Evengli,

Why do kids without parents or without parents guidance become gangesters or spoiled?

How many children under proper guidance of there parents become spoiled and walk on the wrong path?

How many children reply there parents by screaming on them who have proper guidance from there parents?

you have got to be kidding me...yet i know your not...if i had to make a guess ....i would say it is christians whom drive many out there to be atheist....and I would guess that those whom grew up with little guidance and left on there own accord...they had a far better shot at finding faith....and now i must say ...i also know we are hi-jacking this thread...but i feel that this is a subject for discussion....one more thing the there are those christian taught who have no ability to think for fear of being dammed to hell...anyway..perhaps a thread will be started...

I have seen many people who are not into any specific religion raise kids in a very moral way, much like I've seen some theists who have brought up children to be spoiled brats-- or worse. Religion by itself does not guarantee that the parents will necessarily bring up their children to be moral. Yes, it certainly can help. And a great many atheists and "secularists" (whatever that is) do bring up their children to have morals.

It's unfortunate that you resorted to stereotyping in the above comment. The concept that somehow all atheists will teach immorality and all theists will teach morality is terribly off the mark. Btw, just for the record, I'm neither a theist or an atheist.

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"Always aim at complete harmony of thought and word and deed. Always aim at purifying your thoughts and everything will be well."-- Mahatma Gandhi

It's EvangelicalHumanist. Evengli is too reminiscent of Svengali.
Rather than teach them to fear, I would prefer that both parents (and churches if necessary) teach them to love. I'd rather that children were taught to have empathy, so that they would understand how what they do affects others.
I think that this is completely wrong, frankly. I would much prefer for a parent to teach their child to understand what it feels like to have something stolen from them, or to be hurt by someone. When they understand how they dislike it, and then make the connection that the person who they do this to will feel exactly the same way, they will be much more likely to be good and to be good for the right reasons.

This takes time and patience and good parenting, because the development of a social sense and empathy is a long process for humans, as it must overcome the selfishness inherent in an individual who needs and wants. But the skill and patience involved in teaching children such lessons, rather than the simple threat of consequences, will unquestionably yield better children and, later on, adults.
Rubbish. Every holy book contains stuff which would develop the very worst of people if it were not ignored. And it completely misses my point. The threat of consequences, whether it comes from the police or from God, is -- in my personal view -- a very poor way to develop strong character in children. Teaching them to understand their own feelings, to accept that others have the same feelings, and to appreciate and care about others, develops much stronger character.

Hell is a very poor guide when compared to the Golden Rule.

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evangelicalhumanist: Greek "eu"=good and "angelos"=messenger. Spreading the good news of Humanism.

AMEN !
Some of our posters really need to stop watching greedy tv evangelists and attend their local church to get an idea of what churches are like today in their community.
They have changed a lot since many of the older posters may remember. And, there are so many avenues of spiritual expression today.

Unfortunately, places like the Missouri Synod of Lutherans accuse the Pope of being the Anti-Christ. Then there are other religious leaders attempting to open dialogue with other religious leaders.

All churches are different, one needs to study and learn what is right for themselves. No church is perfect and the Catholic church, for instance, has apologized for many mistakes they have made in the past. I don't think the Anti-Christ would apologize for anything.

You are so right, we make our own hells by the choices that we make and then want to blame God. I wish people would just stop it ! We need to be responsible for the choices we make, IMHO, whether we are religious or not and stop blaming everybody else.

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The opinions expressed in my post are only my humble opinions. I expressly request that none of my opinions be taken personally or taken offense to as it is not in my nature to intentionally cause hurt. I am only human and I make mistakes, so please remember this when reading some of my more passionate or lengthy posts. --Fortuna

As our community's resident Satanist, I guess I should feel obligated to chime in on this thread... however, I don't believe in Hell. I don't believe in heaven either. Teaching children is the responsibility of their parents, and who are we to judge? Cruelty is subjective. As a society, we have laws to protect our children from all kinds of abuse; but "spiritual" abuse? That's a tough one. Is teaching about Hell spiritual abuse? Depends on the teacher.

Interesting topic, though.

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"The Lord can make you tumble, the Lord can make you turn, the Lord can make you overflow...but the Lord can't make you burn." - Randy Newman

may peace be on all of you

i teach my child about heaven and hell and it has had no negative effect on her she is four years old now , and i v been telling her the following way
God has made mama, papa , you n ur brother
if we are good and do good deeds God grants us with the best place to live in forever and ever that is heaven , if u love your brother in the same way and share things with him , angels inform God of your good deeds and inshallah He will bless you with heaven
But if one does bad deeds , and are cruel , mean and selfish angels inform God of this too and God has made fire for them to punsih them

it is true God oves us 70 times more than our mothers ,but God does not lie and neither does he like liars , if He says He has created heaven and hell for reward and punishment then that will not change ...... but what can change till we have life is .OURSELVES ..... if we choose to do good and be persistent on that we can have heaven on this earth .... if we chose to be evil and are persistent on that then should we go scot free??????

IF law punishes a murderer with death sentence then the law which was made for the safety for humanity should be blamed as being soooooo cruel ,
what do parents teach children regarding that , when death itself is a big thing for children to understand
IS telling about the law, being cruel to children???

A concept of belief in God comes first ..... then belief as life as a test ...... then in a day of judgement .... then come heaven and hell
when one does not beieve in God he would never understand what these beliefs could do to change his attitude towards himself ,and others, and his deeds..... how it helps one to judge himself and evaluate his own deeds before being evaluated by others ..... before being evaluated by the law of the land .... before being evaluated by the law of God


This concept has had a positive effect on my child ..... that even if im not around there is a God watching her , wether i live or die , hopefully there will a constant concience in her soul reminding her that when we break His rules we harm No one but ourselves

eg if we take some bodys thing without permission ie steal ..God is watching ,we are harming ourself first before causing trouble to the other person

if we dont believe in God ..... there is no point in discussing heaven or hell because only He knows who is going where

my child is quite healthy mentally .....
interested in doing good for the sake of God
telling her about hell hasnt been abuse for her

hope this helps

Wake up, dear friend.
Your child is only 4.
If you wait 10 more years,
telling stories about "hells fire"
the signs of negative effect
will start popping up,
and may be even earlier.

And the first sign,
please, remember it,
will be the first time
saying conscious lie
by your kid, in order to avoid "hell's fire".

So, wait for signs and be ready,
The harvest will come.

A.P.,