What would happen to the numbers of Christians...?

Question

...if they were not allowed to preach to children?

And please spare us the "suffer the little children to come unto me" speech. If a law were passed that made it illegal for any religion to preach to children, it only permitted a religion to preach to adults, would the population of religious people drop, increase, or stay the same (and why do you believe your answer correct)?

Answer 1

CHILDREN NEED TO KNOW THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST!

WE HAVE TO TEACH OUR CHILDREN THE LESSONS OF THE BIBLE SO THEY CAN GROW INTO ADULTS WITH MORALS!

The children of the world who are NOT brought up in GOD FEARING homes and CHURCHES are the children who stray into the valley of SIN and LUST. Children who aren't brought up in CHURCHES become the homosexuals, adultery, drug addicts, criminals and liberals who are trying to RUIN our GOD FEARING NATION!

The GOD of MOSES will SMITE them for their SINS and he will call down a rain of fire on this nation if we do NOT TURN FROM OUR SINFUL WAYS!

John 3:16
-Mrs. Paige

Answer 2

You describe a rather restricted scenario, but fortunately we live in a country that has freedom of speech and freedom of religion. I don't think that the rigid scenario that you are considering is appealing to the majority of ANY country, so perhaps you are just letting off some self-created steam.

Whew, that's a relief!

If you don't want children to learn about religion until their adult years, they may not understand or be as receptive when they are adults. Also, they could not experience the love and joy of knowing Christ as a youth. They could not serve or be saved by His grace in time. That is why the events of communion, confirmation and marriage are so special. They mark a milestone in a Christian's life.

If you had a country with no religion education until adulthood, would you really stop there? Would you consider holding off from teaching mathematics, manners, kindness and reading, too?

Answer 3

Stop pointing out the obvious. If small children were not frightened into believing in a judgmental God at such an early age with threats of damnation and hell fire they could read the bible with a clear mind and see the truth.

The first thing that they would notice was the parable of the prodigal son that Jesus taught about an unconditionally loving God. The silly idea of a judgmental God of revenge and punishment would then look to them like the bad joke that it has always been.

I agree it should be a law. After all most other types of institutional child abuse are illegal. Religious abuse is one of the few that still exists unchecked. Imagine any other context where someone could tell small children that someone who loved them might allow them to be burnt in a fire.

Sick, Sad but still sick.

Answer 4

Nah! Even if a law was passed like that...it wouldn't work. Christians would just go underground and still get the Word out to children. There's no stopping Christianity. Children are a heritage.
The population of Christians are growing at a very fast rate.

Answer 5

If atheism is the answer why is there never any improvement? All you (they) state, is get rid of Christians. As far as I know, children are not preached to, at least I never was. I always had a choice, and have gone from Christian to Gnostic, Gnostic to atheism, back to Gnostic, to a Deitist. If only adults are preached to, what is to keep them from talking to their children? There would be no change.

Oh, I forgot, "suffer the little children to come unto me".

Answer 6

So, is this the new atheist plan to get rid of faith? What is it you guys are so afraid of? That children have morals, instead of the kids of today who don't know about God, so have no moral reason to be good? Continuation of drive-by shootings and school massacres your big agenda? So far, all the progress I've seen by atheism is more crime. You take away hope, you take away the reason to live, you take away the desire to do the right thing. You give nothing, only take. Kids that grow up without any faith become the kids that take guns to school and blow the other kids away. They're not afraid of having to face God one day, they're not afraid of anything. With kids with faith, they have that little voice inside that stops them from acting on their impusles, that little voice that says no. Its called a conscience, and kids without faith seem to have lost theirs.

Christians would still teach their children, because what you've given so far is nothing anyone wants for their kids. We've become so politically correct, we've lost the foundations that made this country great in the first place.

Answer 7

The number of Christians would drop, but the level of fanatacism would rise, and the Christians would have the first justification for their persecution complex of any real note since the whole lions incident.

People tend to accept the reality presented to them: If the Christian reality isn't presented to children, they won't take it on faith. Ultimately though, I think you could enforce something like that anyway: if kids can't be preached too, adults will just "ask them nicely" to read "The good book" and find other loop holes.

Answer 8

I'm not sure it would make a difference. I personally know a great number of people who came to Jesus as adults, never having been exposed to him as a child. And since many of the people I know who are not practicing Christians left church because they disliked it as children, they might be more open to it when approaching it as adults without the bias of their childhood experiences which may or may not have really had anything to do with the religion itself. So I think it might actually remain constant.

Answer 9

They aren't allowed to preach directly to children unless the parents okay it. By the way, I was an atheist until I was 19 years old and so was my wife until she was 22 years old. We're both very dedicated Christians now.

Answer 10

Sorry, but I don't think you'd ever find a law like that passed in America as I'm quite sure it would violate the Constitution.

But, if it could I would imagine you would see a certain percentage decrease. It's already happened in part as the separation between this and that keeps dividing. But to a strong Christian family, it makes little difference.

Answer 11

well it wouldnt stop a Christian, cause when they got home they would teach their children, no matter what the law said. There is so many Christians now that meet in secert cause laws of the places they are from prohibits God's word being preached and teached. You can't stop God's word.