Do Christians think that introducing the concept of Hell and Satan into their children's innocent minds....?

Question

...is a good thing?

Answer 1

I hate the way this is done in some sects.

I used to teach Catholic school (I'm a Wiccan but they never knew!) I love the rituals of the Church, but I really hated the annual stations of the cross drama, in which the fourth-graders basically enacted the crucifixion. There is something very disturbing about having young children watch a scantily clad nine-year-old boy pretend to be tortured and nailed to a cross - and expecting people to feel joy about such an act.

It is extremely disturbing that an act of great violence and terror is the center of any religion.

Answer 2

With any topic, religious in nature, or not, you always present a child with the amount of information they can handle based on their age and also their maturity level.
The truth is always a good thing, most esspecially when it comes to God's Word.
You know the story of Eve eating the apple? Well, thats the biggest Christian lie of them all, and when I was in first grade, our sunday school teacher told us that lie. For years I couldn't understand why God would give a commandment about eating fruit; then I was confused with why it would upset God so much that she did eat the apple - It made me feel like we are supposed to worship a God of stupid, trivial stuff. It wasn't until way later in life that I realized that there is no apple in Genesis, that the truth was that Eve had sexual relations with Satan, and it was Satan trying to interrupt the pure geneology of Eve's offspring, and that it was so serious because eventually, womb-to-womb, would come the Christ. If you start out, esspecially with the Bible, telling children lies to sugar-coat it, then they have years and years of misunderstanding, confusion, and maybe even turn away from it altogether. Children are much brighter than you give them credit - now keep in mind, I said give them info based on their maturity and age - If they ask a straight question, give them a straight answer, short, concise, to the point and truthful. If they want more information, they will ask for it.

Answer 3

Children comprehend a lot more than most people think they do. I taught kids for several years. It was in a Christian daycare, and a few of them were saved. When ever kids brought up Satan or hell, they were never afraid of it or him though. They knew Satan hated them but they knew Jesus loved them and has already defeated Satan.

I would have my kids have all the information. You don't shove it on them all at once, and you don't do it to scare them. I think my actions as a parent, would speak a lot more in how I react to Satan, meaning if I tell my child about Satan but let them know I am not afraid and show no fear, then it is done the right way.

I know a lot of parents out there that aren't believers that have done much more harmful things to their kids using just thier words, than i would ever do to my child when she comes to the age to explain to her about the Bible and ALL that entails in it.

Answer 4

The concept of "Hell" as most people understand it today (as the burning firey place of torment where all the bad people go) is not actually a biblical or a Christian teaching. the original Hebrew and Greek words were "Sheol" and "Hades"- both of which simply mean "grave"- so when you die, you go to the grave. The early Catholic church however saw fit to make the meaning one that would instill fear- there by securing their control over the masses and maintaining a means of extracting more money from the people- "you know, we can pray your loved ones out of purgatory if you pay us!" Sadly, most of the goofy ideas that people think are "Christian" are nothing of the sort.

Answer 5

Well, in teaching truth about the Bible...God is real, Jesus is real and Satan is real. Satan is behind all bad things and wicked going on since Adam & Eve. Its truth. And I wouldnt teach anything but the truth if I were a mother. And as for Hell, a burning hell..yes, that is cruel because it doesnt instill a "Godly fear" it instills actual fear that if we do wrong we will BURN forever. This is wrong. If anyone would read the Bible, hell if it were is refered by the term SHEOLE or HADES...which merely means "Grave", or the place you rest when you die. The Bible doesnt talk about burning at all. So what people teach children about this, is 100% a lie and is frightening to them. Read the Bible and see that when we die, we are conscience of what?...NOTHING. We are dead, asleep. Not in limbo, not burning or flying in heaven. Just asleep.

Answer 6

I have a three-year-old sister, and as far as I am aware, we have not mentioned hell or Satan to her yet. Will we? Yes. However, though we do talk about Jesus, I don't sit there giving her a lecture on hell, and why people go there. She is, after all, only three. I don't think that there is a particular widespread "age" that is better than another to introduce these topics, though. As each child's development can be a little different, it all depends on his or her maturity level, comprehension level, etc. Do I intend to talk to her of heaven, hell, more about Jesus, and about Satan? Yes!

Answer 7

At what point in time are you going to tell them about Attica, San Quenton, Folsom, etc.

A friend of mind with an adopted kid who thinks being a druggie and gangtah is good and carrying a gun is cool, did two years in Juvie.

I don't think he knows what San Quenton is, and he'll go there because they live in San Francisco. One day He'll pull that gun and rob a store for drug money and he'll LEARN what HELL is.

AT what age do you tell your kids about Folsom Prison.

There was a group of cops who made an organization called SCARED STRAIGHT and they took elementary and teens on tours of State Penetentaries.

It was a VERY effective program.

Answer 8

Sure it's a good thing. Because it's the truth. But in the same breath we should tell them that there is nothing to worry about because we have Jesus Christ on our team.

We Christians do not live in fear of Satan or Hell. We live in God's love.

Answer 9

How is telling them about the truth of the Bible hurting a child when half the people out there have there 10 to 12 year olds having sex, getting diseases, having babies, putting dirty pictures of themselves online and the parents thinking their child doesn't do that. Ha! what a crack up for you to think telling a child about hell is a bad idea and letting them have sex at 10 is ok. rofl

Answer 10

It is my understanding that Christians believe that children are born in a state of sin. This is why they must be baptized so that they can enter heaven if they die. Sin comes from Satan, not from God. So, it follows that children, born in a state of sin, must also be born with a knowledge of Satan. Spooooky!