Christian Child with Non Xian Parent

[Vladd44]

My 14 year old son will be moving in with us in a few days.

His mother is not a big christian but has allowed her mother and others to influence him towards christianity due to her own lack of clarity on the topic.

He knows I am a devout agnostic, but I am not so sure he realizes how much I despise christianity itself.

He is the one that initiated his moving to Austin to live with my wife and myself.

He goes to church in Louisiana, but has not even mentioned what he plans to do about church here.

Any suggestions on what would be the best way to deal with this issue would be greatly appreciated.

[Goat]

My 14 year old son will be moving in with us in a few days.

His mother is not a big christian but has allowed her mother and others to influence him towards christianity due to her own lack of clarity on the topic.

He knows I am a devout agnostic, but I am not so sure he realizes how much I despise christianity itself.

He is the one that initiated his moving to Austin to live with my wife and myself.

He goes to church in Louisiana, but has not even mentioned what he plans to do about church here.

Any suggestions on what would be the best way to deal with this issue would be greatly appreciated.

1) Let him go to church, if he wants.

2) If he has questions, answer them in a non-judgmental non-criticizing way.

3) Encourage questioning beliefs. Cnorman talked about the rabbi that berated the kids about not having their own thoughts.. while berating might be a bit strong, such questions as 'what do you think', and 'why do you think that way', and 'why does that seem right to you' is a good start.

It isn't so much what he believes that is important, but that he learn to think for himself, and not be sucked into blind belief. Actively discouraging him at this point would be counterproductive. On the other hand, teaching him to think for himself will carry him through many things, above and beyond thinking about religion.

[JoeyKnothead]

1) Let him go to church, if he wants.

2) If he has questions, answer them in a non-judgmental non-criticizing way.

3) Encourage questioning beliefs. Cnorman talked about the rabbi that berated the kids about not having their own thoughts.. while berating might be a bit strong, such questions as 'what do you think', and 'why do you think that way', and 'why does that seem right to you' is a good start.

It isn't so much what he believes that is important, but that he learn to think for himself, and not be sucked into blind belief. Actively discouraging him at this point would be counterproductive. On the other hand, teaching him to think for himself will carry him through many things, above and beyond thinking about religion.

Hate to spam the thread, as usual goat presents a great way to look at things. I would say this approach is the way to go.

[Zzyzx]

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My 14 year old son will be moving in with us in a few days.

His mother is not a big christian but has allowed her mother and others to influence him towards christianity due to her own lack of clarity on the topic.

He knows I am a devout agnostic, but I am not so sure he realizes how much I despise christianity itself.

He is the one that initiated his moving to Austin to live with my wife and myself.

He goes to church in Louisiana, but has not even mentioned what he plans to do about church here.

Any suggestions on what would be the best way to deal with this issue would be greatly appreciated.

First, I would move out of Austin. (Just Kidding). I spent some time there and my wife lived there for a year. We also owned property not far from Longview (but have since left Texas in favor of the hills of Arkansas).

I would NOT preach my convictions relating to religion; however, I would not hesitate to make my position very clear if asked or if the topic arose (without going out of my way).

He may "grow out of it" and make his own decisions when not influenced (indoctrinated) by elderly "authorities". I would encourage a quality education that emphasized critical / analytical thinking and decision-making.

Depending on the characteristics of the son I might recommend membership to this forum as a place to read arguments for and against Christianity. A few weeks of reading (perhaps without posting) would provide a wealth of information from a level playing field (a very fairly moderated debate forum).

It is my contention that if supernaturalism and its stories are presented on equal footing with naturalism (non-supernatural world view) and real word information, there is a great advantage to the latter for analytical /discerning thinking people.