This is a well worn argument, sorry. Even Taunton Blue Genie will tell you that he has never denied the existence of the historical Jesus (as he once reminded me).
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Yes, Christianity, if you consider Christianity to be a religion (which I don't), i.e. not a relationship with a person, just a follower of an ideology or philosophy. My two sons grew up in a Christian home and were free to choose their own path. They had ample opportunity to turn away (away at university, leaving home to get married etc.) but they have not. We never coerced them - what teenagers would accept that! There is an expression "to love people into the kingdom" - do you seriously think that anyone today could be bullied into becoming a Christian?
My sisters kid was brought up by my sister and her husband who are both devout , god fearing Catholics
Is it any surprise she has turned out the same ?
The difference is she is very bright and studying anthropology and evolution at king's college London and surely she will over the course of her studies realise that the earth is billions of years old and that , in my opinion , creationism is nonsense
At least l hope she does
OK, so don't worry about it then. As Dawkins has said - "there probably is no God, so stop worrying and get on with your life". Remember the famous slogan on the side of the bus -
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=ri...0jygJyyvms-EM:
But Christians believe the Bible to be the word of God and that the earth was created in 10000 years
Why wasn't there any mention of dinosaurs in the Bible ?
God is supposed to be omnipresent ......everywhere , all the time , watching over us ......you don't seriously believe that do you ?
Why didn't he stop Adolf Hitler ?
Why does he allow people to die in tower blocks in horrible fires , some of them young children ?
Why does a young doctor get killed in a car crash when he had so many lives to save and a bright future ?
God is all powerful isn't he ?
I simply cannot accept there is a god if he is supposed to be everywhere at all times and all powerful
Regards
So they had to wait until they were teenagers and went to Uni or left home to get married before they could make their own decision? (Meaning they were about 18 years old, and therefore adults, not children)
In the meantime, up until those opportunities came about, were they taught your religion by you and other followers?
If one of your children at the age of 10 had said “I no longer want to follow your religion, I don’t believe any of it”, would you have allowed them that privilege? (Don’t forget, telling lies is a sin)
It is pretty obvious that a religious upbringing affects the belief systems of children in quite a fundamental manner. If people were allowed to be religion-free until adulthood the results would be different as to how they perceive the world and the eventual religious or non-religious path that they would follow. Creating a belief system in a child is a very strong influence and a considerable traction, something that has been recognised by purveyors of religious and political dogmas throughout time.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathl...b_5664805.html
"In our first study, we found that children’s judgments about characters in biblical narratives were strongly affected by their upbringing. Children who had had some form of religious education - via church, parochial school or both — generally judged the central character to be a real person. Children who did not have religious education — who did not go to church and went to a secular school — largely judged the central character to be fictional.
In a follow-up study, we obtained a similar pattern for what we might call quasi-biblical stories — stories that included miraculous events but not ones that children would read about in the Bible. For example, we told children a story about the parting of the mountains. Religious children were more likely than non-religious children to think that the main character was real."
Mature enough to reject or blindly follow their parents beliefs? As you said to a different point - it works both ways.
My parents were Congregationalists (Roath Park Congregationalist Church originally) - what became the United Reformed Church. I was brought up to go to church, Sunday School and the local scouts. However, when I was 12 I went to a series of church membership evening meetings with half a dozen others my age with the minister at The Manse. These went through the whole gammut of beliefs and practices in the church and the normal outcome was that a few weeks later the group would be accepted into the church at a brief ceremony during the service. After 6 weeks - aged 12 - I decided I was an atheist and never went to church again (until this summer for my dad's funeral). I also left the scouts at that time because of all the god and queen nonsense at the start of each meeting. And just to complete my transformation from a god-following dib-dib-dibber I bought and read The Communist Manifesto.
My brother went through the same thing a little later and turned into a Buddhist.
My Mam and Dad carried on in the church - she as a conformist; he as a self-labelling 'heretic' along with a few of his non-conformist mates. I doubt he ever believed in god or the devil or heaven or hell. The called himself (and others like him) a secular Christian.
Maybe you are right that 10 is too young to form a view on these big issues, but 12 isn't.
God did nothing about that shooter in the church
“Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?”
Free choice to be infected with aids at birth? Or free choice to get cancer as a child?
Surely free will relates to something I do as a person? What kind of person would deliberately infect a new-born baby with aids or give a child cancer, certainly not a loving God. If you are asking why would God allow this to happen, well that’s a different question and as I said in an earlier reply that’s one of the first questions I will have when I get to heaven.
For now I reconcile myself to the fact that human beings are incredibly complicated biological machines. If they were non-biological machines of similar complexity then it would be amazing if they never went wrong and didn’t need repairing from time to time, or sadly, reach the stage of being beyond repair.
The Yanks are not stupid enough to sacrifice their weapons as they know their number one enemy is their government.
Well kids do get home cancer and die young so clearly god is not loving or omnipresent or all powerful as he allows this to happen
They say his son turned water into wine and fed the 5000 with loaves of bread and fish so surely his father can save young children , stop Hitler and Stalin etc ?