Threatening to blow somebody up or shoot them in the face cannot really ever hold a candle to the threat of eternal suffering and being denied access to your loved ones in the afterlife.
Monday, July 21, 2014
Fundamentalist parenting versus secular parenting.
Threatening to blow somebody up or shoot them in the face cannot really ever hold a candle to the threat of eternal suffering and being denied access to your loved ones in the afterlife.
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I love this, must steal. Reminds me of when my son was 6 months old and my MIL was going crazy because I hadn't had him baptized yet. The entire family on my son's Dad's side got into the action and really pressured me, so I finally relented. Right after the baptism my MIL said loudly in front of everyone "Well thank the Lord he didn't die before today! He won't burn in hell now!" Nice touch "Mom", nice.
ReplyDeleteMy now adult children were brought up as secular humanists. Both are kind, compassionate, smart, productive people any parent would be proud of. I have a couple Christian friends who have always scratched their heads and wondered out loud to me how they turned out so well without being Christian.
ReplyDeleteBelief in superstitious nonsense leads directly to mental illness and manifests in abuse. Every. Time. It only varies in degree...
ReplyDeleteThis makes me think of the failed TV program "Bristol Palin: Life's a Tripp". When she told Tripp to behave and that God watched him all the time. God was always looking at Tripp and checking to see if he was good or bad. I don't know whick episode but it was creepy. As I recall Tripp looked worried and scared.
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Palin:_Life's_a_Tripp
Add the tried and true adages of the past. "Spare the rod, spoil the child", "Children should be seen and not heard" "I wish you were never born" and my all time favorite "I put you on this earth and I can take you out", and you have the whole gamut of tearing a child's self esteem, breaking their reality and emotional abuse over not knowing what will and will not happen and when.
ReplyDeleteI raised my kids the best I could, and swore those words would never leave my lips, especially doing good because of fear of eternal damnation. I'd rather them do good for the sake of doing good, and not looking for a reward for doing it. They're grown now, but the most treasured gifts I've been given were dadelion bouquets given with love, hand made cards, and phone calls out of the blue, just because.