For some reason I don’t understand, the youth group seems to be far more evangelical than the Presbyterian church it’s attached to. I suspect the agenda is set by the more conservative youth group leader and the church lets him schedule whatever he wants. It has created some issues.
Last week I looked up Creationfest and clicked on some of the speakers who "preached". I followed the links to read the blog of this fellow. This post is about his seven year old son, Jeremy.
I am well aware that this kind of thing happens all the time, but I still find this incredibly sad. Certainly, all parents have the basic right to teach their children their beliefs, as I teach my kids my beliefs. The difference is, I don’t indoctrinate them into trying to spread those beliefs to everyone they meet.Jeremy runs back outside, blazes across the grass toward the outside playground. He goes straight into the tiny fort where the other tike was (he looked to be around Jeremy’s age, in the six to seven year old range.)
I waited for a few seconds and then slowly walked outside to overhear what Jeremy was saying to this little guy. He had this kid cornered quoting “the gospel hand” (thumb = “God loves me”…index finger = “I have sinned”…middle = “Christ died for me”…ring = “If I believe”…pinky = “I will go to heaven), a simple “kid way” to share the good news of Jesus.
After Jeremy was finished he said, “It’s easy. Just believe it. Just believe it. Say it with me.”
. . .
I’m proud of my little boy. He sees the need to tell everyone about Jesus and he is trying to do something about it. He is valuing the priority of sharing the good news of Jesus to anyone who will listen. Sure he needs a little finesse (although, in my book, seven year olds have a built in “get-out-of-jail-free card” when it comes to finesse) but the kid has got a whole lot of faith. Combine the two and you are onto something.
This little guy has been turned into a huckster for Jesus. Haranguing any kid he comes across is going to make him unpopular and distance him from other children. Many parents might be uncomfortable letting their kids play with him. It will create socialization issues for the rest of his life. His father has sent him down a rough road, but that’s okay, because he’s trying to “save their souls”. Damn the consequences!
A seven year old can’t understand the implications of what he’s peddling and neither can the kids suddenly confronted with something their own parents might not believe. How would this guy feel if there were Muslims on his street shilling Allah to his kid behind his back? Would he be proud that these Muslim kids were demonstrating their convictions? Or would he be horrified that his seven year old was being used as a pawn in a religious/cultural conflict?
5 comments:
I hope you're having LONG talks with her about this stuff.
It is accounts such as this that make me agree more and more with Richard Dawkins that such indoctrination of children with religion is tantamount to child abuse.
There is a gulf of difference between your own teaching your kids your "philosophical position" and some evangelical Christian doing the same. The difference has nothing at all to do with the evangelical nature of the latter, either. It is inherent in the two world-views themselves.
Atheism is by its very nature a philosophy that encourages questioning. It is not a coincidence that a synonym for Atheism is "freethought". Atheists are encouraged to think for themselves, to question conclusions, and gather facts for themselves in order to come to new conclusions or to evaluate those they have already come to.
The sort of Christianity you cite here, however, is precisely the opposite. Having already found "the Truth", the mind is shut down to any sort of evidence that might contradict it, regardless of how rational or rooted in real-world evidence it may be. Worse still, they find such evidence to be some sort of "test", devised by Satan (or "the World") to give the faithful a chance to choose faith over reason. It's a pernicious doctrine that is inherently harmful to anyone it infects, especially children, be they Christian, Muslim, Jew, or Hindu.
If you don't mind my asking, did Rachel know of your displeasure with her attendance? If so, did you and she talk about it, and its cause, at all?
Good post, Greyhawk.
I haven't spoken to her about this specific trip. She knows that I am not a big fan of religion and that I'm uncomfortable with what they teach in the youth group.
She's a smart kid and doesn't have a particularly superstitious mind. I am working hard to trust her to figure out all this stuff herself. It's not easy, though.
What does your wife think of your efforts? After all, Carol is, by providing her, however well-meaningly, with a religious indoctrination, stacking the deck, as it were.
"Give me a child for the first seven years, and you may do what you like with him afterwards." So the saying goes.
A few years ago we belonged to a Conservative synagogue, which is middle-of-the-road but tending towards liberal. (Now we belong to Reform, which is definitely liberal.) However, the principal of the religious school was Orthodox (old-school non-liberal) and she hired Orthodox teachers. I wasn't too pleased with some of the right-wing stuff they were teaching my kids.....
Post a Comment