W
WILKM
Guest
My brother and sister-in-law moved to New Zealand a few months ago with their eight year old daughter. My SIL sends weekly emails to everyone about life across there.
I’m quoting below an extract of her latest email which I find pretty sad:-
“One thing that is very clear over this side of the world is the general attitude towards Christianity. Seeing a church around here is a rarity and there is no Christian education in the schools at all. There are some Christian schools around but they are far and few in between. The schools believe that it is up to the general household to teach their children the various religious ways, which I must admit, I agree with 100%. As many of our friends know, E… and I have our own views regarding Christianity; however we have never expressed these views to K… She is to make up her own mind regarding this. K… has had a few experiences where her friends have told her that there is no such thing as God. Only for her to question me on this subject and what we believe in. I have told her that she must follow her heart and if she believes that Jesus exists, then that is her choice. I found myself having to choose my words very carefully as I would hate to mislead her. In response to her questions I told her that her grand parents are Christians and that many of my friends are. I managed to avoid having to directly tell her how we feel and I hope I will not have to “let her down” too soon. I will not lie to her about our views, however if I can avoid it for a few more years, I will definitely do so. One thing I am not going to do is make choices for her regarding this subject.”
There are actually quite a few people I know who have this attitude and I do think it is wrong. How are children going to find out about Jesus unless they learn about Him?
Jesus said “Let the children come to me …”.
Although my brother was brought up in the Catholic faith, he no longer follows it or any religion.
I do want to respond (in a diplomatic way) to this and was wondering if you have any comments. Of course, I will be praying, praying and praying.
I’m quoting below an extract of her latest email which I find pretty sad:-
“One thing that is very clear over this side of the world is the general attitude towards Christianity. Seeing a church around here is a rarity and there is no Christian education in the schools at all. There are some Christian schools around but they are far and few in between. The schools believe that it is up to the general household to teach their children the various religious ways, which I must admit, I agree with 100%. As many of our friends know, E… and I have our own views regarding Christianity; however we have never expressed these views to K… She is to make up her own mind regarding this. K… has had a few experiences where her friends have told her that there is no such thing as God. Only for her to question me on this subject and what we believe in. I have told her that she must follow her heart and if she believes that Jesus exists, then that is her choice. I found myself having to choose my words very carefully as I would hate to mislead her. In response to her questions I told her that her grand parents are Christians and that many of my friends are. I managed to avoid having to directly tell her how we feel and I hope I will not have to “let her down” too soon. I will not lie to her about our views, however if I can avoid it for a few more years, I will definitely do so. One thing I am not going to do is make choices for her regarding this subject.”
There are actually quite a few people I know who have this attitude and I do think it is wrong. How are children going to find out about Jesus unless they learn about Him?
Jesus said “Let the children come to me …”.
Although my brother was brought up in the Catholic faith, he no longer follows it or any religion.
I do want to respond (in a diplomatic way) to this and was wondering if you have any comments. Of course, I will be praying, praying and praying.