What is Messy Church?

[SnailyBoy 10]

children need to know about faith and hope, give them a good future

 

How does faith give a good future?

[Bonzo77 13]

That's not really an answer. Is it right that religious adults impose their religion on their kids.

 

Is it right that I take my son to Liverpool games and want him to grow up to support them?

 

Is it right that I want my son to listen to the music I like and want him to learn to play a musical instrument?

 

I think my answer to you was perfectly suitable. Parents want what's best for their children. If parents think their religion is important, they will want their kids to be taught about it.

 

---------- Post added 23-02-2015 at 15:21 ----------

 

children need to know about faith and hope, give them a good future

 

Children don't need to know about faith. It's not a necessity.

 

---------- Post added 23-02-2015 at 15:22 ----------

 

Why not ?

 

Why would you want to? Why do you feel the need to criticise someone when they're not doing any harm?

[teeny 10]

Do they need religion to do that...?

 

no they need faith to bring peace and hope !

 

---------- Post added 23-02-2015 at 16:12 ----------

 

How does faith give a good future?

 

faith brings hope and peace in your heart .

 

---------- Post added 23-02-2015 at 16:15 ----------

 

Why would you want to? Why do you feel the need to criticise someone when they're not doing any harm?

 

Church family can bring hope in a world where families are fragmented church can be like family , giving us security and knowledge there is a better way to live , many families don't teach children true faith though.

Edited February 24, 2015 by esme
quote tags

[truman 10]

no they need faith to bring peace and hope !

 

 

Faith in what?

[SnailyBoy 10]

faith brings hope and peace in your heart .

 

A nice comfort blanket?

[Jomie 30]

@ teeny: I too was raised in a family who went to church regularly and my parents were good, kind Christian people. Like you, I have nothing but happy memories of my childhood within the church community. It certainly enriched my formative years.

 

Sadly, the responses that you have had to your posts are from people who are unlikely to have had our experience and therefore are probably unable to comprehend where you are coming from on this. Having not experienced a Christian upbringing it is unlikely that they feel it relevant for their own children to attend any sort of church.

 

The Christian faith is about love, respect and kindness and a sense of there being something bigger and more important than us. Church is not a sinister organisation; it is not training young people to go out and harm others. Rather, children are taught to demonstrate the love of God in their own lives and to do good works when or wherever they can. At it's best it is a place where families can be together in a peaceful, loving and supportive environment.

 

We live in a world where it is fine to 'indoctrinate' your children with adherence to football, pop stars, computer games and whatever else is part of popular culture. Unfortunately mention of something like church and you get all the uninformed comments such as the ones that have appeared in this thread.

 

@SnailyBoy - there is nothing of the 'comfort blanket' about being a Christian. It is often hard work and involves much soul searching. For proof of this look no further than the fantastic work that is done by the Salvation Army. I don't call that a 'comfort blanket'. Do you?

Edited February 23, 2015 by Jomie

[Womerry2 10]

It might be quite useful for children to experience faith-based events so they learn by their own experiences that people who attend church are just people, with the same good and bad points as any other group, and that tolerance and openess work within some churches just as they would in other social settings. Not knowing what happens in a church fosters an unreasonable fear and dislike which ultimately excludes children from understanding any number of cultural references. I absolutely agree that nobody has the right to force their faith on anyone, but I find the immediate and unthinking rejection of any open events offered by any faith-based group smacks of lazy thinking at best and extreme intolerance at worst.

[RootsBooster 24]

Is it right that I take my son to Liverpool games and want him to grow up to support them?

 

Is it right that I want my son to listen to the music I like and want him to learn to play a musical instrument?

I think my answer to you was perfectly suitable. Parents want what's best for their children. If parents think their religion is important, they will want their kids to be taught about it.

If these interests/hobbies meant that your child might make important life decisions, influenced by irrational beliefs, that may have a negative outcome for him and/or others, I don't think it would be right for you to encourage it.

 

At worst, theistic beliefs can cause great misery and harm, at best they are redundant and irrational traditions that may give some people a warm, fuzzy feeling but still perpetuate baseless superstitions.

Why would you want to? Why do you feel the need to criticise someone when they're not doing any harm?

If it was just an individual only having an effect on themselves, I would have no issue.

However, we're talking about an adult trying to make a vulnerable child have the same irrational beliefs.

Would it be a good thing for me to, systematically over many years to the point where he is convinced beyond a doubt, tell my son that magicians can really saw a woman in half without harming her?

Edited February 23, 2015 by RootsBooster

[SnailyBoy 10]

@ teeny: I too was raised in a family who went to church regularly and my parents were good, kind Christian people. Like you, I have nothing but happy memories of my childhood within the church community. It certainly enriched my formative years.

