.

[Codewiz]

Just for secular people. Here is a great parenting book on this type of subject.

http://www.amazon.com/Parentin...&qid=1217936164&sr=8-1

 

[Codewiz]

Originally posted by: IGBT
..secular progressives want to dismiss all notions of morality, act on animal instinct and do it in the road. good luck with the kid.

You have no f'ing clue what you are talking about...

Humanists just don't believe God is the source of morals.

Just to give you an example.

Say two people get married. They take make a commitment to each other and if religious to God.

If there was no commandment against adultery, are you saying all the married Christians would immediately go out and cheat on their spouses? Of course not. People don't stay faithful because of some silly commandment. They stay faithful because they love and care for their spouse. It has nothing to do with stupid commandments. If it does, I feel sorry for your spouse.

 

[sao123]

Originally posted by: Fenixgoon

Originally posted by: Dumac

Originally posted by: sao123
denominations are not different religions. There are minor differences between them, but nothing which would invalidate one against another. They all believe the same thing.

Wrong; try again.

yeah, some denominations of christianity have very different beliefs, especially when it comes to literal vs liberal interpretation of the bible.

Assuming both denominations believe in the death & ressurrection of Christ and acceept him as the eternal savior, a simple disagreement on the literalism of creation is not going to send one to heaven and the other to hell.

If one of those churches does not believe in the death and ressurrection of Christ, then it can hardly be called a church of the christian faith. And therefore is not a denomination of the same religion.

Even the difference between the catholic and protestant (possibly the widest denominational gap) is not enough for one group to condemn the other, indeed they are all brothers in christ.

 

[funkymatt]

my son goes to a catholic preschool and he now prays before every meal with the family. I don't mind as much because we turn it into more of a giving thanks that most people only do on thanksgiving.

he hasn't started relaying the stories he's told at school yet though.

 

[brandonb]

Originally posted by: Stiganator
My daughter lives with her mother for the most part. She became a born again Christian sort of person. I've noticed my daughter saying things that worry me. i.e. " I get so angry at those kings that worship idols. etc etc"

She is only 4 so it is difficult to explain the complexities of religion to her. I have told her that there are many different religions with many different gods i.e. Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus, etc. I'll ask her why she says some of the things she says and she says because it is the bible. I told her that some people believe everything in the bible and other people think it tells us stories that teach us how to be nice to each other.

How do you handle a situation like this? How do I prevent brainwashing and keep her mind open?

Sounds like you are the one with a close mind who wants to poison your child with intolerance. In fact, you are the one who wants to brainwash her.

She is 4, you can't bring anything to her logically, or debate with her, and in the end... Who really cares? When she gets older she'll make a decision one way or another.

 

[Bryophyte]

Originally posted by: child of wonder
My parents try to convert my 5 and 4 year old when they watch them. It really pisses me off having my 5 year old son tell me that there is a man in the sky called God and we have to thank him before we eat and that if I say differently I'M wrong.

You might need to restrict unsupervised time your kids have with your parents until they are ready to respect your rights as parents to choose how your children are raised.

I had to put my foot down with my MIL and BIL when my firstborn was tiny regarding pushing their religious beliefs on my kids. When my brother-in-law told me that "you're going to hell, you shouldn't take your kids there with you" he was told that he was welcome to find someone to have kids with so he could raise his own children as he saw fit, but that he was NOT welcome to interfere with the rearing of MY children. :| We had no problems with them regarding that subject after that. He and his mother saw that we are raising intelligent children with good morals and manners, who are expected to be respectful of their grandparents, and realized that we weren't intending to teach them to be immoral monsters.

 

[fishjie]

Originally posted by: IGBT
..secular progressives want to dismiss all notions of morality, act on animal instinct and do it in the road. good luck with the kid.

try reading the bible sometime and tell me its a good source of morals with a straight face

commit any genocide lately?

 

[RKS]

My wife is Catholic and I am Hindu (by default) and our kids are scared.

My 4, almost 5 YO, was crying the other day because someone told him about reincarnation. He was worried that if he died and came back as himself, he may not be with us as his mom and dad.

The kids have been to church as well as the temple many times, they will probably be attending parocial schools but won't be forced to choose any religion more so than what the schools may demand.

 

[AntiFreze]

sit down and watch zeitgiest with your child....

http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com/

 

[jonks]

Originally posted by: Bryophyte
he was NOT welcome to interfere with the rearing of MY children. :|

yeah! rear your own children!

/KnockedUp

Originally posted by: fishjie

Originally posted by: Modelworks
You have never been involved in research then. It requires a great amount of faith and belief. Especially theoretical physics.

uh no it doesn't. faith is basically believing what you are told, never questioning that, and clinging on to that set doctrine of beliefs dogmatically and unthinkingly. that is not the scientific method. instead, science always seeks to verify its theories. when some result challenges a theory, then that theory is MODIFIED.

here is a simple pic to demonstrate the difference:

http://www.acorscadden.com/wp-.../science_vs_faith.jpg

Superb.

 

[mattpegher]

OP, the best you can do is to teach her to question as much as possible, even her own beliefs. An open mind is the only defense against indoctrination of any form.

