Today’s post is guest authored by SurveyMagnet.com poster Nita. Nita has famously communicated her love of the Lord in several posts. Her track record makes her the perfect person to guest write on this topic.
Here is what Nita had to say.
Sunday school, Sunday morning worship, Wednesday night bible study, Thursday Night youth group meeting, Friday night choir rehearsal, and Saturday morning workshops…sound familiar? Well, this is the type of schedule that children who are forced to go to church have to abide by, every week. Their daily lives are already hectic:
- Go to school
- Help around the house
- Be respectful
- Eat healthy
For most, church is a place for worship, praise, prayer, and learning. It should be a joyous experience. When you force a child into church you never know if you making a positive or negative experience. Are you drawing them closer or pushing them away?
When you make a child attend church the excuses come out:
- I can sleep at home
- The other kids don’t pay attention
- I don’t feel good
- The pews are too hard
- My friend’s parents don’t make them go
- I am too young
- I have my whole life to go to church
With that being said the question remains…Should we force our children to go to church? We should give them the freedom to make that choice themselves. It is completely up to them, and they shouldn’t be forced to go if they don’t want to.
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My brother, sister and I were forced to go to church while we were growing up and NONE of us go anymore or do we have string christian beliefs. Of course it may have to do with the fact that we all have above average intelligence…
I was forced when I was young, and you can sorta see where I stand these days. I think a parent should teach a child about religion but in no sense should it be forced upon the child.
I was always thought it was weird to make a kid go to church. Children generally don’t grasp what is going on because they aren’t paying attention and they want to do something fun with their time. When I was going I watched the clock the entire time. Sundays between 9 am and 2 pm seemed like 19 hours on a sweat box. Usually, when you force a kid to do something they turn away from it as an adult.
Sidenote: I can’t believe that I agree with Nita.
Marcus, you of all people should know that I believe to make them kids get they butts up and get to the house of the Lord!. AS FOR ME AND MY HOUSE WE WILL SERVE THE LORD!!! The bible tells us that we should train our kids up in the way they should go and they will return when they are grown. I know I fell to the wayside many a day in my life, but by God’s great grace and mercy…I found my way back to His open arms!!!
Thats not what you said at the end of the article you sent us. Confused maybe?
I agree that was confusing.
As a child I was forced to go. To be honest, I actually enjoyed church. Understood what was going on and what pissed me off the most was being forced into sunday school and activities with children my age who didn’t even know how to read. It made me bitter for the most part but eh, by the age of 10 I had completely read the entire bible. I knew what was going on and because of this was conscripted into a number of services and programs up until I was about 13 years old. After calling people out on doctrine versus scripture and being called an infidel by various church “old people”, I kinda began to hate it.
I was forced to go, enjoyed it, and because of being forced became an insane critic of religion. If your kids are smart when you force them, they’ll see all the BULL involved and your forced indoctrination will be for naught.
Now that you’ve agreed to disagree with yourself I have a question. What good is forcing a kid into church going to do?
Mom kept me in church and I almost thought that that is what everybody had to do on Sunday. As I grew up, mom left it up to me. Sometimes I went, sometimes I didn’t. And the saddest part was rarely did I learn anything at church. I enjoyed Sunday School because it was on the level of a child or adolescent. I felt like the preacher only preached to the 50 year old men who screamed Amen! from the corner. But now that I am older and have experienced more of life and see the connection between the biblical lessons learned and the life experiences I have survived, I appreciate every Sunday School lesson and every biblical story that I have come to understand.
I will make me kids accompany me to church, but I will not force them to go during their adolescent years.
I’m not confused. Not at all. When I wrote the article the last three statements were actually suppose to be the choices to be voted on. I strictly believe in what I said.
The good is starting them off on the right path for eternal life. If you are in a church that is filled with the Holy Spirit and is a bible based church, you are in a place that will provide you with spiritual growth. Now, it is not just about them going to church. You have to live that life at home as well. You have to set the proper example at home.