“they may have an underdeveloped ability to engage independent moral reasoning since their upbringing prioritized obedience.” This happened to me unfortunately. For so long I was unable to reason, only obey. Sometimes I still slip back into it. It’s damaging.
As a mainline pastor whose (as I'd hope you'd imagine) doesn't see child-rearing this way...this data is not surprising to me, and deeply troubling. It makes intuitive sense, for sure.
I've said repeatedly that we'd be fighting this stuff the rest of our lives...and this perhaps indicates: "for the rest of our children's lives too."
This kind of upbringing couldn't be more relevant nowadays when you look at "how well and successful " this type of education is by watching one of the most fulfilled specimen- president Trump.
If you want to know how future will be look at how families are raising their children and at the values they instill during their education
Too much of institutional 'Christianity' — i.e., that most resistant to Christ’s fundamental teachings of non-violence, genuine compassion, love and non-wealth — really seems to create their Creator’s nature in their own fallible and often angry, vengeful image. Notably, they'll proclaim at publicized protests that ‘God hates’ such-and-such group of people. Such ‘Christianity’ damages, and sometimes even ruins, the beautiful message Jesus expounded!
Disturbingly, some of the best humanitarians I’ve met or heard about were/are atheists or agnostics who, quite ironically, make better examples of many of Christ’s teachings than too many institutional ‘Christians’. Conversely, some of the worst human(e) beings I’ve met or heard about are the most devout believers/preachers of fundamental Biblical theology.
The teachings and practices of Jesus (a.k.a. God incarnate) epitomize so much of the primary component of socialism — do not hoard gratuitous wealth in the midst of great poverty. Yet, they are not practiced by a significant number of ‘Christians’, likely including many who support callous politicians standing for very little or nothing Jesus taught and represents.
They should consider that the Biblical Jesus would not have rolled his eyes and sighed: ‘Oh, well. I’m against what the politician stands for, but what can you do when you dislike even more what his political competition stands for?’
In large part, Christ was viciously killed because he did not in the least behave in accordance with corrupted human conduct and expectation — and in particular because he was nowhere near being the angry and sometimes even bloodthirsty behemoth so many theists seemingly wanted or needed their Creator and savior to be and therefore believed he’d have to be.
Followers of Islam and Judaism generally believe that Jesus did exist but was not divine [albeit Islam teaches that Jesus was a prophet]. After all, how could or why would the Divine lower himself down to the level of humans (and even lower, by some other standards)? How could the Divine via Jesus not be a physical conqueror — far less allow himself to be publicly stripped, severely beaten and murdered in such a belittling manner?!
Christ’s nature and teachings even left John the Baptist, who believed in him as the savior, bewildered by his apparently contradictory version of the Hebraic messiah, with which John had been raised. Perhaps most perplexing was the Biblical Jesus’ revolutionary teaching of non-violently offering the other cheek as the proper response to being physically assaulted by one’s enemy. The Biblical Jesus also most profoundly washed his disciples’ feet, the act clearly revealing that he took corporeal form to serve.
Yet, for many of us, all of that makes Jesus (ergo the Divine) even greater, not less so. Godly greatness need not be defined as the ability to destroy and harshly punish, as opposed to the willingness and compacity for compassionate forgiveness, non-violence and humility.
“they may have an underdeveloped ability to engage independent moral reasoning since their upbringing prioritized obedience.” This happened to me unfortunately. For so long I was unable to reason, only obey. Sometimes I still slip back into it. It’s damaging.
Yes, it's damaging. Bravo to all who persist in working to break the habits and move beyond our upbringing!
Wowza.
As a mainline pastor whose (as I'd hope you'd imagine) doesn't see child-rearing this way...this data is not surprising to me, and deeply troubling. It makes intuitive sense, for sure.
I've said repeatedly that we'd be fighting this stuff the rest of our lives...and this perhaps indicates: "for the rest of our children's lives too."
Great post Christa. I had not made that link between upbringing and CN tendencies before - very insightful. I must also check out Sam Perry’s work.
So well said and revealing. Than you.
This kind of upbringing couldn't be more relevant nowadays when you look at "how well and successful " this type of education is by watching one of the most fulfilled specimen- president Trump.
If you want to know how future will be look at how families are raising their children and at the values they instill during their education
Too much of institutional 'Christianity' — i.e., that most resistant to Christ’s fundamental teachings of non-violence, genuine compassion, love and non-wealth — really seems to create their Creator’s nature in their own fallible and often angry, vengeful image. Notably, they'll proclaim at publicized protests that ‘God hates’ such-and-such group of people. Such ‘Christianity’ damages, and sometimes even ruins, the beautiful message Jesus expounded!
Disturbingly, some of the best humanitarians I’ve met or heard about were/are atheists or agnostics who, quite ironically, make better examples of many of Christ’s teachings than too many institutional ‘Christians’. Conversely, some of the worst human(e) beings I’ve met or heard about are the most devout believers/preachers of fundamental Biblical theology.
The teachings and practices of Jesus (a.k.a. God incarnate) epitomize so much of the primary component of socialism — do not hoard gratuitous wealth in the midst of great poverty. Yet, they are not practiced by a significant number of ‘Christians’, likely including many who support callous politicians standing for very little or nothing Jesus taught and represents.
They should consider that the Biblical Jesus would not have rolled his eyes and sighed: ‘Oh, well. I’m against what the politician stands for, but what can you do when you dislike even more what his political competition stands for?’
In large part, Christ was viciously killed because he did not in the least behave in accordance with corrupted human conduct and expectation — and in particular because he was nowhere near being the angry and sometimes even bloodthirsty behemoth so many theists seemingly wanted or needed their Creator and savior to be and therefore believed he’d have to be.
Followers of Islam and Judaism generally believe that Jesus did exist but was not divine [albeit Islam teaches that Jesus was a prophet]. After all, how could or why would the Divine lower himself down to the level of humans (and even lower, by some other standards)? How could the Divine via Jesus not be a physical conqueror — far less allow himself to be publicly stripped, severely beaten and murdered in such a belittling manner?!
Christ’s nature and teachings even left John the Baptist, who believed in him as the savior, bewildered by his apparently contradictory version of the Hebraic messiah, with which John had been raised. Perhaps most perplexing was the Biblical Jesus’ revolutionary teaching of non-violently offering the other cheek as the proper response to being physically assaulted by one’s enemy. The Biblical Jesus also most profoundly washed his disciples’ feet, the act clearly revealing that he took corporeal form to serve.
Yet, for many of us, all of that makes Jesus (ergo the Divine) even greater, not less so. Godly greatness need not be defined as the ability to destroy and harshly punish, as opposed to the willingness and compacity for compassionate forgiveness, non-violence and humility.