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Thread: why belief in God matters to kids....

  1. #1
    Boolit Buddy sonoransixgun's Avatar
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    why belief in God matters to kids....

    This is an article from World magazine....It's nothing new to us who are believers, but I enjoy it when eminent liberals and atheists agree with us and show some common sense (even though she still doesn't advocate authentic faith)....

    Why belief in God matters to kids
    Declining interest in religion is one of the most important explanations for increased rates of depression and anxiety in children and teens today, according to New York psychoanalyst Erica Komisar.

    “I am often asked by parents, ‘How do I talk to my child about death if I don’t believe in God or heaven?’ My answer is always the same: ‘Lie,’” she wrote in an editorial earlier this month for The Wall Street Journal. “The idea that you simply die and turn to dust may work for some adults, but it doesn’t help children. Belief in heaven helps them grapple with this tremendous and incomprehensible loss.”

    But fewer and fewer Americans attend church or say they believe in God. Komisar, who is politically liberal and Jewish, cited research on higher psychological well-being for children or teens who attend a religious service at least once a week. She also praised the values of empathy, gratitude, and community instilled by a religious identity, needed antidotes to a distracted, lonely, and individualistic culture.

    This isn’t the first time Komisar has been willing to voice controversial conclusions. Reporters and reviewers shunned her after the release of her 2017 book Being There: Why Prioritizing Motherhood in the First Three Years Matters, which used neuroscience and psychology to defend the idea that babies have a biological need for their mother’s care. —K.C.

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    Boolit Grand Master
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    My fiancé recently lost her four year old granddaughter. Her six year old grandson was comforted to know his sister was in heaven....no longer suffering...and looking down at us.
    Don Verna


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    Boolit Buddy sonoransixgun's Avatar
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    So sorry for your loss....But yes, that's exactly what her brother needed and what the psychologist affirms....How people get through life without faith in God is something I don't get....

  4. #4
    Boolit Master


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    I agree fully with the post sonoransixgun. I would go so far as to say the same well being and attitudes can be seen in adults who regularly attend worship and express a belief in the God of the Bible. I personally cannot see how people who have no connection with the Christian faith manage in today's sometimes rough and rocky world.
    Mark 5:34 And He said to her (Jesus speaking), "Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace and be healed of your affliction."

  5. #5
    Boolit Grand Master
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    I can attest that many atheists function exceedingly well in the real world. Many are kind and considerate. Many are better people than some people you will meet in your church. And in general will be slightly more intelligent. It is their intelligence that drives them away from God...sadly.

    A relationship with an atheist will be a great learning experience if you keep an open mind and do not preach to them until they are ready to receive the Word
    Don Verna


  6. #6
    Boolit Buddy sonoransixgun's Avatar
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    Thanks, smoked turkey...my experience too...

    Don, I have relationships with atheists. I think all of us do, especially in our post-Christian times...There's one guy in particular that will actually discuss things of substance (most will not). Though neither of us has said anything that's changed the other's mind, we respect each other and maintain a good friendship. Like the psychologist in the article above, he readily acknowledges the positive effects of religion, particularly Christianity. I don't know if I agree with you on the intelligence thing, though. To me it's more of a cultural thing. Many of the fathers of modern science were Christians who believed in God. Today atheism is in vogue, so most people, including the educated scientists, do not believe in God. But anyway, the point of the article was that children really need the support provided by religion, and I think it's great to hear an important psychologist acknowledge the truth of this.

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    Boolit Master AnthonyB's Avatar
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    I have posted in these discussions before, and hope I have been able to avoid offending anyone. I offer these thoughts not to challenge believers, but to inform the discussion on why people may believe as they do. I can best describe my religious status as agnostic trending toward atheism.
    I was raised in the Church of Christ and baptized at age ten. I was a true believer and walked the walk. I could give details, but they are not really relevant to the discussion. I lost my faith on Highway 8 in Iraq.
    I came home and raised my children in the Church, even though I no longer really believed. Then my wife was diagnosed with a series of medical conditions that would eventually take 20 years to kill her. I buried her in 2016. In between her illnesses and death, I got the opportunity to study history at Vanderbilt and teach a World History course at a military academy for three years. We went from the beginning of recorded history to the Renaissance in 40 lessons. Did you know every ancient civilization save the Chinese had a creation myth? And that they were all different, and based on the conditions where the society evolved?
    Now, I am married again to another Christian woman. I don't believe, but I am there with her in church whenever we are together (we live in different states). I understand and enthusiastically support what ethical monotheism and Christianity have contributed to Western Civilization, but it is not for me. I don't beat cripples or kick dogs, and my beliefs do not make me an unproductive member of society.
    My point is that just like you, most of us have reasons for what we don't believe.
    Tony

  8. #8
    Boolit Mold Cheezrichard's Avatar
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    AnthonyB,well put my experience mirrors yours.

