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Old 09-20-2003, 06:16 AM   #20 (permalink)
Rodney
Observant Ruminant
 
Location: Rich Wannabe Hippie Town
The problem with letting the kids decide for themselves is that they may not choose any. And whether they become believers ultimately or not, they need the religious background to understand a great deal of what's meant in our culture. Think about all the Christian (and Jewish) imagery that's used in everyday culture and conversation, and I'm talking secular culture. They wouldn't have a clue.

Although I'm a nominal Christian, the best definition I hear of a religion came from Rabbi Irwin Kusher, who said that a religion is a community of people who have agreed on a particular tradition and approach to worshipping God, the Creator, the Cosmic Muffin, whoever (my paraphrase). If you explain it to your kids that way, and get them some religious education through a reasonable sect that is pretty ecumenical, they'll turn out fine and have a good background in the culture. Like I said, they should at least learn the Bible stories for the sake of their culture, and four or five years in Sunday School should do that.
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