More posts that strike themes similar to my last post:
Russell Moore, as quoted at The Spyglass:
Where the Wild Things Are isn’t going to be a classic movie the way it is a classic book. But the Christian discomfort with wildness will be with us for a while. And it’s the reason too many of our children find Maurice Sendak more realistic than Sunday school.
Too many of our Bible study curricula for children declaw the Bible, excising all the snakes and dragons and wildness. We reduce the Bible to a set of ethical guidelines and a text on how gentle and kind Jesus is. The problem is, our kids know there are monsters out there. God put that awareness in them.
They’re looking for a sheep-herding dragon-slayer, the One who can put all the wild things under His feet.
My friend Danielle, up on her soapbox:
During class we were supposed to get in groups and discuss what we thought kids need to know by that stage in their lives, and honestly, I was kind of appalled by the answers I heard. I mean at face-value they were all okay answers, but they just really struck me as complete garbage.
Here are some of the first ones I heard…
– actions speak louder than words
– how to be a good person
– how to be obedient
I mean seriously, are you kidding me?! One girl had the audacity to call me “harsh” because I said that they need to know that they are sinners. How can anyone have an appreciation or understanding of salvation without first knowing what sin is and that they are a sinner?
. . .
I guess the reason it frustrated me so much was because I was thinking of my own (future/potential) children. I don’t want my ten/eleven/twelve year old thinking that “being a good person” or being “obedient” means anything without having a personal, intimate relationship with Christ. I mean sure, I want obedient children ;), but in the grand scheme of things that would not be on the top of my list.
My group mentioned Jesus once (minus my submissions) . And the one time they mentioned Him, the exact words were “…to know Jesus died on a cross”. Seriously, that was it. No explanation of His life and why He had to die on a cross, no emphasis on salvation or the Gospel…just flat historical facts.
. . .
I’m not saying every church should try to scare their kids, or anything like that, but if the thought of Hell scares them…well, it should! Children can be taught all kinds of things as long as they are taught in love and kindness. Give kids the opportunity to understand, instead of withholding Truth from them. Offer them the whole Gospel, not just cartoons or cut-and-dry facts. I know I probably sound like some hardcore beat-truth-into-them type of lady, but I hate the thought of kids wasting what can be the most influential years of growth on pointless trivia or partial Truth.