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As a person of faith here is where I stand on this issue.
While I believe that we have to instill good and moral
values within our children, we should never force religion
down their throats.

Like Richard Dawkins, I have a big problem with people calling
one child a "Christian child" or a "Muslim child" or a child of
any particular faith. All kids are children of God, whatever

that God may be or whether or not he actually exists.

Instead of raising our children within a religion, we should be
teaching them how to think for themselves. We should be teaching
them about good works and being nice to others. We should promote
values of trust, love, and integrity.

Instead of raising a child through our dogmatic ways, we should
be promoting the importance of open mindedness and how diversity
is critical for the survival of all our brothers and sisters in this
world.

And as they grow older, we should teach them about the spiritual
options they have. ALL OF THEM. We should take an objective approach
when it comes to explaining the various philosophies and ways of life
that exists out there. That means teaching a child about their Christian
friends, Buddhist friends, Jewish friends, Muslim friends, Hindu friends,
agnostic friends, and atheistic friends.

Instead of promoting dogmatic faith, we should encourage our children
to ask questions, to understand god, to understand valued principles
like those of the Sermon on the Mount.

We should not dictate the way our childen think. We should respect
the fact that they are NOT us but seperate entities who can make
up their own minds as time goes on.

Instead, we should be teaching them to live life to the fullest
extent. We should allow them to enjoy their childhood years without
the complexity of dealing with the God question.

Love and respect should be paramount. We cannot run the risk of
creating future bigots and agents of intolorence. In the world
we live in today, promoting dogma while trying to teach our kids
about family values may very well lead them to becoming religious zealots,
all too willing to take the lives of innocents. And all for God.

Lets not worry about the Afterlife or whether a supernatural deity
actually exists. Lets just make sure we take care of our children
by instilling in them values that will help them survive in the world
they will one day inherit.

God bless.

Learn more about this author, Atticus Langston.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

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