Rev. David Holwick ZJ Modern Controversies #2
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
October 21, 2012
Proverbs 2:1-9
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I. "I was forced to go to church."
A. A simple Google search.
1) Exact phrase, "I was forced to go to church," = 770,000 hits.
2) Omitting the quotation marks produced 96,300,000 hits.
a) Apparently a lot of people feel attending church was
not an option when they were young - it was a
COMMAND.
b) Is it a good command, or a bad one?
B. A growing number of people think it is bad.
Atheist Richard Dawkins writes in his book "The God Delusion":
"Do not indoctrinate your children.
Teach them how to think for themselves, how to evaluate
evidence, and how to disagree with you."
#63880
1) This is actually his milder statement.
In his television series called "Root of All Evil?" Dawkins
calls religion a "virus" and faith-based education
"child abuse."
2) Elsewhere he refers to an American woman in her mid-forties
who was brought up Catholic.
She has two strong recollections from when she was seven.
She was molested by her parish priest in his car.
And around the same time she was told a little schoolfriend
of hers, who had tragically died, went to hell because
she was a Protestant.
[Remember that Baptists take a similar approach.]
Her view now is that, of these two examples of child abuse,
the one physical and the other mental, the second was by
far the worst.
She wrote Dawkins:
"I never lost sleep because of the priest - but I spent
many a night being terrified that the people I loved
would go to Hell.
It gave me nightmares."
#63880
3) Should Christians teach their faith to their kids?
II. A religious upbringing is good for your child.
A. Science supports this.
In one of the largest studies of its kind, the University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill examined the role of
religion in the lives of nearly 2,500 adolescents.
The youth indicated the level of their indoctrination
(things like how often they attended church) and how
important they considered religion in their lives.
They were also asked about other activities they had, or
had not, participated in.
The study found that religiously indoctrinated youth are
much less involved with illegal substances, alcohol abuse,
and criminal and violent activities.
They also have fewer problems in school.
On the positive side, religiously-brought up kids volunteer
more to help in their community and exercise more.
They are also happier.
As the study put it, "Spirituality accounted for between
3 and 26% of the unique variance in children's happiness
depending on the measures."
And contrary to Mr. Dawkins' claims, children who have been
sexually abused are far worse off than those who have
been raised in a religious home.
Their risk of suicide is significantly higher that those
who have not been abused. #63880
B. Faith should not be left to chance.
1) An atheist website had a letter from a religious woman
whose husband was a non-believer.
She took their children to church even though her husband
opposed this.
It was causing some tension in the marriage.
The atheist told her she should take a middle path.
The children should not be brought up as atheists.
Neither should they be brought up as Christians.
Instead, his advice was to let the kids decide on their
own.
Presumably, this would mean bringing up the kids with no
religion but not attacking it either. [1]
2) I have met families like this.
a) The children are often clueless about even basic
religious beliefs.
b) I think such a vacuum is dangerous.
1> Why not let your kids decide their own morality and
ethics without your input, also?
A> They could certainly come up with their own
ideas about honesty and sex and violence.
B> Most likely, they would get those ideas from
other kids.
C> You can call this "pooling ignorance."
2> And perhaps you shouldn't take a stand on science or
other areas where there is more than one opinion.
c) Your children are empty vessels.
1> Parents should be concerned about what goes into
them.
2> If you don't fill them, someone else will.
III. The Bible enourages us to instruct our kids in God's values.
A. Education takes place in normal life more than in classrooms.
1) Faith was woven into everyday events.
Moses says in Deuteronomy 6:6-9,
"These commandments that I give you today are to be upon
your hearts.
Impress them on your children.
Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk
along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your
foreheads.
Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your
gates."
a) Some Jews follow this literally and wear small amulets
with Bible verses, or put verses in a little
container outside their door.
b) That is not really what Moses is talking about.
He is saying paste it on your nose - it is always
a good time to focus on God.
2) They created teachable moments.
a) In one of our Bible studies this week we read how the
Israelites passed through the Jordan River before
conquering the Holy Land.
The river dried up as they entered.
One person from each tribe picked up a large stone from
the river and a memorial was built.
The main purpose - so their children would ask what the
memorial meant, and the parents could tell them about
how God gave them a great victory.
b) Passover was set up the same way.
1> The children were to learn about it by asking
questions.
2> This is still a main focus of Passover today.
c) We have opportunities like this as well.
1> Thanksgiving is just around the corner and Christmas
isn't much farther away.
2> Go beyond the merchandise focus and explain to your
kids what these holidays really mean.
