Sufficient and Profitable (28)

Against this biblical method of early dogmatic religious immersion, many professing Christians say that they prefer to wait until their children become older, so that they can study the various religions and philosophies, and then "decide for themselves." This kind of thinking, of course, has been adopted from the parenting philosophy of unbelievers, although it is never actually practiced by them. Rather, the children are immersed in their anti-biblical beliefs and values instead. And when "Christian" parents try to avoid teaching their children religion, what do these children end up learning? Whether right or wrong, biblical or anti-biblical, the children will not learn nothing until they become teenagers or adults – they will not live in spiritual suspension.

Parents withhold biblical indoctrination from their children in direct defiance against God's commands. This should be enough to condemn the neglect, which is a form of spiritual child abuse. And as mentioned above, it is often deliberately practiced, and even believed to be a superior form of parenting. So not only do they disobey God, but these parents think that they know better than he does how to love and raise their children.

This practice of withholding biblical teachings from the children betrays another problem. Just as clearly as the above, this one also calls into question the personal faith of the parents. Part of the biblical method of total religious immersion has to do with answering the children's questions about the faith of the parents. As God states in Exodus:

"Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants. When you enter the land that the LORD will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. And when your children ask you, 'What does this ceremony mean to you?' then tell them, 'It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.'" Then the people bowed down and worshiped. (12:24-27; see also 13:14-16)

If the parents practice their faith at all, religious questions from children are unavoidable. Do the parents go to church, receive communion, read the Bible, make petitions to God, preach the gospel to their neighbors? If they do any of these things, then the children are going to ask about them. They will say, "What is this place? Why do we go to church? What are you reading? Can I read it? Who do you talk to when you bow your head like that? And who is this Jesus you were talking about with Uncle Bob?"

And do these parents ever exhibit an integrity that would intrigue their children? "Mother, why did you give the money back when the person at the store gave you too much change?" Or, what do these parents say when they tell their children not to lie, and they ask, "Why"? The answer will either be God-centered or man-centered. It will be based on either biblical revelation and absolute moral laws, or pragmatic concerns and mere convenience. The children will be indoctrinated one way or the other.

(to be continued)