This week a friend of mine me an interesting question. He asked, "At what age are children mature enough...?"

Question

...to be taught about sex? At what level of maturity?

He went on to ask if it were true that some "spiritual" lessons cannot be taught or learned, until a person reaches a certain level of "spiritual" maturity.

Is this a valid comparison?

Is there a correlation between learning deep complex issues, and maturity?

Is this so? Do some "spiritual" concepts require a certain level of "spiritual" maturity before one can learn anything from them, or even comprehend them?

If so, then how does one become "spiritually mature"?

Your courteous thoughts please.

Answer 1

Excellent excellent question!!!

First of all I think that kids should be made fully aware of sex when they reach puberty. Especially in this day, they are going to learn about it anyway (unless they live in a box. I know a few people who do). I would rather have my children learn about sex in a safe environment and with healthy habits.

I absolutely believe this to be true of our spiritual lives as well. Yes there is a spiritual maturity. I mentioned this in a previous question as well.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AofMgqFqv9kP7NoocRrRjY3sy6IX?qid=20070727105738AAIElyR

The bible alludes to this also (these are the words of Jesus):
Ma 7:6 "Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, niether cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn against and rend you."

Meaning that you cannot teach those who are not ready to learn. This is perhaps one of the most difficult lessons we face as spiritual people. We feel the need to share what we have learned, but people are not necessarily ready to hear it. This is also why so many religions go awry. They base their beliefs on a message that they do not fully understand.

(as an aside; all you folks who call Christians sheep....perhaps better a sheep than a swine, no?)

Certainly there are prerequisites for certain spiritual lessons. I doubt they are uniform for everyone but spiritual progress does seem to follow a logical progression.

I have no spirit

I have a spirit

I am a spirit

One can become spiritually mature through study. Study of oneself and the world. Study of one's experiences and of one's reactions to those experiences. Study of the thoughts and ideas of others who are spiritually aware. Many people turn to religion during the early stages of their spiritual journey for this very reason. These religions are based on the teachings of such people.

It might help to think of a persons spiritual evolution in terms of the chakras. In this way our growth follows a logical flow:

1st chakra - Survival. This refers primarily to our physical needs, survival as a body. We are firmly rooted in the physical and are controlled by our most basic instincts.

2nd chakra - Sexuality. At this point we are concerned with the survival of our line, reproduction, and lust.

3rd chakra - Power/Creativity. Our ability to assert ourselves in our world, to affect change in our environment, and to create.

4th chakra - Affinity/Love. We seek to make intimate connections with other people, and to love ourselves

5th chakra - Communication. We feel a need to share our experiences and ideas with others.

6th chakra - Clairvoyance (clear seeing). We begin to see energy, even though we may not be aware of it. We develop a 'sense' that something is right or wrong. We often know when we are being lied to.

7th chakra - Clairsentience (clear knowing). This is where the true Journey begins. We accept our own existence as spirit and that we are separate from the physical and exist within it by choice.

As you can see the chakras provide a very gradual ascent into spirituality. Each of these stages must be considered in relation those that precede it before we move on to the next stage. For example: the 2nd chakra represents both pure lust, and the desire to propagate (as influnced by the survival instinct of the 1st chakra). Thus our journey becomes more complicated as we progress.



Heaven is a state of mind
Shane

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

Watch out, Serafim, look what happened to Barak Obama when he discussed appropriate sex education for children! ; )

I definitely agree that children must obtain a certain level of maturity before they understand spiritual or sexual concepts (and other concepts in life as well). At what precise age, I think might depend on the child. I know at the age of 5, I was praying and had a basic understanding of the concept of God, so I think children can learn some spiritual concepts earlier than sexual ones.

I think learning about anything is a process. You start with simple concepts and you build upon that foundation. It's the same with spirituality. Once the child (or adult) understands a concept, you go to the next one.

But learning spiritual concepts is a lifetime process and I'm still learning some. It takes study, discussion, prayer, contemplation and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Is one ever completely spiritually mature? I doubt it until we make it to Heaven.

Answer 4

I have do address one of the Answerers first.

living4him4ever: Listen to what you wrote: "You should never teach your children about sex. All you should tell them is that sex is wrong if you're not married." If you tell them that sex is wrong but never teach them about sex, guess what their first question will likely be. "What's sex"? Yeah, you can't tell them something is wrong if they don't at least know what it is. Plus, since all sex is okay in a marriage between a man and a woman, they'd better know that they will be exploring that lifestyle when they're married.

Here's something else you said, kind of haphazardly: "And we can comprehend God from the minute of conception." What? I can't think of any child that can comprehend God until, at the very least, the age of 2, and that's being nice. I think most kids can comprehend aspects of God at the age of 4, but like life, baby steps are needed to fully explain God.

And you say: "You should start reading the Bible to your baby in the womb to prepare them for a life that will keep them out of Hell." Again, it won't help anything. I understand your concern, but you are certainly not taking the right approach on any level.

So, my answer. I was taught in 5th grade, so I think I was 10 or 11. That's an appropriate age. I remember going through middle school and high school learning a little bit more about sex each year, and sex education ended in 10th grade. Like what I said to living4him4ever, I think there's some things about God that take a bit more of a maturity to understand; and perhaps you could call it spiritual maturity. But honestly, sex is so cut and dry. I think emotions regarding sex are complex, but not the act itself. Thus, teaching kids about sex need not be delayed for such a maturity.

