Is it wrong to take my kids to church and then say all positive religon/spirituality is correct?

Question

My parents believe in god. My family had 2 weekly bible lessons, and Sunday lessons. My parents taught us,(behind the back of the churches leaders), that every positive religon is to be respected and that somehow all of this comes from 1 supreme spirit. All love comes from love. I am teaching my kids this too. I also take them to church. I sometimes think I am being a hypocrite because I go to church, I DO BELIEVE IN GOD, and then I tell them what my parents told me. I am a good person- so my parents must have done something right- although I sometimes wonder if their acceptance of other religon was somehow a way for them to make us believe that christianity was the way to go... My husband doesnt even believe in a god and wont go to church but tells my kids the same thing. I have no problem with this. Am I a hypocrite?

Answer 1

all humans are hypocrites to one degree or another, no? We say one thing and do another.

You try your best to love unconditionally. That's what counts.

Find the God of your highest understanding and Authority. Love unconditionally. Happy mommies make happy babies.

Answer 2

I think that that is a very positive thing for you to be doing. My mother used to take my brother and I to church when we were little. We belong to the United Church (and I was baptised there) but then at one point in my childhood I also took classes at the Anglican Church and was Confirmed there.

My mother always tells me the story of how she took religion classes at a different church/denomination than where her family attended behind her mother's back when she was little, just because she was curious. Her mother was horrified to find out.

I still go to a United Church, but that doesn't mean I believe everything that is said in the services. I don't think there would be any church where I would agree completely with everything the Church ascribes too.

Your children are much more likely to appreciate religion, spirituality, diversity, and differences if you give them the opportunity to develop their own beliefs (while guiding them in the process)

Answer 3

IF those 'positive ' religions are CHRISTIAN religions, then yes, I would say it's OK. However, ANY other religion, if it is NOT based on the teachings of Jesus Christ, then it is, quite frankly, a CULT. That includes Muslim, Indian religions (Shamanism, etc.) Buddhism, Shintoism and the like. Now, I'm gonna tick off a lot of people by saying these things, but it is the TRUTH!! IF you do not have Jesus Christ as your Saviour, then there is NO way of entering Heaven-- and I mean NO WAY!!!! The Bible is very clear on this point. If you allow your husband to tell your children it's OK that he rejects God, it will send the kids a VERY strong message that it's OK to reject GOD, and that's not a wise thing to do. What, then, is right, and what is wrong? You are saying GOD is right, and your hubby says it's wrong? WHO will they believe? PLEASE---- work on your husband (gently)-- try to encourage him to go to Church-- speak to him about your strongest personal beliefs. But do so in a way that does NOT attact his beliefs. Just feed him, and let HIM digest it.

Answer 4

It sounds like God is opening up your spirit to the truth that your parents, no matter how well meaning, were wrong. Two contradictory statements cannot both be true.

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Acts 4:11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. (12) And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."

While you can respect the people who belong to a "positive religion" you cannot be a Christian and respect their erroneous beliefs. Instead you should walk in God's truth and let this passage be your guide when interacting with such people.

2 Timothy 2:23 Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. (24) And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, (25) correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, (26) and they may escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

You should certainly not teach your children the common lie of the Devil that has gained wide acceptance among worldly people, namely that there are many paths to Heaven just like there are different routes that lead to the top of a mountain.

Answer 5

I think you should do whatever feels right. Personally I think putting kids through the boredom and brainwashing of church is a waste of time, and I think people should be allowed to grow up without having religion pushed on them by their families/society so that they can make their own unbiased religious choices - but that's just my opinion. Don't let those religious fanatics tell you you're not on the 'true path to god" or some other bull$#it - you teach your kids what YOU want to teach them, don't worry about everyone else's opinion. As long as you're a kind person and a loving mother and wife I think if there is a god that should be enough for him : )

Answer 6

It is not exactly logical to tell them that its all right. In fact many religions are in opposition to each other. Ephesians 2:8-9 says "For by grace are ye saved, through faith and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast" Many religions say that if you are a "good person" then you earn your salvation. This goes against what the bible says. There are other religions that teach you worship mother earth. The bible expressly says that this is a form of idol worship. You see it is impossible for both to be right, they contradict each other. There is only one truth. Either the pencil is sharp, or it is dull... Either a religion is true or it is false.

Answer 7

I think your husband is the hypocrite by being an atheist and yet saying that religion is a good thing. If religion is so good and right, why doesn't he believe in a god?

Answer 8

Jesus said in John 17:3 And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent

Isa 45:5,6 I am the Lord, there is no other; There is no God besides Me. I will gird you, though you have not known Me, that they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting That there is none besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other.

Isa 46:9 Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me,

As a Christian we have to accept Jesus' word and what the Bible says that our Father in the heaven is the only true God.

Answer 9

Every good person is to be respected. Even if they do not adhere to a religion.

I believe what you are teaching your children is right, and good job for doing that. You are not a hypocrite, just because you go to church doesn't mean you have to be ultra-conservative.

Answer 10

I think you are fine. It is perfectly okay to expose the kids to religion, as long as you don't demand that they actually profess a belief in it. If they like it, they may believe; if not, they won't. Sooner or later, they will make up their own minds anyway. To paraphrase an old saw, you can lead the kids to the bible, but you can't make them believe it. (Which I don't.)