T.T. 57 - What do children believe?
T.T. 57 -
What do children believe?
The short answer to that is anything and
everything! One of the greatest benefits of teaching children is that they are
generally very open and responsive to whatever you tell them. However, this is
also one of the greatest difficulties. If children are open to you as their
Bible teacher, they will also be open to other people. I am becoming
increasingly aware that a child may gladly believe all they are taught about the
Bible, but at the same time also believe in such things as evolution,
reincarnation, horoscopes, talking to the dead, ghosts, aliens
etc.
To put it simply, they usually lack
discernment. They don't seem to realise that you can't believe the Bible and all
the strange ideas that they are exposed to through family, friends or the
media. It is often said that we should always have an open mind. That is true,
but an open mind, without discernment, is likely to have all kinds of rubbish
thrown into it!
One story that I enjoy teaching children is about David and Goliath (See my Newsletter 17 for some teaching tips). In connection with this, I usually teach 1 Peter 5 v. 7 - "Throw all your worries on him, because he cares for you." I explain that there are many "giants" or worries that people have in their lives, e.g. another person who is giving them a hard time, a bad habit, or a fear (e.g. of the dark, nightmares, flying, dying, snakes, spiders, dogs etc.). I get the children to write out the names of their giant(s) on a piece of paper. Then, as I lead them in prayer, at the appropriate time, I get them to crumple up their papers (giants) and throw them on Jesus - imagining Him to be standing at the front of the class. I conclude by emphasising that because Jesus now has their giants, they have them no more.
When the lesson is over, I pick up the papers listing the ex-giants to see what they were as this often gives me an idea of what the children believe in. As you can imagine, the list of giants for any one class is usually long and varied. However I discovered that the most common giant is a fear of dying - a somewhat surprising find, considering we are talking about young children. Some giants are unusual (e.g. fear of being abducted by aliens) or upsetting (fear of a hiding from my Father). However, the most disturbing one I came across was written by an eight year old child who had been receiving regular Bible teaching for at least two years. The child wrote "My friend can tell the future, and he says that I will die before I am 25 years old." I can hardly imagine what trauma the acceptance of that false belief must have had upon that child.
Most of my readers will have the privilege of teaching children mainly from Christian homes, where what you teach is re-enforced at home and vice-versa. However many of us also teach children in state primary schools. Our children come from a variety of backgrounds and are often exposed to many strange ideas that contradict God's Word. The question then is, how can we best counteract this?
The ultimate solution is for them to get to know Jesus for themselves, for if they are truly "Born again" they will receive the 'Spirit of truth' and should automatically be able to recognise false ideas when they hear them. (See 1. Corinthians 2.14). However, as we are not permitted to 'make appeals' in state schools, there are two other things we can do:-
1. Encourage the children to always use their minds and think for themselves. Teach the children not to accept any statement as true, simply because someone says it is - even if that person is their Bible teacher! Often, if we really examine a belief, the inconsistencies and falsehoods soon become apparent.
2. Emphasise the importance of the Bible. State that Christians believe the Bible is God's Word, and therefore what the Bible says, God says. If a particular belief or idea clearly contradicts what the Bible says, it should be rejected. Ultimately it comes down to who we choose to believe. Do we believe God who was there at the beginning of time, knows everything, is never wrong and cannot lie, or do we believe people who were not there at the beginning, only know a tiny fraction of all there is to know, are often wrong and sometimes lie?
One story that I enjoy teaching children is about David and Goliath (See my Newsletter 17 for some teaching tips). In connection with this, I usually teach 1 Peter 5 v. 7 - "Throw all your worries on him, because he cares for you." I explain that there are many "giants" or worries that people have in their lives, e.g. another person who is giving them a hard time, a bad habit, or a fear (e.g. of the dark, nightmares, flying, dying, snakes, spiders, dogs etc.). I get the children to write out the names of their giant(s) on a piece of paper. Then, as I lead them in prayer, at the appropriate time, I get them to crumple up their papers (giants) and throw them on Jesus - imagining Him to be standing at the front of the class. I conclude by emphasising that because Jesus now has their giants, they have them no more.
When the lesson is over, I pick up the papers listing the ex-giants to see what they were as this often gives me an idea of what the children believe in. As you can imagine, the list of giants for any one class is usually long and varied. However I discovered that the most common giant is a fear of dying - a somewhat surprising find, considering we are talking about young children. Some giants are unusual (e.g. fear of being abducted by aliens) or upsetting (fear of a hiding from my Father). However, the most disturbing one I came across was written by an eight year old child who had been receiving regular Bible teaching for at least two years. The child wrote "My friend can tell the future, and he says that I will die before I am 25 years old." I can hardly imagine what trauma the acceptance of that false belief must have had upon that child.
Most of my readers will have the privilege of teaching children mainly from Christian homes, where what you teach is re-enforced at home and vice-versa. However many of us also teach children in state primary schools. Our children come from a variety of backgrounds and are often exposed to many strange ideas that contradict God's Word. The question then is, how can we best counteract this?
The ultimate solution is for them to get to know Jesus for themselves, for if they are truly "Born again" they will receive the 'Spirit of truth' and should automatically be able to recognise false ideas when they hear them. (See 1. Corinthians 2.14). However, as we are not permitted to 'make appeals' in state schools, there are two other things we can do:-
1. Encourage the children to always use their minds and think for themselves. Teach the children not to accept any statement as true, simply because someone says it is - even if that person is their Bible teacher! Often, if we really examine a belief, the inconsistencies and falsehoods soon become apparent.
2. Emphasise the importance of the Bible. State that Christians believe the Bible is God's Word, and therefore what the Bible says, God says. If a particular belief or idea clearly contradicts what the Bible says, it should be rejected. Ultimately it comes down to who we choose to believe. Do we believe God who was there at the beginning of time, knows everything, is never wrong and cannot lie, or do we believe people who were not there at the beginning, only know a tiny fraction of all there is to know, are often wrong and sometimes lie?
posted by Maurice Sweetsur @ 1:55 PM
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