Evangelical Indoctrination of Children

It's a damn good thing that you're above all that mean and nasty name calling. Wouldn't want you to fall in to that well of bigotry.

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"The Constitution shall never be construed to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms." - Samual Adams

Fair enough, Rrhain, but in all fairness when does a parent or a teacher technically not indoctrinate a child? If young minds are generally impressionable, where lies the critical difference between instruction and indoctrination?Parents inevitably rub off on their children and to some degree at least initially. Even if parents want their child to be free and independent critical thinkers and don't want to highly influence their children's beliefs, at some point the children are going to anyway.

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"The Constitution shall never be construed to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms." - Samual Adams

Being condescending probably won't do much to win hearts to Christ!

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"The Constitution shall never be construed to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms." - Samual Adams

So just as long as they can question what truth is, then someone can instruct and it would not be considered indoctrination?That sounds more than reasonable, I would say.

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"The Constitution shall never be construed to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms." - Samual Adams

Duck, duck, goose!Tag you're it!Edited by Hyroglyphx, : No reason given.

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"The Constitution shall never be construed to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms." - Samual Adams

Good comeback... I like it!

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"The Constitution shall never be construed to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms." - Samual Adams

It seems like "preying" to you because you have an aversion towards it, but the people who are allegedly preying don't see it that way. That's the problem. The people telling their kids about the rapture think they are doing them a huge favor. People such as yourself, however, feel those people are causing tremendous harm.

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"The Constitution shall never be construed to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms." - Samual Adams

Because they feel that those people are terrorizing their own children by telling them spook stories that will never actually happen -- tales of the torments of hell, or tales of being "left behind" in a post-apocalyptic world where the government will kill you if you accept the Mark of the Beast, yet you'll starve or dehydrate to death without it, or tales of being hunted down and slaughterd for being a post-rapture Christian.Eternal torment, massacre, starvation, or dehydration. Those are their options.You know, shit like that...I see legitimate arguments on both sides of the table.On the one hand we have a freedom of religion, that in most cases I think should be left alone for people and their families to decide, not the government.On the other hannd there are some pretty sick cases of parents indoctrinating their children to do or believe in some bizarre things that end up hurting or even killing their own children (Christian Science = blood transfusions are bad).The problem as I see it is that "indoctrination" is subjective and is far from being clear cut. Because what one side calls indoctrination, another side calls instruction.One side teaches about the dangers of atheism, the other teaches about the dangers of theism. Both claim to have truth on their side, so who is indoctrinating and who is instructing?Edited by Hyroglyphx, : No reason given.Edited by Hyroglyphx, : No reason given.

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"The Constitution shall never be construed to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms." - Samual Adams

Ochave, tone it down a little. Percy is not just any poster. He happens to be the only reason we're all here discussing any of this. His request was not outrageous, but even if you feel like it is, polite, tactful, and courteous usually wins people over.

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"The Constitution shall never be construed to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms." - Samual Adams

Some people do feel terrorized by the whole thing. Some people feel that kids should not be exposed to spiritual terror, terrified that they might miss the rapture. You read what Percy quoted I assume? That kid sounded consummed by what some people consider an irrational fear.That's the nature of debate. Make your points, they'll make theirs, and then make counter-points. And you can't prove there will be, what's your point?

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"The Constitution shall never be construed to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms." - Samual Adams

Then I suggest you plead your case in the Suggestions and Questions forum, as here is probably not the best place to converse like this.

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"The Constitution shall never be construed to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms." - Samual Adams

I think what Percy is arguing is what the bible says about damnation and how evangelicals push this on to children. He is saying that it ties a heavy burden on young children's minds and is questioning if this could be considered indoctrination. An example might include the fairly recent documentary concerning bible camp.

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"The Constitution shall never be construed to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms." - Samual Adams

Yes, exactly. Is Jesus Camp a demonstration of the psychological effects this has on children?

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"The Constitution shall never be construed to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms." - Samual Adams

Perhaps they do, but what is being questioned is who is the arbiter of such things? All Christians claim to be "true Christians," the whole "no true Scotsman" theory. Is it extreme or are they Christians led by faith? In Acts, Paul was bit by a snake and didn't die. On account of that the natives of Malta revered him as a God, to which he attempted to dissuade them.In the gospel of Mark it says that you will be able to handle snakes on account of your faith. So is it "extreme" or is your faith weak and their's strong?

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"Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence." --John Adams

Which still leaves the question, who arbitrates such things? So then by your admission the scriptures really aren't free from human influence, and therefore cannot be trusted as "infallible." Edited by Hyroglyphx, : No reason given.

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"Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence." --John Adams