Are Churches Too Protective?

[JohnD]

There were moments in my childhood...

My sister and two brothers have scoliosis and we could not afford the back braces they needed.

Easter Seals paid for them.

We volunteered weekends for Easter Seals

until the tornado hit (Xenia Ohio 1970's).

My father passed when I was 11 (the eldest of 4 kids) so it was rough. But we were raised not to be

prejudice. Years on a phone call with my brother he dropped some "n" bombs.

I confronted him on this saying "you were raised better than that! I know I was there..." he repented and

stopped hanging around the new friends that was racist.

It matters very much who you surround yourself with. As I can attest

with my stoner buddies in the 1970's.

Saw online decades later how one in particular died in prison.

There but for the grace of God I could have gone...

It matters how you raise your kids people.

Invade their privacy read their diaries (if they still do that sort of thing) break into their computers and phones

block adult content in everything...

and set an  example (hardest of all)

love has to be tough!

[Starise]

36 minutes ago, Uber Genius said:

Great point. I pulled my oldest child out of public school and started home schooling when she was in second grade.

The incident was my daughter brought home a permission slip for her to receive two hours of training into eastern meditation (TM where she would learn how to yoke herself to demonic beings and then learn to converse with those beings as spirit guides)! 

The teacher, and principle, as well as all office staff, destine closed doors, got to hear me fire the teacher and principle for gross negligence, the following day!

Galatians 5:22-23 is a high standard but the right one.

You made a good move. I think I mentioned this here before. Might have been before you joined. I had a touchy "run in" with a public school music teacher who led the kids in meditation. I simply said I had nothing to do with eastern religions. She countered with , "It's a healthy thing, it's a good thing". To which I disagreed. She became quite burned at my simple comment.

Many choose not to see the real outcome of yoga and meditation followed to the end conclusions. Plain and simple, it's occult 101.

If I were to ask one of these yoga teachers what lies at the end of the highest attainment in yoga and eastern meditation, I wonder what she would say?

 

Edited February 18, 2021 by Starise

[JohnD]

37 minutes ago, Uber Genius said:

Lol. Loved Batman. Wild Wild West was one of my favorites. My parents were more lenient about engaging pop culture than I was. Of course, my parents nixed, "Love, American Style," after having to explain to two 8-year old twin boys why men were continually laying in bed with women that were not their wives! So pop culture was tamer then. Within twenty years I needed to add a language filter to my tv (not even cable).

I think longingly about the sixties, but I was ignorant of the leftist anarchists (Black Panthers, Weather Undergound), and the riots taking place in Watts and Detroit, Boston. And the BLM riots over the summer actually had a smaller death toll, although similar financial ruin for poor communities that will take decades to recover from.

I would like to return to Saturday mornings in the mid-60s eating Cap'n Crunch and watching Jonny Quest cartoons. Alas, there are barbarians at the gates. No Cap'n Crunch for me. 

I SPY, Mission Impossible, The Family sitcoms of course... Night Stalker (when we were a bit older).

Mom nixed Start Trek the first time around (1966) wouldn't you know "Miri" was the first episode we saw... Mom wasn't too keen on the short skirts when fashion was mainly at the knee... minis were scandalous rebellious at the time... the here comes Rand telling Kirk to look... {sigh}... child's play compared to what goes on in our desensitized world today... 

Interesting how mamma bear protected her cubs in 1966

10 years later she wore less than Star Trek females and

just about every restraint was out the window. That 70's

Show is tame and lame compared to how it really was in the

world.  

Combat! Rat Patrol ← my folks thought it was a little too much for us at the time

I loved the Herculoids, Jetsons, Jonny Quest, Fantastic Four...

I wasn't too keen on Westerns (there were tons of them back then).

[Uber Genius]

Completely missed those somehow. Was a Looney tune junky as my troublesome aviator would suggest, love bugs bunny and road runner, foghorn leghorn. Huckleberry Hound, woody woodpecker,yogi bear, the jettisons, Rocky and bullwinkle, , later scoobie doo.

golden age of educational television right there!

[Uber Genius]

1 hour ago, JohnD said:

We volunteered weekends for Easter Seals

until the tornado hit (Xenia Ohio 1970's).

 

I was 12 at the time and lived in Columbus Ohio. My dad took our family to Xenia to help wherever we could. I was stunned, whole town seems leveled, miles of debris. 

[Uber Genius]

1 hour ago, JohnD said:

I SPY, Mission Impossible, The Family sitcoms of course... Night Stalker (when we were a bit older).

Mom nixed Start Trek the first time around (1966) wouldn't you know "Miri" was the first episode we saw... Mom wasn't too keen on the short skirts when fashion was mainly at the knee... minis were scandalous rebellious at the time... the here comes Rand telling Kirk to look... {sigh}... child's play compared to what goes on in our desensitized world today... 

Loved the Night Stalker! And remember Star Trek where Kirk would go into his chambers with some...well female something or other, and the next scene would be Kirk on his bed pulling back on his boots, lol. 

[Sower]

On 2/17/2021 at 7:29 AM, Uber Genius said:

A poll taken by George Barna called, "6 Reasons Young Christians Leave Church," suggested that, "Churches seem overprotective, or Churches are too concerned that movies, music, and games (pop culture), are harmful." 

I raised my children in the mid-1990s through 2010. We never owned cable tv, we had a language filter on our tv, and for a few years, when our kids decided tv and video game watching rules didn't apply when I travelled for work, (which was every week), I took the tv power cord with me. So it is fair to say that I'm on the extreme side of the bell curve when it comes to measuring overprotection from pop culture.