  9. #9
    Boolit Buddy sonoransixgun's Avatar
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    Tony, you might be interested in a book by Don Richardson titled "Eternity in Their Hearts." It traces various myths and legends from around the world that parallel stories from the Bible. It's a fascinating topic....

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    why belief in God matters to kids....

    God and bigfoot are real.
    Government is bad for the soul. We fight for our government today and not God...faith in the former being taught to our kids over the latter. You and your children should stay the hell out of the military if you believe in God.
    Laurence Vance sums it up succinctly here:

    https://www.lewrockwell.com/2003/10/...ity-and-war-2/

    Laurence M. Vance writes from central Florida. He is the author of The War on Drugs Is a War on Freedom; War, Christianity, and the State: Essays on the Follies of Christian Militarism; War, Empire, and the Military: Essays on the Follies of War and U.S. Foreign Policy; King James, His Bible, and Its Translators, and many other books. His newest books are Free Trade or Protectionism? and The Free Society.
    Last edited by dangitgriff; 12-22-2019 at 12:22 PM.

  11. #11
    Boolit Buddy sonoransixgun's Avatar
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    Little confused by your post, dangitgriff....It seems (please correct me if I'm wrong) that you're using the thread I started to vent your feelings about Christianity and war. You don't even come close to addressing the topic of my original post....Kids need faith to weather the trials of life....

  12. #12
    Boolit Master HARRYMPOPE's Avatar
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    Joseph Campbell Hero "the Hero with a Thousand Faces"

    A very good history of the stories of many faiths and their similarities.
    Your mother was a hamster, and your father smelt of elderberries

  13. #13
    Boolit Master
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    I hope everyone here has a blessed Christmas in Lord Jesus!

    I know a lot of Christians. No Christian I know of thinks all believers are sweetness and light, nor thinks that all non-believers are evil and cruel, but those ideas seem to be dominate themes buried deep in the minds of "smart" non-believers.

    It amuses me when I read - again - that non-believers in our God are more intelligent than believers. I guess it's the echo chamber in the world they live in but it's certainly not true in the real world.

    I believe we are born with an empty place in our hearts that only God can fill. Little kids aren't big on knowing the "why" of everything, they just focus on "what" is true. Seems children are more aware of their needs than most adults. Therefore, children are more receptive to the love and security they (we) can experience in a trusting relationship with God AND with the eternal family he provides. Seems the science of inertia comes into play as we age; the bigger we get the more more difficult it becomes for grown-ups who have grown callous to Him to change directions.

    I'll be 80 this year. By anyone's recogning, that's old so the time for my "translation" is near. I sorta dread a pending painful death process but not it's end. Thing is, that's not just me, it's typical of Christians at the point of death.

    I am occasionally present when old friends and family died and knew they were going, none of them have ever been traumatic. Nurses tell me there is a significant difference in the passing away emotions of those who have the "GOD" cavity in their hearts properly filled.

    You may say to me, "God doesn't do what I want him to do so I don't/won't trust in Jesus." Okay, I understand your disappointment but I ask you back, "Why not try it? If I'm wrong you would lose nothing at all but if I'm right you would gain everything worth having, including a life of inner peace that's passed any man's understanding. That's not too shabby a deal is it?"
    Last edited by 1hole; 12-29-2019 at 03:07 PM.

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    Boolit Buddy sonoransixgun's Avatar
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    Well said, 1hole....hard to argue against the wisdom of age....

  15. #15
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    to me, it doesnt matter what your belief is, the worst thing one can do is LIE.

  16. #16
    Boolit Buddy sonoransixgun's Avatar
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    Yeah, Lefty, I thought that was a pretty lame suggestion too. Especially to kids. They can see through fake adults like pros....But the main point was that research proves something that is true.

  17. #17
    Boolit Master
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    Your rationale at the end of this post seems to be if nothing else belief in God is a good insurance policy against an eternity in hell. I find that a somewhat trite, self serving and greedy way to look at faith.
    It seems that faith in your god as it presented about your Christian god is something that you would want to have even if there was no payoff in heaven. In other words just being a good person should be reward enough. It seems you make it (in today's Latin) a quid pro quo with God.

