Is it immoral to teach children Christianity?

[VermilionUK]

It's been debated all over the place: Should we teach our Children Christianity?

By this, I mean: should children be taught to become Christian?
Or are people violating children's right to choose?

I personally think that they should be taught about Christianity (and the flaws of it), and left to make up their own choice.

If we look at the famous "Jesus Camp" we can see how it can be - in many ways - brainwashing. But of course this is an extreme example.

So, question for discussion: Should Children be taught to follow Christianity? Or is it immoral in todays society?

There's also a poll - if there isn't an option applicable to you, then please explain your thoughts.

[JBlack]

Does that not quite clearly state that:
Step 1) Create Heaven and Earth
Step 2) Create light ...

No, it does not ...

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2 Now the earth was [a] formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.

How can you possibly say, that the Bible doesn't say that God created Heaven and Earth and then created light?

[Jayhawker Soule]

Does that not quite clearly state that:
Step 1) Create Heaven and Earth
Step 2) Create light ...

No, it does not ...

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2 Now the earth was [a] formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.

How can you possibly say, that the Bible doesn't say that God created Heaven and Earth and then created light?

Black, can you see any difference between your rendering of Genesis and

• 1:1 When God began to create heaven and earth
  1:2 -- the earth being unformed and void, with darkness over the surface of the deep and a wind from God sweeping over the water --
  1:3 God said: "Let there be light"; and there was light.

the version commonly in the Jewish Torah?

[JBlack]

Black, can you see any difference between your rendering of Genesis and

1:1 When God began to create heaven and earth
1:2 -- the earth being unformed and void, with darkness over the surface of the deep and a wind from God sweeping over the water --
1:3 God said: "Let there be light"; and there was light.

the version commonly in the Jewish Torah?

So God only began the creation of heaven and earth before creating light?... well when did He finish the creation of heaven and earth? Does it say? What does verses 4 and 5 say according to the Torah?

How come Genesis in the Torah is different anyway? Isn't it the same Genesis? How do we know which translation of Genesis should be the right one?

[Goat]

Black, can you see any difference between your rendering of Genesis and

1:1 When God began to create heaven and earth
1:2 -- the earth being unformed and void, with darkness over the surface of the deep and a wind from God sweeping over the water --
1:3 God said: "Let there be light"; and there was light.

the version commonly in the Jewish Torah?

So God only began the creation of heaven and earth before creating light?... well when did He finish the creation of heaven and earth? Does it say? What does verses 4 and 5 say according to the Torah?

How come Genesis in the Torah is different anyway? Isn't it the same Genesis? How do we know which translation of Genesis should be the right one?

Actually..it is implying that God started creating the heavens and the earth from pre-existing material. The terms 'land' and 'waters' in the view of the ancients was symbolic of order and chaos. .. so it was a poetic way of saying the God created order out of chaos Chaos seems to have been considered a physical and malevolent force by them. Lack of understanding can do things like that.

[Jayhawker Soule]

How come Genesis in the Torah is different anyway? Isn't it the same Genesis? How do we know which translation of Genesis should be the right one?

Was there a reason that you chose not to answer the question?

Never mind: let me try to answer yours.

1. Genesis as rendered in today's English language Torah differs because it is the product of different translators operating from different knowledge base. Our understanding of Biblical Hebrew is not static. It is informed by the study of increasingly available volumes of Semitic text. In fact, it would be more than a little remarkable if decades of scholarship left our understanding of these texts unchallenged and unchanged. What is interesting here is that we see the same new rendering offered by a relatively broad spectrum of well respected translation efforts, namely those of the Alter, Fox, Friedman, JPS, and Artscroll.
2. I do not know "which translation of Genesis should [sic!] be the right one." I do however know that the new translations are well respected, that they are consistent with scholarship suggesting that creation ex nihilo was a relatively recent development within Judaism, and that they deserve serious consideration and respect.

What is unacceptable is taking a firm and loud stance on text while being significantly ignorant of recent scholarship pertaining to that text.