B. The content of the instruction is important.
1) When it comes to kids, the Bible focuses on morality.
a) Making the right moral choices.
b) Choosing the right friends.
1> More realistically, avoiding the corrupting
influence of bad friends.
c) Listening to the wisdom of your parents.
2) Proverbs gives a good idea of Hebrew practical wisdom.
a) Treat other people fairly and compassionately.
b) Be consistent in your values and integrity.
c) Acknowledge God in all you do - it starts with this.
3) Even doctrine can be practical.
a) As a family, pray together over important decisions,
not just at meals.
b) When someone hurts them, present what the Bible says
about forgiveness and loving our enemies.
c) When there is a death in the family, read them some
of the passages about hope and heaven.
IV. Indoctrination does not have to be brainwashing.
A. Literally, indoctrination is placing teaching inside someone.
1) Since human beings can be pretty resistant to learning,
we often use a little coercion.
A few years ago I read an article by a small town mom.
She was at a store and a guy mentioned to her that a
methamphetamine lab had been found in an old farmhouse
in the adjoining county.
The guy then asked her a rhetorical question, "Why didn't
we have a drug problem when you and I were growing up?"
She replied that she had a drug problem when she was young:
she was drug to church on Sunday morning.
She was also drug to the woodshed when she disobeyed her
parents or told a lie.
When she used dirty words, she was drug to the kitchen sink
to get her mouth washed out with soap.
She says those drugs are still in her veins and affect her
behavior.
They are stronger than cocaine, crack, or heroin.
And she thanks God for giving her parents who drugged her.
#31641
2) Coercion all by itself doesn't work.
a) Ham-handed religious instruction fails.
1> Too much emphasis on punishment and fear.
2> Only one side of any issue is presented.
3> We preach what is supposed to be true, then fail to
follow it in our own lives.
b) Too many families have presented their religion this way
and it is rightly condemned.
3) You can't force someone to believe if they don't want to.
a) Force often produces the opposite of what you want.
b) Its effectiveness is very limited.
1> You can force a 5-year-old to go to church, but
it gets tougher when they are 17.
2> And almost impossible when they are 30.
B. Done well, we pass on our values and beliefs to our kids.
1) If they see we really believe it, they will probably want
to believe it as well.
2) Faith is a lifestyle, not a Sunday morning appointment.
V. What do you want to accomplish?
A. I want my kids to have a living relationship with God.
1) I want them to want it for themselves and not just to make
mom and dad happy.
2) I cannot force that, but I can encourage it.
a) Even now, with them thousands of miles away.
B. A real faith requires more than rote lessons and vague threats.
1) I must make faith realistic and deal with the issues of
life as it is.
2) I must address doubts and competing philosophies.
a) Christianity is not the only game in town.
b) For many families, there are divisions among the parents
themselves.
c) Your kids will be exposed to other ideas in school,
in scouts and in sports.
d) It is important for kids - and us - to think like
Christians rather than being dumb parrots.
C. A lot depends on how well you do.
1) Each generation has to be converted and educated.
2) We don't have guarantees, but I believe God will honor our
honest efforts.
3) In the immortal words of Proverbs 22:6,
"Train up your children in the way they should go, and when
they are old they will not turn from it."
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
[1] “Ask Richard: Religious Wife Asks How to Raise Kids with her Atheist
Husband,” Richard Wade, September 4, 2012. <http://www.patheos.com/~
blogs/friendlyatheist/2012/09/04/ask-richard-religious-wife-asks-~
how-to-raise-kids-with-her-atheist-husband/>.
#31641 “God Bless The Parents Who Drugged Us,” originally from what is
now a dead link: <http://brevardcounty.momslikeme.com/members/~
journalactions.aspx?g=444342&m=6867779&grpcat=behavior+%>.
Similar versions can be found throughout the internet.
#63880 “Should You Make Your Children Attend Church?,” by David Holwick,
adapted from multiple sources:
Richard Dawkins, "The God Delusion," <http://www.goodreads.com/~
quotes/508702-do-not-indoc trinate-your-children-teach-them-how~
"Dawkins: Religion equals 'child abuse'," Faith Under Fire,
January 8, 2006. <http://www.wnd.com/2006/01/34248>.
"Religion's Real Child Abuse," by Richard Dawkins, May 14, 2006.
<http://old.richarddawkins.net/articles/118>.
"Religion and Children," Wikipedia.org, <http://en.wikipedia.org/~
wiki/Religious_indoctrination_of_children>
These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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