We are bombarded throughout our lives with people who blindly believe and push some agenda. You will see it in the media, religion and, I'm afraid to say, even science. You simply cannot take anything anyone says as irrefutable fact. If you can teach her to tell the difference between those who have a logical argument backed by supporting data and those with simple rhetoric then she can decide what, not who, to believe.

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

Originally posted by: fishjie

Originally posted by: IGBT
..secular progressives want to dismiss all notions of morality, act on animal instinct and do it in the road. good luck with the kid.

try reading the bible sometime and tell me its a good source of morals with a straight face

commit any genocide lately?

I would no sooner point out your astounding ignorance than I would try to argue the strategies of an imaginary impending alien invasion with a drunken homeless man. I won't point out that far more knowledgeable atheists have put the time into learning about the Bible so they can speak intelligently about it and that only people with a fifth grade education and no curiosity settle on the occurences of the old testament. I will, however, strongly urge you to study more about the Bible so you don't make yourself look like an idiot infront of your peers once you graduate high school.

 

[DangerAardvark]

Originally posted by: brandonb

Originally posted by: Stiganator
My daughter lives with her mother for the most part. She became a born again Christian sort of person. I've noticed my daughter saying things that worry me. i.e. " I get so angry at those kings that worship idols. etc etc"

She is only 4 so it is difficult to explain the complexities of religion to her. I have told her that there are many different religions with many different gods i.e. Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus, etc. I'll ask her why she says some of the things she says and she says because it is the bible. I told her that some people believe everything in the bible and other people think it tells us stories that teach us how to be nice to each other.

How do you handle a situation like this? How do I prevent brainwashing and keep her mind open?

Sounds like you are the one with a close mind who wants to poison your child with intolerance. In fact, you are the one who wants to brainwash her.

She is 4, you can't bring anything to her logically, or debate with her, and in the end... Who really cares? When she gets older she'll make a decision one way or another.

Why are the so-called moderate Christians so in favor of indoctrination? I'm an Atheist, but I would never recommend raising a child as or telling him/her that he is an Atheist. The best you can do is to educate them about world religions without trying to impress metaphysical beliefs on them that they aren't yet in a position to evaluate. And if someone IS doing that, then that's a concern. But, because it is Christian beliefs that are being imparted, Christians come out of the woodwork to defend it. Some even go so far as to call free thought "brainwashing".

On the other hand though, it IS a parent's job to pass on moral lessons to their children and some people are genuinely unable to untangle these lessons from dogmatic nonsense. So in a sense the mother would be shirking her responsibilities if she didn't attempt to pass on her beliefs. Your best tools are education and encouraging inquisitiveness and critical thinking.

 

[Modelworks]

Originally posted by: fishjie

Originally posted by: Modelworks
You have never been involved in research then. It requires a great amount of faith and belief. Especially theoretical physics.

uh no it doesn't. faith is basically believing what you are told, never questioning that, and clinging on to that set doctrine of beliefs dogmatically and unthinkingly. that is not the scientific method. instead, science always seeks to verify its theories. when some result challenges a theory, then that theory is MODIFIED.

here is a simple pic to demonstrate the difference:

http://www.acorscadden.com/wp-.../science_vs_faith.jpg

You are talking about blind faith, which I do not believe in.
Spend some time actually doing research. Sometimes you get an idea that you can't verify with science right at that moment. Its just an idea based on what you already know . You have to believe in that idea and have faith in it to keep doing the research until something proves otherwise. If all we did was say "Well I can't prove it based on science so I must be wrong", then the majority of discoveries would never happen.

It is not about faith in a being, but in an idea. If you can't look beyond the current science your going to make a very poor scientist.

 

[DangerAardvark]

Originally posted by: Modelworks

Originally posted by: fishjie

Originally posted by: Modelworks
You have never been involved in research then. It requires a great amount of faith and belief. Especially theoretical physics.

uh no it doesn't. faith is basically believing what you are told, never questioning that, and clinging on to that set doctrine of beliefs dogmatically and unthinkingly. that is not the scientific method. instead, science always seeks to verify its theories. when some result challenges a theory, then that theory is MODIFIED.

here is a simple pic to demonstrate the difference:

http://www.acorscadden.com/wp-.../science_vs_faith.jpg

You are talking about blind faith, which I do not believe in.
Spend some time actually doing research. Sometimes you get an idea that you can't verify with science right at that moment. Its just an idea based on what you already know. You have to believe in that idea and have faith in it to keep doing the research until something proves otherwise. If all we did was say "Well I can't prove it based on science so I must be wrong", then the majority of discoveries would never happen.

It is not about faith in a being, but in an idea. If you can't look beyond the current science your going to make a very poor scientist.

If that's your definition of faith then what DOESN'T fall into that category? You've just described every idea or hypothesis ever. This whole argument is one over imprecise terminology. Either that or you're purposely drawing no distinction between religious faith and scientific hypotheses in an effort to conflate the two.

 

[Buck Armstrong]

OP, you must approach this calmly, reasonably, and rationally.



Just tell the kid her mommie is going to Hell for accepting a good brainwashing without ever having actually read the Bible.