[Jayhawker Soule]

The terms 'land' and 'waters' in the view of the ancients was symbolic of order and chaos. .. so it was a poetic way of saying the God created order out of chaos.

At the risk of further derailing the thread, I recall sitting in small strip of park in Tel Aviv looking out to the sea. It was a beautiful cloudless day with a soft blue sky merging into a deeper blue Mediterranean and I thought: "Shamayim ... mayim ... ahhh!" It was one of those small -- almost insignificant -- recognitions that brings a smile.

L'shalom

[JBlack]

Was there a reason that you chose not to answer the question?

I did respond to your question. Did you miss this part?

So God only began the creation of heaven and earth before creating light?... well when did He finish the creation of heaven and earth? Does it say? What does verses 4 and 5 say according to the Torah?

[McCulloch]

----also your forgetting the fact that Christianity was started by Jewish people.

The Jewish religious movement of John the Baptist, Jesus of Nazareth, Peter, James the Just and Simeon of Jerusalem was never Christian in the modern sense of the word. Christianity was started by Paul, who claimed to be Jewish yet misrepresented almost every important tenet of Jewish belief on its ear trying to establish a Jewish pedigree for Christianity.

----I don't know what you mean by "Christianity in the modern sense" because it was, is and always will be about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
(John 3:16)For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

The Gospel of John was written well after Christianity was established. There is no evidence that Jesus himself taught the doctrines contained in GJohn, especially those teachings which run counter to Judaism.

---all these people lived and all of them met Jesus and realized that he was fulfilling ancient prophesy of coming messiah.

Jesus failed to fulfill the ancient prophesies of the coming messiah. Some of the prophesies he is said to have fulfilled were not even about messiah. Others were trivial and have no independent verification.

#1. John the baptist said "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (john 1:29) John proclaims the messiah here to the people.

Words put into the mouth of John the Baptist by the Christian apologist who wanted to show that John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth shared his own theology.

#2. i don't know where you get the idea that Paul's doctrine was any different than the apostles. Paul carefully examines his doctrine by repeatedly going to the disciples of Jesus to confirm what he has experienced by seeing the resurrected Jesus.

So he claims. Paul and Luke appear to have different viewpoints on these encounters.

#3 Paul was previously a hard core member of the Jewish religious leaders. he studied under one of the most well known rabbi's at that time and he was the leader in persecuting Christians before he encountered Jesus.

Again, Paul's unsupported assertions. It is rather unlikely that Paul actually studied under any well known Jewish rabbi, or if he did, he must have slept through class.

[Sir Rhetor]

I propose that it is wrong to lie to children, especially when you allow them to hold their beliefs into older age. Depending on the belief, it can say about that child's individual intelligence if they cannot put the pieces of the puzzle together. Santa bringing presents on Christmas Eve, for example, is empirically testable, and so should eventually die out through this means, if not sooner. But because religion is not empirically testable, the mind should demand proof. Child minds do not do this so well. So don't tell children anything relevant which is misleading or unsupportable if you can.

[Cathar1950]

We are story tellers. We like to tell stories about us and others.

I really can't add much to what Mack wrote.
I was amused with what Megaboomer :

----I don't know what you mean by "Christianity in the modern sense" because it was, is and always will be about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
(John 3:16)For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Unless your reading only the Gospel of John I don't know how you can say it has always been about anything. I have been reading about child sacrifice in the OT and even though I agree the unknown author of John doesn't represent the early Christians. I doubt you represent John's Christology.
Back to child sacrifice, it seem the Ancestor, MLK and fertility sacrifices were partial to the first born or the first to open the mother's womb which was called the First begotten, begotten, and beloved given to El, Yahweh and others.
Even though I have my doubts the Jewish roots of Christian beginnings seeing the death of Jesus as a sacrifice except as a traditional Jewish martyr later Gentile communities could draw the symbolism from the Greek translation of the Hebrew writings.
The there is the "Lamb of God" that takes away the sins of the world which is the Sun god doing to the underworld and taking the sins of the world.
Now who am I going to believe?

I won't what myths we will leave to our children?
I hope they don't take them literally.