"Evangelical Christians
and the Indoctrination of Children"
November 2010
Indoctrination starts at a young age, when the mind is most malleable and susceptible to suggestion. Children trust implicitly what they are told by their parents and other figures of authority. This is why there is such a focus within the christian church on "Sunday School" and "Bible Camp", not to mention a plethora of other programs aimed specifically at children. By way of comparison, there are relatively few adult oriented programs at these churches. Perhaps marriage counseling, or bible study groups. That is it. The adults are already successfully indoctrinated and retention is high. The children are being raised in an environment where their every outside contact during their formative years is with other people and organizations who identify with their parents religious views. Look in the yellow pages at any service oriented business category, then count the number of ads that say "a christian company" or something similar. This is becoming more common but is still more prevalent in the south. The children have little and sometimes no exposure to other belief systems, other cultures, or even the idea of an absolute lack of belief. They might hear about other "heathen" religions mentioned at church, but these are far-away concepts. They have no experience to draw upon to frame a reference for these other "heathen" concepts. So they accept blindly that these other beliefs are "bad" or somehow wrong. Often they are told that these people are somehow evil or under the influence of the "devil". So if this child were to encounter someone who was identified as something other than christian, they would automatically assume that this person was evil, or under the influence of some evil. Knowingly or otherwise. Usually upon this realization they begin to proselytize to this poor misguided person, as they were taught to do. Spreading the word and the glory of Christ. They will not, however, allow themselves to be proselytized to. They have been taught not to listen to other peoples ideas of God, as they might be somehow corrupted by them. The term "Warrior of Christ" has become commonplace, as has "fisher of men". In some extreme cases, such as demonstrated in the documentary "Jesus Camp", evangelicals are even raising their children in a militaristic fashion with the express desire to martyr themselves for Christ. This is in direct response to the martyrdom exhibited by certain muslim sects. Not to be outdone in religious zealotry the evangelicals have responded to this by mimicking the behavior, while at the same time condemning it. All this at the expense of the children, who were ultimately never really given a choice. Well, they were given one choice, but having only one option is no choice at all. The children are told revisionist versions of history, favoring the church of course. Ask an evangelical child about the founding fathers of this country and they’ll be happy to tell you how very christian they were and how the country was founded on christian ideals. They were taught, for example, that Thomas Jefferson was a model christian. Here’s a fairly famous quote from Thomas Jefferson:
"They [the clergy] believe that any portion of power confided to me, will be exerted in opposition to their schemes. And they believe rightly; for I have sworn upon the altar of god, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man. But this is all they have to fear from me: and enough, too, in their opinion. "
-Thomas Jefferson to Dr. Benjamin Rush, Sept. 23, 1800
This was a sentiment echoed by most of the "founding fathers". They feared exactly the kind of religious zealotry and political manipulation by the church that is occurring today. Make no mistake that the church is an institution of and for the interests of man. Not of God. Evangelicals have revived the concept of the "tithe" which had fallen into disfavor with most of the protestant sects. What good does their money do God? What need has He for money? If you follow the money, you will see most of it goes to political lobbying and youth programs, as well as mega-churches, christian media, and international efforts to advance the "will of god". Most of these international efforts are international because the agendas are illegal in the U.S. Evangelical monies have funded such wonderful agendas as the campaign in Uganda to murder homosexuals, not only did they fund a bill allowing the death penalty for homosexuals but after its passing printed a front page article with photos and names of "Ugandas Top 100 Homosexuals" alongside a yellow banner that read "Hang Them".
(Ref) www.democracynow.org/2010/10/21/anti_gay_fervor_in_uganda_tied They are also tied to a great deal of anti-abortion activity in this country and others. Wanted posters with the images of abortion doctors, their home addresses, office addresses, etc have been issued and the doctors have been subsequently killed. No official ties have been made to any specific institution yet. www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWR1DngybTI
I made previous mention of the documentary "Jesus Camp" which I have had the unfortunate experience of having watched. I cannot escape the feeling of familiarity I felt while watching the indoctrination process. It was frighteningly similar to the methodology of the Hitler Youth. For those of you who don’t know, the Hitler Youth program in pre-WWII Germany absorbed all other youth programs and brought them all under the control of the Hitler Youth. Athletic, intellectual, and recreational programs were all absorbed. After absorbtion, intellectual pursuits were de-emphasized, and athletics and political involvement were asserted. The children were surrounded and inundated with stories, images, and activities all revolving around the fuehrer, for his greater glory. The Hitler Youth were encouraged to engage in such activities as book burnings. (One of the essential elements of brainwashing is restriction of access to neutral sources of information) In recent years we have seen much of this sentiment rising within the church. Burning of books and paraphernalia that represents ideas or ideologies that are inconsistent with the church. Children holding picket signs and shouting at people, children with "opinions" about certain politicians or political agendas. I’m talking about young children here, who shouldn’t even be aware of what politics is. They are indoctrinated into a system that opposes nature, taught to suppress free thought and blindly have faith in "the word". They have "the word" interpreted for them by their pastor from such a young age that they aren’t able to question the interpretation, or ask about the context in which the passage was originally placed. By the time they reach the age of reason, they have long since learned not to question, not to think, not to rationalize, only to have "faith" and to pursue the agenda of the church.
Is it any wonder that faith in this country and many, many, others has fallen to unprecedented lows? That people would turn away from God in a culture where God is represented by people such as these? People who spend millions on research annually to find how best to indoctrinate children and at what age. Here’s an example of some of that research:
Researcher George Barna, author of "Transforming Children into Spiritual Champions" (Regal Books, 2003), stresses the importance of children’s ministry by contending that lifelong moral views are largely in place by adolescence.
"What you believe at age 13 is pretty much what you’re going to die believing," Barna said. Research compiled by his Barna Group shows that children between the ages of 5 and 13 have a 32 percent probability of accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior. That likelihood drops to 4 percent for teenagers between the ages of 14 and 18, and ticks back up to 6 percent for adults older than 18.
So it would appear that the best time to indoctrinate a child is between the ages of 5 and 13. Without delving into my personal experiences with the church, I can still testify to the amount of pressure that is put on children when they "visit" a church for them to "accept jesus" and join the church. It is extreme, it is the whole of the purpose of the youth groups. So a child is put into an environment surrounded by other children and adults who all assert that true happiness cannot be had unless they say these words, eat this bread, drink this grape juice. Do it, do it, do it. If they do, they are rewarded with smiles and hugs and acceptance. If they don’t, (problem child) they will continue to receive phone calls, visits, solicitations, harassment. All this until they either accept the church or until their parents intervene.
This type of behavior is unacceptable.
Know this, that the poisoning of the minds of children is NOT the will of God. Neither will He tolerate evil done in His name. Know also that Me and mine are the left hand of God, the shadow cast by His Light. We are awake, and we are not amused. Many of you reading this know the truth, know the true God, hear His true voice. Complacency is complicity. The time to watch and hope has passed, this is not yet a call to arms, but it is a call to conscience. Don’t keep your opinion to yourself when you see evil done in His name. Be a bearer of His Light. Speak.
(Celest and David) We are withholding this writer’s name. This writing is an example of learning to Walk the Talk – honoring and awaiting the correct timeline, gridline intersection to come about to present oneself publically while simultaneously doing what you can, when you can, to share your truths with others … until your timeline arrives. This person has done just that.
www.godumentary.com