    Quote Originally Posted by 1hole View Post
    I hope everyone here has a blessed Christmas in Lord Jesus!

    I know a lot of Christians. No Christian I know of thinks all believers are sweetness and light, nor thinks that all non-believers are evil and cruel, but those ideas seem to be dominate themes buried deep in the minds of "smart" non-believers.

    It amuses me when I read - again - that non-believers in our God are more intelligent than non-believers. I guess it's the echo chamber in the world they live in but it's certainly not true in the real world.

    I believe we are born with an empty place in our hearts that only God can fill. Little kids aren't big on knowing the "why" of everything, they just focus on "what" is true. Seems children are more aware of their needs than most adults. Therefore, children are more receptive to the love and security they (we) can experience in a trusting relationship with God AND with the eternal family he provides. Seems the science of inertia comes into play as we age; the bigger we get the more more difficult it becomes for grown-ups who have grown callous to Him to change directions.

    I'll be 80 this year. By anyone's recogning, that's old so the time for my "translation" is near. I sorta dread a pending painful death process but not it's end. Thing is, that's not just me, it's typical of Christians at the point of death.

    I am occasionally present when old friends and family died and knew they were going, none of them have ever been traumatic. Nurses tell me there is a significant difference in the passing away emotions of those who have the "GOD" cavity in their hearts properly filled.

    You may say to me, "God doesn't do what I want him to do so I don't/won't trust in Jesus." Okay, I understand your disappointment but I ask you back, "Why not try it? If I'm wrong you would lose nothing at all but if I'm right you would gain everything worth having, including a life of inner peace that's passed any man's understanding. That's not too shabby a deal is it?"
    EDG

  18. #18
    Boolit Buddy sonoransixgun's Avatar
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    EDG, I don't know if 1hole will respond, and I'm not responding for him, just giving my own response to your post. I interpret the final statement in 1hole's post as his way of putting the famous "Pascal's Wager." Basically the 17th century philosopher "argued that a rational person should live as though God exists and seek to believe in God. If God does not actually exist, such a person will have only a finite loss (some pleasures, luxury, etc.), whereas he stands to receive infinite gains (as represented by eternity in Heaven) and avoid infinite losses (eternity in Hell)."

    If this is a quid pro quo, it is one that is offered by God to us. "Follow Me and this is what you stand to gain..." Is it selfish to take God up on such an offer?

  19. #19
    Boolit Master
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    No, EDG, a real faith, meaning a saving faith in God is not a casual "get out of hell free" card; such a contrived so called "faith" is a sure ticket TO hell.

    No Christian loses any "good times" on earth, instead of that we have the best times. A Christian life well and properly lived is much more phun and deeply satisfying than any non-Christian can comprehend. On the other hand, look at the "fun filled" but obviously emotionally empty lives of the rich and famous, the beautiful and self absorbed powerful; look closely at the suicide and drug overdose rates and divorce filled lives of such people. Fact is, no one can have enough fun to be filled with the peace and deep happiness of a Christian.

    Anyone thinking a Christian is expected to give up any good thing should ask themselves how much lasting joy Geo. Soros or Hugh Heffner or Michael Jackson, et al, found at the end of their self absorbed, fun filled lives at the end of each day. I know that living right doesn't cost us anything good in life, instead we attain what others vainly seek.

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by smoked turkey View Post
    I agree fully with the post sonoransixgun. I would go so far as to say the same well being and attitudes can be seen in adults who regularly attend worship and express a belief in the God of the Bible. I personally cannot see how people who have no connection with the Christian faith manage in today's sometimes rough and rocky world.
    Simply put, we accept that the rough and rocky world is proof that the notion of a god with a personal interest in us is incorrect; that there's little to depend on besides ourselves and those nearest and dearest; then we suck it up and press on.

    The notion put forth in the O.P. - feed kids the myth that God will make it all OK to chill out their minds - is particularly abhorrent to me. It's right up there with participation trophies, and it pretty much affirms that Karl Marx was correct in calling religion an opiate (that he wanted the state to serve as another opiate was where he crashed and burned). Sure, one wants to shelter their kids from the tragedies that life throws at us, but that should be with an ACTUAL shelter of a network of family and friends, not some ultimately useless trust in Santa Claus.
    WWJMBD?

    In the Land of Oz, we cast with wheel weight and 2% Tin, Man.

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