 

Sadly, the responses that you have had to your posts are from people who are unlikely to have had our experience and therefore are probably unable to comprehend where you are coming from on this. Having not experienced a Christian upbringing it is unlikely that they feel it relevant for their own children to attend any sort of church.

 

The Christian faith is about love, respect and kindness and a sense of there being something bigger and more important than us. Church is not a sinister organisation; it is not training young people to go out and harm others. Rather, children are taught to demonstrate the love of God in their own lives and to do good works when or wherever they can. At it's best it is a place where families can be together in a peaceful, loving and supportive environment.

 

We live in a world where it is fine to 'indoctrinate' your children with adherence to football, pop stars, computer games and whatever else is part of popular culture. Unfortunately mention of something like church and you get all the uninformed comments such as the ones that have appeared in this thread.

 

@SnailyBoy - there is nothing of the 'comfort blanket' about being a Christian. It is often hard work and involves much soul searching. For proof of this look no further than the fantastic work that is done by the Salvation Army. I don't call that a 'comfort blanket'. Do you?

 

You're making a few generlisations there.

 

Church is not a sinister organisation - Try telling that to the children raped by Catholic priests and the subsequent cover up.

 

The Christian faith is about love, respect and kindness - Equal rights for homosexuals and women?

[teeny 10]

Faith in what?

 

Faith in God , its about having a relationship with god and knowing truth

[Bonzo77 13]

If these interests/hobbies meant that your child might make important life decisions, influenced by irrational beliefs, that may have a negative outcome for him and/or others, I don't think it would be right for you to encourage it.

 

At worst, theistic beliefs can cause great misery and harm, at best they are redundant and irrational traditions that may give some people a warm, fuzzy feeling but still perpetuate baseless superstitions.

If it was just an individual only having an effect on themselves, I would have no issue.

However, we're talking about an adult trying to make a vulnerable child have the same irrational beliefs.

Would it be a good thing for me to, systematically over many years to the point where he is convinced beyond a doubt, tell my son that magicians can really saw a woman in half without harming her?

 

Sorry, but this is all just one sided, just because you don't like religion. I'm an Atheist, but I have the common sense to realise that religion can have a profoundly positive effect on some people. Why would you not want to pass that onto your kids?

 

You talk about religion being irrational, that's your opinion. Religion can do the opposite for some people. Take a drug addict that reforms thanks to spirituality. Would you say finding spiritually is as irrational as addiction?

 

I used to think like you. I used to hate religion.

[teeny 10]

@ teeny: I too was raised in a family who went to church regularly and my parents were good, kind Christian people. Like you, I have nothing but happy memories of my childhood within the church community. It certainly enriched my formative years.

 

Sadly, the responses that you have had to your posts are from people who are unlikely to have had our experience and therefore are probably unable to comprehend where you are coming from on this. Having not experienced a Christian upbringing it is unlikely that they feel it relevant for their own children to attend any sort of church.

 

The Christian faith is about love, respect and kindness and a sense of there being something bigger and more important than us. Church is not a sinister organisation; it is not training young people to go out and harm others. Rather, children are taught to demonstrate the love of God in their own lives and to do good works when or wherever they can. At it's best it is a place where families can be together in a peaceful, loving and supportive environment.

 

We live in a world where it is fine to 'indoctrinate' your children with adherence to football, pop stars, computer games and whatever else is part of popular culture. Unfortunately mention of something like church and you get all the uninformed comments such as the ones that have appeared in this thread.

 

@SnailyBoy - there is nothing of the 'comfort blanket' about being a Christian. It is often hard work and involves much soul searching. For proof of this look no further than the fantastic work that is done by the Salvation Army. I don't call that a 'comfort blanket'. Do you?

 

Thats very true , i loved being in church from being young , I identified with the people and was very loved by my church and by my family . We had fun on camps, trips out to lovely places , When my mother was ill i was cared for by my sunday school teacher who was lovely , i went to stay in her house with her family . because my mum was a widow they used to babysit for me ,

Being a christian is hard work I agree , I travel to Zimbabwe often to work with mind the gap , we work with the poorest of the poor often with very little to help with . Its not just about faith its about living what you believe . I want to show Gods love on earth for these people.

 

---------- Post added 23-02-2015 at 18:09 ----------

 

You're making a few generlisations there.

 

Church is not a sinister organisation - Try telling that to the children raped by Catholic priests and the subsequent cover up.

 

The Christian faith is about love, respect and kindness - Equal rights for homosexuals and women?

 

Snailboy we have talked about this on other threads I don't wish to go over old ground

It wasn't God who raped the children it was a man !!! and it should not have been covered up.

As for gay people etc , we should love them where they are at , the golden rule is treat others as you would wish to be treated.we shouldn't judge other peoples lives we should love them !!

Edited February 23, 2015 by teeny