Nov 6th 2015, 7:33:18
Originally posted by cyref:
I consider myself fortunate that I was not indoctrinated into a religious belief by my parents. I don't know what may have happened to me had I been taught at a very early age that I was a sinner from the moment of my birth, and that there is only one way to avoid 'infinite' punishment by some invisible entity with 'infinite' knowledge that loves me so much (infinitely?) that he would torture me forever and ever (again, infinitely) for something a couple of my supposed ancestors did countless generations before my birth.
I'm very appreciative that I don't hold the belief that no matter how badly I treat others in this life, I can p̶l̶a̶y̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶g̶e̶t̶ ̶o̶u̶t̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶j̶a̶i̶l̶ ̶c̶a̶r̶d̶ confess my sins while on my deathbed to a guy wearing funny clothes, accept some zombie myth dude as my savior, and exist happily ever after, infinitely praising the very entity that made us all imperfect in the first place.
Not all religious faiths nor do all religious people belief this. Granted their are lot of christian faiths and people that do, or some that believe parts of it, but not all. I am sure you know this and are just summarizing, but just in case. I personally always did find it odd about your last bit though. Anyway moving on to what I really wanted to post about...
Originally posted by crest23:
All that mess is still presumed by many to be the ultimate truth and that's precisely what I want my children to be shielded from until they are able to examine the evidence with a maturing mind. Very young minds are extremely open to the opinions of important adults in their lives. They trust. They have no reason to suspect what they are being told by caring smiling loving adults may not be true. It's accepted as - get ready for it - the 'gospel truth'.
Now don't get me wrong. There's a lot of treasured literature from history that have good ideas within but also contain passages I would not want my children to read until they are emotionally and psychologically mature enough to process the 'big picture' and yes, wade through the BS.
But very few of them claim to be the unerring word of the creator of the universe and threaten infinite torture to any reader that does not embrace its precepts. That claim sets a very high standard, and IMO it is a standard that the bible 'infinitely' fails to meet.
Now don't get me wrong. There's a lot of treasured literature from history that have good ideas within but also contain passages I would not want my children to read until they are emotionally and psychologically mature enough to process the 'big picture' and yes, wade through the BS.
But very few of them claim to be the unerring word of the creator of the universe and threaten infinite torture to any reader that does not embrace its precepts. That claim sets a very high standard, and IMO it is a standard that the bible 'infinitely' fails to meet.
I understand this to a point and in principle. However, that just seems flawed. Total shielding or sheltering is never good idea imho. To me it is better to let them experience life as long as you are there to explain things appropriately and make sure no absolute harm comes to them. Yes they are more open and more trusting, which is why it is important for the parents to be there and to explain things.
The bigger issue I have is that you are referring more to human professions and warped ideas / interpretations more so than the actual literature. Which yes I would agree with you fully that some of those things that human have added and preach. However, the actual literature itself, is not any worse than a lot of children's stories. In fact some child stories, even some watered down ones made into movies, are rather twisted and dark. That is IF the kid actually reads it, most dont, instead of just listening to some organizations beliefs and theories about it. I was one of the rare birds who actually did read it in my youth, among tons of other books.
I left your last bit in quotes for a reason. Yes, you are correct and do have a point. No, it isnt the same as a children's story. And yet.... it kinda is. It is for the most part a collection of stories with a moral behind it. Not that much different to most other child stories. True they dont profess to be the creator of the universe, but it isnt as different as you think. Now IF a kid actually reads it, most will prolly see it in a similar light, it is a story and although it is claimed to be unerring ultimate factual story by an inferior god, most kids will still treat it in same manner as another story. They know its not real or will know it is supposedly real, but it is not physically real to them nor same thing as something they experience first hand. So yes and no, I agree with you.