Is it appropriate to teach children bible stories of the Old Testament? Is this material suitable for kids? Take Abraham for example. Is it wise to teach kids that Abraham was willing to kill his own son for god and god was honored by this? Is it acceptable to teach kids that this is admirable behavior?
http://www.jesusandkidz.com/Abraham/Page10.htm
What about Sodom and Gomorrah? Is it prudent to teach kids that an entire city can be filled with bad people worthy of being wiped out? Is right to teach children a city should be destroyed because of sexual immorality? Aren't there far better ways to teach kids about sex?
Should we teach children the Old Testament?
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Post #2
Based only on how I was raised (along with my brothers, sisters, cousins, etc.) in a conservative Catholic family, I would have to say that we were not 'ruined' or scarred for life. Was I traumatized by the story about God telling Abraham to sacrifice his son, or about God destroying Sodom and Gomorrah? Not me. If I get to have kids, I would teach them they way I was taught about the Bible.
Post #3
I doubt someone would be ruined, or traumatized by the stories. But are the messages of the stories worthy? (human sacrifice for god is honorable, and cities as a whole can be evil). Why would you teach kids these stories?keltzkroz wrote:Based only on how I was raised (along with my brothers, sisters, cousins, etc.) in a conservative Catholic family, I would have to say that we were not 'ruined' or scarred for life. Was I traumatized by the story about God telling Abraham to sacrifice his son, or about God destroying Sodom and Gomorrah? Not me. If I get to have kids, I would teach them they way I was taught about the Bible.
Re: Should we teach children the Old Testament?
Post #4I wasn't raised in a Biblical environment, but I know someone who was. The story of the Exodus -- the part where God kills a bunch of innocent babies just to prove a point -- did traumatize that person quite a bit.
I think it all depends on how old the kids are. At a young age, they may not even be able to grasp the events in the OT -- what with all the rampant prostitution, rape, pillaging, and genocide. At a slightly older age, being told, "we're Christians, and this litany of horrors is our spiritual heritage ! yey !" could turn out to be quite traumatic. But I'd imagine that modern teenagers would take this revelation in stride, seeing as they're fairly nihilistic already :-)
I think it all depends on how old the kids are. At a young age, they may not even be able to grasp the events in the OT -- what with all the rampant prostitution, rape, pillaging, and genocide. At a slightly older age, being told, "we're Christians, and this litany of horrors is our spiritual heritage ! yey !" could turn out to be quite traumatic. But I'd imagine that modern teenagers would take this revelation in stride, seeing as they're fairly nihilistic already :-)
Post #5
What a great topic!
There can be no Jesus without Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the sacrificial story makes little sense without Abraham's willing sacrifice at the direction of God to do it. The story has a happy ending. Children in Christian homes are taught the Bible the way it was written. It also has a happy ending. Sodom and Gomorrah are great examples because the world has the capabilities (and indeed is) for embracing the exact same kind of behaviors. There are topics here at this website that show this. God is shown as strict and merciful throught the Old Testament and that is a good lesson to be taught. There are consequaences to behavior. Try not turning in assigments at college and see if you get a degree?Is it appropriate to teach children bible stories of the Old Testament? Is this material suitable for kids? Take Abraham for example. Is it wise to teach kids that Abraham was willing to kill his own son for god and god was honored by this? Is it acceptable to teach kids that this is admirable behavior?
http://www.jesusandkidz.com/Abraham/Page10.htm
What about Sodom and Gomorrah? Is it prudent to teach kids that an entire city can be filled with bad people worthy of being wiped out? Is right to teach children a city should be destroyed because of sexual immorality? Aren't there far better ways to teach kids about sex?
Post #6
College professors usually don't ask me to sacrifice my own son for a passing grade. Nor do they ask me to wipe out entire nations simply because they're not devout enough. It takes a megalomaniacal dictator -- or the OT God -- to make these kind of demands.1John2_26 wrote:Jacob and the sacrificial story makes little sense without Abraham's willing sacrifice at the direction of God to do it...God is shown as strict and merciful throught the Old Testament and that is a good lesson to be taught. There are consequaences to behavior. Try not turning in assigments at college and see if you get a degree?
