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Accepting Your Child's Beliefs

Recently one of our volunteers sent me a link which helps us understand the problems we have in the world today. It is about how some religious teachings from the past actually advocated not accepting your children's beliefs.

Our organization helps teenagers who do not feel accepted by their own parents. Their parents might love their children, in some sense of the word, but if you don't feel accepted, it is hard to feel loved.

When the pain of not feeling loved and accepted by your own parents gets too great, it can be one of the contributing factors to depression and suicidal feelings. In fact, nowadays it is common knowledge that to raise mentally healthy young adults, parents must accept, not reject their own children. An important part of this acceptance is accepting their beliefs.

With this in mind, it is almost incredible to me that any major and long lasting belief system would actually advocate not accepting your child or teen's beliefs. Yet here is a direct quotation from a book widely regarded as one of the most influential and sacred in history:

If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods” (gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known, gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, from one end of the land to the other), do not yield to them or listen to them. Show them no pity. Do not spare them or shield them. You must certainly put them to death. Your hand must be the first in putting them to death, and then the hands of all the people. Stone them to death, because they tried to turn you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and no one among you will do such an evil thing again.

Source: biblegateway.com - Deuteronomy 13:6-11

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See Also Bible Quote on A Disobedient Son

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