Religion, politics and money
I was always told to avoid discussions on these subjects but, well, I was never one for advice.
My children attend a Catholic School. Not a private Christian school. In Canada there are two active school boards - the public and the Catholic school board. Both are equally funded by tax dollars.
My husband and I grew up Catholic, attending Catholic schools and following general Catholic practises. It was no surprise when we chose to baptize our kids. Having said that, neither of us has attended the Catholic Church regularly since well, our parents stopped forcing us some time in high school. In fact, over the last few years, we have drifted towards a local Southern Baptist Church as we like the community values and the people share our commitment to children. And the music rocks. None of the ritualistic stand up, sit down that the Catholic masses are so famous for.
Even our attendance at that Church has waned since balancing the needs of three kids has taken priority. But, my kids receive Christian values at home and attend the requisit Christian camps during the summer time. They know the odd bible story and have heard of the concept of praying.
This year my eldest is being asked to 'pony up' to his commitment to the Church, first expressed through baptism. He is taking his sacraments of reconciliation (first confession), first communion and confirmation all during the same year. And he is asking some difficult questions about things like original sin, the creation of the world and the kicker - 'who is our pastor? '
Errr....
I started the unavoidable conversation with, ' Well different people believe different things and these rituals are important despite ...' I expected the lightening bolt from the sky as I started this speech. I did not expect that lightening bolt to come from my spouse. He is more cynical of organized religion than I am. However, he is concerned that by telling him that we don't necessarily believe that Adam and Eve were the first people on the earth and that it might be true that the Noah's Ark is really just an analogy for something.
My spouse is worried that by telling our son that we don't necessarily believe in all of the teachings of the Church that we will somehow take away from his joy in experiencing the sacraments.
I am more worried about how you tear down the story of Moses bringing the ten commandments down from the mountain on stone tablets, without losing credibility in your belief that what was contained on those tablets are words to live by.
And there is the ultimate confusion of his first time attending a Catholic mass since he was baptized. And I thought telling him about Santa Claus was going to be hard.
My children attend a Catholic School. Not a private Christian school. In Canada there are two active school boards - the public and the Catholic school board. Both are equally funded by tax dollars.
My husband and I grew up Catholic, attending Catholic schools and following general Catholic practises. It was no surprise when we chose to baptize our kids. Having said that, neither of us has attended the Catholic Church regularly since well, our parents stopped forcing us some time in high school. In fact, over the last few years, we have drifted towards a local Southern Baptist Church as we like the community values and the people share our commitment to children. And the music rocks. None of the ritualistic stand up, sit down that the Catholic masses are so famous for.
Even our attendance at that Church has waned since balancing the needs of three kids has taken priority. But, my kids receive Christian values at home and attend the requisit Christian camps during the summer time. They know the odd bible story and have heard of the concept of praying.
This year my eldest is being asked to 'pony up' to his commitment to the Church, first expressed through baptism. He is taking his sacraments of reconciliation (first confession), first communion and confirmation all during the same year. And he is asking some difficult questions about things like original sin, the creation of the world and the kicker - 'who is our pastor? '
Errr....
I started the unavoidable conversation with, ' Well different people believe different things and these rituals are important despite ...' I expected the lightening bolt from the sky as I started this speech. I did not expect that lightening bolt to come from my spouse. He is more cynical of organized religion than I am. However, he is concerned that by telling him that we don't necessarily believe that Adam and Eve were the first people on the earth and that it might be true that the Noah's Ark is really just an analogy for something.
My spouse is worried that by telling our son that we don't necessarily believe in all of the teachings of the Church that we will somehow take away from his joy in experiencing the sacraments.
I am more worried about how you tear down the story of Moses bringing the ten commandments down from the mountain on stone tablets, without losing credibility in your belief that what was contained on those tablets are words to live by.
And there is the ultimate confusion of his first time attending a Catholic mass since he was baptized. And I thought telling him about Santa Claus was going to be hard.
posted by y-vonne at 4:26 AM
4 Comments:
I'm ok with discussions of the bible as allegories and parables. In fact the New Testament is chocked full of parables as teaching examples. However, when a conversation regarding one of the key fundamental tenants and beliefs of Catholicism starts with… “Well the church says this but mommy and daddy don’t believe…” I jump in with the spousal V-Chip control and edit. He’ll figure it out on his own.
Glad I get to learn from you brave but doomed souls. :) Let me know how it all turns out. I'm already getting questions that require too much thought to answer. Krys
Yeah, I know. What a difficult situation to deal with as parents. I am similar in background and beliefs, and even attend a church now with rockin' praise and worship. Yet, I don't "believe" everything the church teaches in such a literal sense, in the same way most of my fellow worshippers do. The devil is truly in the details, isn't it?
I hear you say that you have Christian values at home. They came from someplace. Let your children absorb all those values . It is not necessary for them at this age to be able to totally understand that all organized religions are trying to bring a human face and understanding to a deeply spiritual reality...and they all think they have the right view. Thay only hold a few pieces of the puzzle.
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