My three kids all remain in the church to this day. They thank me for forcing them to read and memorize scripture, ask questions of every idea or hypothesis by every author (of course they complained vociferously when they were kids).

What is others experience of protection by church against pop culture?

Where should we draw the line?

Parents are the responsible guardians appointed by God to instruct their children,
and not the church nor the government run schools.
Our church, the only one I can accurately comment on, had much to keep our kids/youth/young adults involved,
fortunately, and they were taught by Christian adults attuned to their age.
I do not recall them being overbearing or rigid when taught by their teachers, my wife being one also.
Like others here, I had already learned about the 'Values Clarification' (situational ethics) being taught and implemented in public school (early 80's).
Our oldest daughter, second grader,  confirmed this after questioning her and found out they had a secret class
 where she and her classmates given situations by their teacher that forced them to "re consider" their 'values/morals'.
All public schools, nation wide. That generation is in office today.

We pulled them right out and taught them at home, which was illegal at the time in Texas. (Some parents/teachers were jailed)
Our kids since grew up and then taught their kids at home. All believers now, involved in church today. To God be the glory.
Ironic that many at church believed we were were overacting and too rigid, keeping our kids from being socialized.
Socialization, or the lack thereof, has always been the angry cry of those against home schooling. (Keep them in the government run herd)

Parable; I liken this to the old vacant lot play ground I played in as a kid back in the 50's. Just minutes from home, and all our friends gathered there, built forts and flew kites, we called it kite field. Lot's of socialization. My parents used to play there as kids.
When I grew up and married and we had kids, I 'happened' to go to the old kite field play ground where my kids now played,
and I saw a poisonous snake, then another one and another one. They were well camouflaged, and most parents had no idea.
Where did these snakes come from? Told the other parents, who only believed we were just too paranoid.
I brought my kids home, taught them about snakes, how to recognize them and to avoid them.
Then I released them back into kite field,(the world),  instructed in the ways of snakes.
I forced my kids to make their own decisions when appropriate, instead of a yes/no commands.
If it's done in love, it is not over protection. Love must be tough. TOO...  (just read the scriptures;)

I've known two atheist personally, in my years.
One was too intelligent to believe in ancient myths.
The other was raised by Baptist parents, staunch Baptist's.

They never allowed him to participate is ANY activities, other than church, nor go to his friends homes.
As an adult now, he wants  nothing to do with church, or Christian preaching.
And wanted nothing to do with this God that ruined his life as a kid.
Balance......

[Uber Genius]

3 minutes ago, Sower said:

Parents are the responsible guardians appointed by God to instruct their children.

Our oldest daughter, second grader,  confirmed this after questioning her and found out they had a secret class
 where she and her classmates given situations by their teacher that forced them to "re consider" their 'values/morals'.
All public schools, nation wide. That generation is in office today.

We pulled them right out and taught them at home, which was illegal at the time in Texas. (Some parents/teachers were jailed)
Our kids since grew up and then taught their kids at home. All believers now, involved in church today. To God be the glory.
Ironic that many at church believed we were were overacting and too rigid, keeping our kids from being socialized.
Socialization, or the lack thereof, has always been the angry cry of those against home schooling. (Keep them in the government run herd)

Parable; I liken this to the old vacant lot play ground I played in as a kid back in the 50's. Just minutes from home, and all our friends gathered there, built forts and flew kites, we called it kite field. Lot's of socialization. My parents used to play there as kids.
When I grew up and married and we had kids, I 'happened' to go to the old kite field play ground where my kids now played,
and I saw a poisonous snake, then another one and another one. They were well camouflaged, and most parents had no idea.
Where did these snakes come from? Told the other parents, who only believed we were just too paranoid.
I brought my kids home, taught them about snakes, how to recognize them and to avoid them.
...

Bravo! Loved your bold action. Way to lead. 

We are to teach our kids how to influence culture not be influenced by it. How are we going to usher in the Kingdom Of God, without being in the world but not of it?

[Uber Genius]

8 minutes ago, Sower said:

I've known two atheist personally, in my years

Yes. I had a couple neighbors who were avowed atheists. One would mock my family when we would help the elderly by cutting their yard or shoveling snow off the driveway. "You do-gooder," the neighbor used to shout. I replied, "Is helping an elderly person who is your neighbor such a bad thing, how the heck were your raised anyways?"

His son befriended my son and would hangout at our house for the next ten years until he went to college. He went to church with us often and gave his life to Christ his first year in college. His father engaged once in any meaningful fashion, but was still an atheist the last I checked. Your post reminded me to pruy that God soften his heart and poor his grace into that man's life. 

[Riverwalker]

On 2/17/2021 at 5:29 AM, Uber Genius said:

A poll taken by George Barna called, "6 Reasons Young Christians Leave Church," suggested that, "Churches seem overprotective, or Churches are too concerned that movies, music, and games (pop culture), are harmful." 

I raised my children in the mid-1990s through 2010. We never owned cable tv, we had a language filter on our tv, and for a few years, when our kids decided tv and video game watching rules didn't apply when I travelled for work, (which was every week), I took the tv power cord with me. So it is fair to say that I'm on the extreme side of the bell curve when it comes to measuring overprotection from pop culture.

My three kids all remain in the church to this day. They thank me for forcing them to read and memorize scripture, ask questions of every idea or hypothesis by every author (of course they complained vociferously when they were kids).

What is others experience of protection by church against pop culture?

Where should we draw the line?

You don't draw the line, if you are not on board with the policies of a church,  stop going.  You are responsible for your kids and no one elese, and this is just another muck raking question.  Is there a purpose here anywhere that leads to the glorifying of God?