as shit and the idea that they pray and follow some laws will get them an eternity of awesome is quite appealing. there is more to it that as well but those cover the main reasons why missionaries were so succesful

 

[blu]

leave the kid alone..he can choose when he gets older...why push anything on him?

What if the parents go to Church or Mass every Sunday, do they just leave their children at home with a baby sitter every Sunday?

I would venture to say that it is IMPOSSIBLE to not introduce religion of any sort, to ones own children, if the couple is religious themselves.

Besides the fact that it is NOBODY'S BUSINESS to dictate how parents raise their children regarding Faith....not to mention it would be unconstitutional....

But I suppose the op is a philosophical question, not one that is truly feasible...at least in the USA.

yea not usa specific and the government has nothing to do with it. it is hard if the parent's aren't religious, we kind of experience that b/c the rest of my family is somewhat religious (not fundie or anything) so he does hear about stuff when around them.

 

[blu]

Morality doesn't only come from religion, chanel. That's another common fallacy.

Oh contraire.....the Bible is a lesson in morality.

That is no fallacy.

Obeying it's teachings can prevent alot of things including drug-abuse, unwanted pregnancy, disease, depression, suicide, etc,.

yea even if you don't believe the bible as a religious text, following its rules can make ones life much easier. imagine how much less stress and issue there would be in the country if people only followed the no sex before marriage (or a strong commitment/relationship if you dont believe in marriage) rule. you would have much fewer stds, much less unwanted pregnancies, less stress worrying about 'when will the period' start, etc. also imagine if people followed the bible's guidance on alcohol - that being you can enjoy alcohol as long as you don't get drunk.

about what book do you use, for kids you don't really need a book, you should be able to articulate it. you also want the kid to be able to come up with why something is bad on his/her own without reguritatiing smoe specific commandment or law. what we do is when my stepson (hes now 8) does something wrong, he gets punished but he also has to write on why that act was wrong and we don't accept the sentences unless they show some real thought on the topic, not just 'because its bad' or 'because I get punished'. I think people who only don't do things because a book said are on weak ground, while people who have truly thought on why things are wrong/how they affect themselves and others are the ones who even in bad/chaotic situations will stand true to their principles.

 

[blu]

How about the folks that lived in remote areas for thousands of years and had never been exposed to anyone other than their own tribe?
Do they go to heaven? How can they accept Jesus if they had never heard of them?
Doesn't seem fair.

isn't this what the holy spirit is for??

 

[strollingbones]

leave the kid alone..he can choose when he gets older...why push anything on him?

What if the parents go to Church or Mass every Sunday, do they just leave their children at home with a baby sitter every Sunday?

I would venture to say that it is IMPOSSIBLE to not introduce religion of any sort, to ones own children, if the couple is religious themselves.

Besides the fact that it is NOBODY'S BUSINESS to dictate how parents raise their children regarding Faith....not to mention it would be unconstitutional....

But I suppose the op is a philosophical question, not one that is truly feasible...at least in the USA.

well care yo u have a good point....if parents attend a church then the kidlet goes along...i see no problem in that....i do see a problem of sending the kid to church if you are not going....

i still dont think you should tell a kid this is the only way blah blah blah....

i went thru several beliefs before i came to mine...has nothing to do with churches etc...
but i am glad i tasted several before deciding...

 

[Care4all]

leave the kid alone..he can choose when he gets older...why push anything on him?

What if the parents go to Church or Mass every Sunday, do they just leave their children at home with a baby sitter every Sunday?

I would venture to say that it is IMPOSSIBLE to not introduce religion of any sort, to ones own children, if the couple is religious themselves.

Besides the fact that it is NOBODY'S BUSINESS to dictate how parents raise their children regarding Faith....not to mention it would be unconstitutional....

But I suppose the op is a philosophical question, not one that is truly feasible...at least in the USA.

well care yo u have a good point....if parents attend a church then the kidlet goes along...i see no problem in that....i do see a problem of sending the kid to church if you are not going....

i still dont think you should tell a kid this is the only way blah blah blah....

i went thru several beliefs before i came to mine...has nothing to do with churches etc...
but i am glad i tasted several before deciding...

I was never told by my parents this is the only way.... (though i think i presumed it) but mom and dad never told the sis and me such....I had a mixed parent situation though, mom raised Catholic, my dad a Protestant... dad's dad was methodist, and dad's mother was Southern Baptist....he got rearing in both.

And was never sent to Church without my parents....

When I reached 18, I chose for myself....it was decades of a journey for me....before i settled to where i am at now as well....