Post #7
I'm not so sure that this story has a happy ending. Don't dismiss the implications of this story too quickly. God rewarded Abraham for the decision to murder his child, i.e., the murderous impulse. What lesson are we to take from this? As adults, we can see that the lesson of this story is that the relationship with God is the most important that a person should have -- even more important than parent/child. But as a child, this lesson is not so obvious. It would seem to me that children would take from this that you should do whatever the voices tell you to do. They are being taught that God's voice is a more important voice than that of anyone else -- and who speaks for God?1John2_26 wrote:There can be no Jesus without Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the sacrificial story makes little sense without Abraham's willing sacrifice at the direction of God to do it. The story has a happy ending.
Yes, honor thy parents is a commandment, but that comes a bit after Abraham.
I think the point of this thread is not that the Bible contains some really fine stories for children to listen to, but that it contains along with those some disturbing stories about murder, incest, torture, and sexual deviance. These things are regularly denounced in the media, even where they help to espouse Christian values.
Every concept that can ever be needed will be expressed by exactly one word, with its meaning rigidly defined and all its subsidiary meanings forgotten. -- George Orwell, 1984
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youngborean
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Post #8
Did he ever make the decision to murder his child? It is really impossible to say since he never did. What is clear from the story is that God never intended for Abraham to murder Issac because he stopped him seeing his faith. I believe it is important to not the historical context as well. The religions of the surrounding world practiced child sacrifice as a rite. God here is saying I could ask the same of you (it is within his right to ask), but I would rather just have your faith. It is really the beginning of grace and the seperate identity of the God of the Israelites form the rest of the Gods of the Ancient Near East.
Post #9
I don't think the ram Abraham sacrificed instead of his son would agreee with you.1John2_26 wrote:
There can be no Jesus without Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the sacrificial story makes little sense without Abraham's willing sacrifice at the direction of God to do it. The story has a happy ending.
http://www.jesusandkidz.com/Abraham/Page11.htm
For a few, most go to hell.1John2_26 wrote:
Children in Christian homes are taught the Bible the way it was written. It also has a happy ending.
You are not responding to the material. Is it proper to teach kids that an entire city is evil? If the whole city wasn't evil, is it OK to teach that the innocents were justifiably slaughtered along with the guilty? Not only that, is it smart to teach kids that death is an appropriate punishment for improper sexual bahavior (however it is defined)?1John2_26 wrote:
Sodom and Gomorrah are great examples because the world has the capabilities (and indeed is) for embracing the exact same kind of behaviors.
Right. There should be consequences, but shouldn't they be appropriate to the behavior?1John2_26 wrote:
There are topics here at this website that show this. God is shown as strict and merciful throught the Old Testament and that is a good lesson to be taught. There are consequaences to behavior.
Post #10
Wouldn't god know if Abraham didn't really intend to kill his son? If Abraham didn't really intent to kill his son, it wouldn't be a sacrifice would it? And he would not be obeying god would he?youngborean wrote: Did he ever make the decision to murder his child? It is really impossible to say since he never did.
I don't see how we can tell that god didn't just change his mind at the last second.youngborean wrote: What is clear from the story is that God never intended for Abraham to murder Issac because he stopped him seeing his faith.
I think it would be better if we just taught kids that human sacrifice to god or gods is absolutely wrong. They should be taught that any voice in your head telling you do conduct such an act is wrong. No good can come of it, regardless of when or where it is done. We should explain the context to them as well. We should explain that people thought human and animal sacrifice had some beneficial effect back then but they were wrong. They didn't know any better.youngborean wrote: I believe it is important to not the historical context as well. The religions of the surrounding world practiced child sacrifice as a rite. God here is saying I could ask the same of you (it is within his right to ask), but I would rather just have your faith. It is really the beginning of grace and the seperate identity of the God of the Israelites form the rest of the Gods of the Ancient Near East.
