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YOUR status and decisional capacity are not the issue. That entirely sidesteps the point, which is that your CHILDREN were not adults (or anywhere close), and able to decide for themselves. Under those circumstances, "teaching kids what [you] believed to be the truth" sounds like a pretty good working definition for... wait for it... indoctrination.
Children do not have the maturity to make important decisions like that-parents usually do.
YOUR status and decisional capacity are not the issue. That entirely sidesteps the point, which is that your CHILDREN were not adults (or anywhere close), and able to decide for themselves. Under those circumstances, "teaching kids what [you] believed to be the truth" sounds like a pretty good working definition for... wait for it... indoctrination.
then that is the same as an atheist teaching their children what they believe to be the truth = indoctrination
Children do not have the maturity to make important decisions like that-parents usually do.
No, of course they don't. But let's at least be honest about what is happening. Stating "No, it's not indoctrination" and then turning around in the very next sentence and describing indoctrination (i.e., teaching others what they are supposed to believe, based on a purely personal preference) is not being honest about the process.
Last edited by HeelaMonster; 11-03-2020 at 07:21 PM..
No, of course they don't. But let's at least be honest about what is happening. Stating "No, it's not indoctrination" and then turning around in the very next sentence and describing indoctrination (i.e., teaching others what they are supposed to believe, based on a purely personal preference) is not being honest about the process.
Indoctrination would imply I was unwilling to answer questions my children might have had.
Discuss your thoughts. Should children be able to choose what to believe and develop critical thinking and reasoning skills and not just have them spoonfed whatever the parents believe?
For reference, lets define indoctrination as teaching someone to accept a set of beliefs without questioning them
the opening post and premise of this thread demonstrates a remarkable lack of "critical thinking and reasoning skills."
because regardless of what topic the parents are teaching their children, the children ask questions about it, and the parents answer those questions.
Indoctrination would imply I was unwilling to answer questions my children might have had.
As I said above, I recognize that some terms carry more baggage than others. I didn't select the terms of the OP, and you can call it "Gold Medal Parenting" if that makes you more comfortable. But as the old saying goes, if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck... it's still indoctrination.
It's great if you entertain their questions, but something tells me the answers stop short of an even-handed description of all the possible choices and now you (kids) can decide. There is a big difference between "let me explain why I believe what I believe" and "here's what I believe, but I gotta admit that people who believe other things, or nothing at all, have just as much evidence in support of those beliefs as I do... which is basically none at all."
FWIW, I'm not looking at this question from the outside. I raised my own children in the Christian faith, just as I was raised. It's one of my true regrets, and I am proud of them for rejecting that Gold Medal Parenting.
As I said above, I recognize that some terms carry more baggage than others. I didn't select the terms of the OP, and you can call it "Gold Medal Parenting" if that makes you more comfortable. But as the old saying goes, if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck... it's still indoctrination.
It's great if you entertain their questions, but something tells me the answers stop short of an even-handed description of all the possible choices and now you (kids) can decide. There is a big difference between "let me explain why I believe what I believe" and "here's what I believe, but I gotta admit that people who believe other things, or nothing at all, have just as much evidence in support of those beliefs as I do... which is basically none at all."
FWIW, I'm not looking at this question from the outside. I raised my own children in the Christian faith, just as I was raised. It's one of my true regrets, and I am proud of them for rejecting that Gold Medal Parenting.
Children are not mature enough to understand “all the choices”. It’s up to me, the adult, to lead them to the truth, as I see it.
My brother, like me, was raised in the church, but as a teen he rejected our mother’s faith, and chose agnosticism, like our father.
THAT (roughly) is when when children are mature enough to make these decisions.
Yes, I disagree with your definition of indoctrination.
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