 

[Gadawg73]

How about the folks that lived in remote areas for thousands of years and had never been exposed to anyone other than their own tribe?
Do they go to heaven? How can they accept Jesus if they had never heard of them?
Doesn't seem fair.

That is why they will be given an opportunity to learn about Jesus and God after the Judging. These people will be given an opportunity to learn and either accept God or they will be permanently dead.

Go ahead, find in the Bible where it says they will not be given the chance to learn.

Plato talked about a judging after death.
So Jews and all other religions are going to hell?
Does not seem fair.

 

[PubliusInfinitum]

'age' might not be the appropriate measure, it has more to do with maturity, but in the interest of raising a non-sheeple kid, when should religion/god be introduced? personally, we are aiming somewhere in between 11-13 for my stepson and when that time comes doing a thorough review of all major religions/ideas throughout the world, as well as the idea of being agnostic and atheist. what have other people done?

Yeah.. cause a 11 year old is a fountain of maturity...

Birth is usually about the right time... At least that's the time that most people begin to introduce the kids to who they are and what they believe.

And I think it's a GREAT idea to teach your kid that everything that's out there is basically the same... pick the one that you're the most comfortable with...

Just one word of warning; prepare yourself for anarchy... and the best of luck with that.

 

[Cecilie1200]

And people keep wondering why we manage to raise generations of gormless little weirdos with no direction and no moral compass who, at best, can't find the gumption and drive to get and hold a decent job and move out of Mom's basement, and at worst, are downright dangerous. Look no further than the odd notion that it's somehow equivalent to The Manchurian Candidate for parents to actually teach their children anything they themselves believe and that they should simply turn the little lumps of humanity out with no guidance to somehow recreate the moral learning of human history all on their own.

 

[Cecilie1200]

'age' might not be the appropriate measure, it has more to do with maturity, but in the interest of raising a non-sheeple kid, when should religion/god be introduced? personally, we are aiming somewhere in between 11-13 for my stepson and when that time comes doing a thorough review of all major religions/ideas throughout the world, as well as the idea of being agnostic and atheist. what have other people done?

Usually when you raise a child you raise them learning about the church then you allow them to go into deeper studies on their own when they get older.

The point is to introduce it throughout their lives and allow them to choose whether or not they want to continue.

You try to set good examples for them. Maybe they might want to have the same kind of life you do when they get older.

At the least that is the way Christianity is intended.

Unless one's children are brain-damaged, they WILL hit a point in life where they question everything their parents taught them, and accept or reject each teaching on its own merit. And if one has stood firmly and told them, "This is what I believe, and this is why I believe it", and actually LIVED one's beliefs, then whether or not the children eventually agree with it, they will have had an example given them for how to live and practice their own beliefs.

 

[eots]

'age' might not be the appropriate measure, it has more to do with maturity, but in the interest of raising a non-sheeple kid, when should religion/god be introduced? personally, we are aiming somewhere in between 11-13 for my stepson and when that time comes doing a thorough review of all major religions/ideas throughout the world, as well as the idea of being agnostic and atheist. what have other people done?

well we certainly should not introduce spiritual beliefs until the sodomites have had a chance to indoctrinate them




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[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKQXd0MpZA8&feature=related]YouTube - Homosexuals Brainwashing Public School Children Part 2[/ame]


[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuLDpNOVZdY]YouTube - Gay sex lessons for 4 year olds![/ame]

 

[blu]

'age' might not be the appropriate measure, it has more to do with maturity, but in the interest of raising a non-sheeple kid, when should religion/god be introduced? personally, we are aiming somewhere in between 11-13 for my stepson and when that time comes doing a thorough review of all major religions/ideas throughout the world, as well as the idea of being agnostic and atheist. what have other people done?

Yeah.. cause a 11 year old is a fountain of maturity...

Birth is usually about the right time... At least that's the time that most people begin to introduce the kids to who they are and what they believe.

And I think it's a GREAT idea to teach your kid that everything that's out there is basically the same... pick the one that you're the most comfortable with...

Just one word of warning; prepare yourself for anarchy... and the best of luck with that.

everything out there isn't the same, but I don't mind teaching the differences between tehm and what they are about.

adn do you really think lack of organized religion leads to anarchy?? you realize people can live moral lives without religion being involved right?

 

[Truthmatters]

'age' might not be the appropriate measure, it has more to do with maturity, but in the interest of raising a non-sheeple kid, when should religion/god be introduced? personally, we are aiming somewhere in between 11-13 for my stepson and when that time comes doing a thorough review of all major religions/ideas throughout the world, as well as the idea of being agnostic and atheist. what have other people done?

When they ask about it