Kids and Religion

[Hyper]

Well, I'd prefer not making an essay-length post like I did at another forum I was on, but I only have a problem with how ignorant many "minister's children" are becoming.
*might revise on comp*

I'm wondering if any of you watched the Nova special on teaching "intelligent design" as a purely scientifc topic in a Dover, Pennsylvania Biology class.

I highly recommend using Veoh, YouTube, Limewire, anything to watch it.

I feel sick and slightly (very) mad when I think about it, so I'll let you guys find out more.

[Hessah]

hmmm in short i believe..

Exposure = good

Forced = very bad...

[NotMyWay]

Well I am a Christian and I do not believe in evolution, and I dont believe there is anything wrong with sharing my opinions. However, I still think that it is wrong to force them on other people. I also do not believe that anyone will go to hell just for listening to the theory of evolution. While I dont believe that its wrong to expose children to religion at a young age, they shouldnt be forced. They should believe out of their own free will.

I think your father should try and understand that while there is nothing wrong with expressing his views, there is a proper way to do it. Rather then saying "evolution is wrong and all who believe are stupid", try "I believe that evolution is wrong...". and do not insult other people, and tolerate them.

Also, perhaps u might want to explain to your father that the way he says it, the child might grow up one day and look back at that point in his life, and forever have a bad impression of Christians.

Another thing to note (is this turning into an essay?), is that Christians are not required to force people to become Christians. We are only commanded to share the story, and what I believe is that only God can convince the person.

[AnimosityAlone]

There will always be debate. Religious parents argue they are teaching their children to live moral lives, non-religious parents argue that children should choose on their own. I know parents on both sides of the issue, and I don't think I can judge which is right or wrong. I won't force religion on my children, though.

On a related note:

YouTube - Crazy Racist Family on The Tyra Banks...

[A_Forever]

(O_O)

[Mordecai]

I wouldn't force my children to practice the same religion as me. Of course, when they're young, I would include them in the religious ceremonies I participate in, but I would also expose them to other religions so that when they're older they can choose what to believe in, if to believe in anything at all. I don't think it's fair to teach a child to follow a certain way of living if he or she doesn't understand the full meaning of it. As adults, they would not know anything about their religion apart from that it's the "best" one there is, and therefore they would teach their kids about their religion and denounce all others, and the kids would follow the same pattern, and even if they wanted to get out of it they wouldn't be able to.

[Yamazaki]

Greetings,
I want to have a say in this if you all dont mind,I want to ask one question and if you can answer this then you mybe in the right path..

Q.Why are we created?

yes, simple yes..but do u actually know the answer? well in my opinion I think learning relegion is the most important thing, sepcialy in an early age to strengthen your beliefs, like when you learn what right and whats wrong, if you think its worng to learn it at an early age, what do you say if your parents didnt teach you how to read and write untill you are above 12?

its simple, relegion is what makes us humans move, live and believe,you try to figure it out, lolzzz.

[NotMyWay]

If u really are interested, I believe that humans were created because God wanted to have a relationship with us. I also believe that we are given free will because God doesnt want to force us.

[Pedobear]

parents (well, good parents) want what's best for their children. simple as that. Now, according to most religions, its sort of a "join or suffer the consequences" thing. so these people honestly believe in their heart of hearts that exposing their children and teaching their children the ways of their given religion is what's best for them. How can you honestly argue with that?

you guys say "blah blah, give the kids a choice, you cant force them" but they are kids, they don't always comprehend the "big picture". if a child doesn't want to eat his vegetable, does the parent just think oh well thats fine, dont eat your veggies? no, usually, there is some sort of coersion to make the child eat. This is the same idea applied to a much bigger issue. If the child doesn't want to go to church and save his or her soul from eternal damnation, can you expect the parents to just sit idly by?

i might not agree with it, and you might not agree with it. But they aren't our kids, so it really doesn't matter. These parents are doing what's right by the kid in their eyes, and that's all you can ask a parent to do.

[Yosei]

I still think my dad is sending them the wrong message. If I were religious and and exposed my kids to my religion, I certainly wouldn't say "Don't listen to buddhists/atheists/pagans/wiccans/islamics/jews/etc, their religion is wrong and stupid, and everything that they believe in is wrong".