Would you still be a Christian if your parents didn't teach you about Christianity?

I myself am not a Christian, my mom was raised Catholic but kinda tossed it aside by the time I was born. I wasn't really forced into any religion.

One of the most common things I see in my Christian friends, is that their parents are also Christians. They taught their kids about Jesus and Hell from a very young age and most attended Christian schools.

Do you think you would still be a Christian if your parents weren't Christian? If your parents weren't christian, how did you find out about the Bible and become one?

This can go for any religion really, but I think there are lots of Christians outnumber most on here.

I think parent to child conditioning at a young age is one of the main factors that keep the religious machines a turning.

Its very hard to shake beliefs brought upon you as a young child. So I'm gonna be very careful with my kid. I'm still kind of upset about the whole Santa thing.

If parents didnt teach their kids this nonsense there would be no religion...fall stop! It would have disappeared a long time ago.

Ive seen kids that believe they are going to hell for being naughty...what a way to bring up a kid eh...in fear. Its child abuse in my eyes.

I

reply to post by mayabong


No, because they did, and I am not. As ones learns. One makes decisions based on what is learned.

Originally posted by VI0811
reply to post by mayabong

 

No, because they did, and I am not. As ones learns. One makes decisions based on what is learned.

I agree and I applaud you for breaking away from your conditioning. Some people are not as lucky though. Most of my friends don't learn and see anything that goes against the learned belief system, as merely a test of faith. It actually strengthens their beliefs. Its a genius loophole.

I dont understand how Christians say they have 'faith' in god. Faith is not something we are taught, our parents, teachers ect teach us about god, so their faith is not in god it is a faith in mankind!

reply to post by mayabong


My parents are not religious, so I learned most about Christianity in school. This is where the real conditioning happens.

It starts with the Nativity where everyone gets to play a part, even if it's only the star. They suck you in and the Kablammo, everything we did in school we were informed that God didn't put us on this planet to, kick, punch, spit, swear etc, etc....

I hasten to add I no longer class myself as Christian, but I have to admit the story of the nativity is cool!! Now where did I put that star costume?

reply to post by mayabong


My parents did not teach me about God or Christianity. I embraced it on my own my senior year in high school. I then studied on my own even learning Greek in college so I could study better and got half of a MA in theology before I went into the Army to pay off my student loans.

I have seen the bad side and the good side of the Christian faith. I am more of a Christian mystic than a mainstream christian. I follow the search for the reality and presence of God past denominational borders. God is real, what God is no one can define, but if you search you will find the reality of His presence. Don't throw out the wonderful and real experience because of human crap (aka Dogma).

IN many ways the search for God is like the search for truth here on ATS. 90 plus percent of everything people will tell you is utter crap. But there is a thread of truth running through most of it.

reply to post by mayabong


Personally, I was raised Christian and now I'd say I'm pretty much Deist/agnostic/confused. But I don't think it's all ridiculous. Most "Christians" tend to pick and choose what they follow from the Bible it seems. Its just the best explanation they had at the time I guess. Though, wether you believe it or not, Jesus was pretty awesome. I think these days people who weren't raised on it tend to just echo other peoples explanations for not believing before checking it out. Sometimes people are curious enough to actually read the whole thing but it gets kinda boring. It's all up to the individual really, peoples beliefs become shaped by many things.

Well it is indoctrination from birth. Kinda like how a racist and kkk member teach these things to their kids and they become bigots themselves. Abuse breeds abuse. I have seen Christian parents beat the fear of god into their kids. I was brought up in a part time christian family I personally had a hard time with the reasoning and ethic behind the who thing from a young age. My Girlfriend came a full time christian family and she never questioned it until she met me where she was challenged. However she didn't deny reasoning and logic when confronted with like to many believers do . The fear of death and and suffering for all eternity is a great motivator for people to keep on believing and to deny logic and reasoning. It is child abuse religion should be something that is taught later in life when a person is capable of reasoning and logic and when they seek it . With something that is claimed as a personal relationship there should be no need to force this on kids after all their god communicates with everyone. Keep religion to yourselves and in the closet.

Originally posted by pianopraze
reply to post by mayabong

 

< snip > IN many ways the search for God is like the search for truth here on ATS. 90 plus percent of everything people will tell you is utter crap. But there is a thread of truth running through most of it.

Quite true. Most of what mainstream religion teaches is not what is the Book of Instruction (Bible) teaches at all.

Faith in God and His work through His Son is not just a hope and a prayer, it is trust in who and what He says He is, and keeping the ways He has given us to live.

It's not made up celebrations, rituals or dogma, it takes a one-on-One approach through reading, praying, and here's that dirty word--obeying.

But to answer the original question, yes, I would still fear, trust, love and believe God even if my parents had not given me a nominal start in christianity when I was a child.

I would have met and recognized my Redeemer, sooner or later.

Originally posted by mayabong
Do you think you would still be a Christian if your parents weren't Christian? If your parents weren't christian, how did you find out about the Bible and become one?

My parents are Christians, but I don't remember them ever really "teaching" me anything about it. I never even went to church until I was about 12, and the only family member that I can remember talking to about religion when I was young was my maternal Grandfather, who was an agnostic.

Though I've been a believer for a long time, I would say that I only became a strong Christian about ten years ago, after a long period of being away from the church for personal reasons, and my return was a result of my own reflection and revelation, not anything that anyone external to me did or said.

reply to post by mayabong


Simple. I am a Christian, and my parents taught me nothing about it. When I was growing up, my father was an atheist and my Mum an agnostic.

So, the answer is yes.

Editing to add after reading someone's post above, that I was uninfluenced by school. In New Zealand the Education Act states that schools must be "Free, secular and compulsory". Even mentioning religion in school here is illegal. Yet I am a Christian, as is one of my sisters and my late brother.

Parental influence and school have much less to do with it than some people seem to think

My parents taught me what the Catholic church teaches, but that is not Christianity. It thinks it is, but it's dead wrong. Any church that prays to anyone but God the Father is not Christian, and the Catholic church loves to deify random people. I found Christ in a Baptist church at the age of 19, started reading the bible, and have been seeking Him since. God is very real, and He is the God described in the bible and only that.

I dont understand how Christians say they have 'faith' in god. Faith is not something we are taught, our parents, teachers ect teach us about god, so their faith is not in god it is a faith in mankind

My faith is not in mankind. Until you've felt the presence of God, tangibly, you'll never understand. If you want proof, go to a bible-preaching church looking for Him with an open heart. You will find Him.

I was forced into Sunday school class..obviously had to choice in being baptized and was forced to attend church. As kids, we all hate this and fight against it. We dont question the truth though until we are educated and much older..I actually believed in a god until i was about 17. I used to argue against non believers and swear by the bible. As i read more and listening to others opinions, i realized how horrible catholics are, and how much better a world would be with out religion. The only good thing i can say about being catholic, is that it teaches your morals...not that you couldnt teach yourself not to kill, not to steal, treat others with respect. It also keeps marriage respectful..for the few that actually stay committed. I hope one day it will all go away. The more science proves the bible wrong, the better off we are. Who still believes in the greek gods? No one! its "silly" now. No one believes in magic, yet they believe in the bible which has many many "magic" tricks. Hurry up and get the world educated better.

yea, i would. because i did teach myself about christianity.
through teaching myself,i expanded my mind. If did not understand soemthing,i did not have someone to ask to give me their,could be false belief. I figured it out for myself.