I think Christians can become spiritually mature by reading the Bible, being in fellowship with other Christians, talking to God and things like that. Spiritual maturity also entails a positive attitude and lifestyle. That means a life where sin is not dominant, or even present. The ideal Christian and, in my opinion, the ideal person would be one free from sin. However, nobody is without sin on their heart. That is why the need for a God and for Jesus Christ is there. Repenting for your sins and putting your faith in Jesus is the best place to start.

Answer 5

my personal opinion as a non-parent, but not-idiot is that sexual education should be done mostly at home, and very gradually, a "boys and girls are different down there" sorta thing at an obviously young age. working up to more or less adult conversations at lower teens.

I think perhaps the goal would be to present the information, somewhere between being able to understand it,and where not having the information, motivates them to find the answers on their own devices.

I don't think its entirely valid OR entirely invalid,... on some parts its quite true, in others its not,.

the big difference is that, contrary to what some will tell you, exploring spirituality "on your own devices" when done intelligently and with appropriate caution and thought, is not as prone to having issues.

though, on the other hand some of the "issues" with that are not so much "real" (though, some are) but imagined with the adult issues.

an example of a spiritual thing,
some of the stuff jesus is belived to have said, when approached with a "more advanced spiritual understanding" comes out *entirely* different than the way it tends to be understood, by a more "normal" lower degree of spiritual understanding/maturity.

there are very definitely some "advanced" spiritual teachings that, if presented imperfectly, to someone whos not to that degree of understanding yet, it will almost certainly be entirely misunderstood.

contrary to what some think, NOT everyone is born atheist. we are not born with knowlege of the words for certain things, but at least SOME people *ARE* born with a concept of God.

that idea of never teaching about sex... thats just... idiotic. if they are not taught they will find the answers themselves.

Answer 6

I wish I knew. And it's not like I havent given this subject any thought either, you just go to play it by ear (I'm not muslim, but a similar culture I guess, one that does arranged marriages and disowns people). Without this sounding like my guide to being a coward I would say this, he's just go to make carefull choices, and do things by degrees; To avoid being married whilst in the closet, you got to forster an atmosphere of 'being very picky' with the family. (I'm 25 now, and over the hill. They're starting to accept I like my personal space and want to do my own thing) I would move away personaly, if he doesn't feel safe or happy then why stick around, he's got a degree, he can move anywhere and do anything. Suggest a gap year or something...'go find himself' in india or something. I'm sure he's not the only gay person in a muslim country, what do the rest of them do? That's a good question. I hope it all works out ok, that's a tricky one. If I coud answer that myself I wouldn't be so far up sht creek as I am now.

Answer 7

I certainly think that the spiritual is a more intense process, and one that has greater fluidity as life goes on. A person's sexual identity is set, more or less, by the time one reaches adolescence, but a person's spirituality may evolve over time and be different at different ages.

For example, when I was 20 I couldn't imagine not having Christian belief; it never occurred to me that one could think differently. I simply could not embrace the concept of different perspectives on spiritual things. I went through a period in my twenties where I embraced more esoteric religious ideas, and finally, since about age thirty, have been an Atheist.

The evolution of my spirituality, or the denial therof, has been a process much longer coming to fruition than my sexuality. The only challenge for my sexuality was to stop denying it--bisexuality--and this was influenced by my religious beliefs. As my spirituality moved beyond self-condemnation, true acceptance emerged. If my spirituality had not evolved, I still would be caught in the grip of self-denial.

An excellent question, and one I hope I have given a good view of my perspective on.

Answer 8

As far as sex goes, a child reaches different stages of questioning and understanding at different ages. Therefore let them ask and you give answers simple enough for their understanding. For example (true story) I was 5-6 when I began to question my mom. I asked how the woman gets prego? Her response was that the male sperm joins with the female egg and the woman becomes pregnant. No details on how this happens but at the time enough info to satisfy me. As far as spirituality goes I believe a new born has more spiritual understanding than we do, but with time as they grow to be just like us they lose this spiritual understanding only to seek it out once again as adults. Personally I've always felt a kind of spiritual connection to God even as young as 3. In my opinion the spirituality aspect of life is even more natural then the sexual aspects.
Peace

EDIT: I see the thing about your opinion and getting thumbs down goes both ways huh non believers.

Answer 9

children are mature enough to be taught about sex when they start asking questions. that doesn't mean that you have to give them all the information at once though. give them the amount that they can understand and as they get older explain more about it to them. when they are old enough to get pregnant or to get someone pregnant they should have all the info.yes, there is acorrelation between learning deep complex issues and maturityand spiritual concepts require a certain level of spiritual maturity before being able to understanding them.you become spiritually mature by going to church and reading the HOLY BIBLE and asking questions about your faith and your religion from people who have the answers such as your parents or the minister,pastor or priest or rabbi of your religious house of GOD

Answer 10

The concept of "spirituality" or "spiritual maturity" is not well defined. As for sex, education can begin at any age, and in increasing detail as a child grows older and increases in understanding. But children learn from each other, and parental education is usually superfluous.

Answer 11

Well, I think that is a bad analogy. For sex you are either having sex, or not. It doesn't change or deepen over time. There is an objective and observable measure for whether or not someone is sexually active. Spirituality is not like that - there is no objective measure for when someone has lost their spiritual 'virginity'.

Sex is like a water faucet that you turn on once, Spirituality is like an empty pond that fills over time. How does this happen? By being unafraid of walking in the 'rain'.