tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19733180.post4101811343575064817..comments2024-03-24T07:56:33.811-05:00Comments on Allan R. Bevere: Richard Dawkins and the God Delusion: Bullet Points #2 (Religion and Violence)Allan R. Beverehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07903011101108437513noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19733180.post-89038652665489679142008-11-12T16:52:00.000-05:002008-11-12T16:52:00.000-05:00dale mcgowan -All education of children is indoctr...dale mcgowan -<BR/><BR/>All education of children is indoctrination, period. Even your "remind them that I value their independence of thought most of all, that they must in the long run decide what they believe for themselves" is an indoctrination - you have indoctrinated them with the independence of thought valued above all. That's not necessarily bad, but that is just one particular viewpoint. Many other people have others. And so, you have indoctrinated your child as much as anyone else. And, just like everyone else, you indoctrinated your children with the values you believe to be important. Other people have other values.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19733180.post-83617162423578955842008-11-12T13:57:00.000-05:002008-11-12T13:57:00.000-05:00Interesting. Thank you for sharing this with us. A...Interesting. <BR/>Thank you for sharing this with us. <BR/>Allan keep up the great thoughts that you send our way. I know that I continue to be encoruaged and bless by your words and the countless things.preachermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09922837614859997243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19733180.post-53477723863686921092008-11-12T13:28:00.000-05:002008-11-12T13:28:00.000-05:00"It is naive for anyone to think that it is possib..."It is naive for anyone to think that it is possible for children to remain a blank slate on matters of religion or politics or anything, for that matter, in their developing years."<BR/><BR/>That's true, and you must know it's a straw man. I've never known a person of any perspective who thinks children can or should remain "blank slates" in their developing years, have you? <BR/><BR/>Fortunately there is something between "blank slate" and indoctrination -- <I>influence.</I><BR/><BR/>I know that my views will strongly influence my children's developing views. They are wired up to imitate me, and then to gradually pull away to form their own. My job is to aid both of those stages and deny neither. <BR/><BR/>The key is to constantly remind them that I value their independence of thought most of all, that they must in the long run decide what they believe for themselves, and that I would rather they disagree with my opinions than share them only because they are mine. <BR/><BR/>That's influence without indoctrination, and it's all I would ask of any parent, religious or not.Dale McGowanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13083569215707839867noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19733180.post-25285373840099642692008-11-12T11:28:00.000-05:002008-11-12T11:28:00.000-05:00The general problem with arguments like these is t...The general problem with arguments like these is that they miss the core problem - a conflict of values.<BR/><BR/>Different people inevitably value different things. These value conflicts leads to some possible solutions:<BR/><BR/> * an imposed value system (we usually call this tyranny)<BR/> * not have any real values whatsoever<BR/> * a confrontation<BR/><BR/>Depending on what the values are and what the consequences of holding them are, the "confrontational" side of this can be friendly or belligerent. Depending on the size of the body holding the values, the resulting conflict for belligerent confrontations can be either, harsh words, a fist fight, or a war.<BR/><BR/>Modern society seems to be trying to push the "no real values" proposition, while the atheists seem to be promoting the "tyrannical" proposition. Christians are in the unique position of having strong values, but of believing that it is God's problem to solve value conflicts, not ours. Not everyone takes this view, and it is not the only possible Christian view. However, it is difficult to see how some non-Christian, and especially non-religious people have the same range of choices that the Christian has.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com