Scripture: Fact or Fiction?
I’m sorry God, but is there a possibility that your followers do not believe their doctrine can stand up to scrutiny in the secular world? I think that is a rather likely problem for all religious faiths and the reason religions get very up-in-arms when confronted with the possibility that they might be incorrect in their views. I would have expected faith-based doctrines to have welcomed the chance for debate and banter that challenged their thinking to ensure their principles were well-founded.
According to a recent Sydney Morning Herald article, a Christian school stated that it had banned the Harry Potter omnibus, amongst others, from its school library due to its contentious nature and restricted dressing up at school from certain categories. A spokesperson relayed that parents had been grateful for the censorship on these books as it minimised discussion topics. [Read the full article online athttp://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/books/harry-potter-banned-by-christian-school-20120824-24q7i.html]
It is perplexing to me that a widely held system of beliefs, in this case Christianity, seemingly avoids allowing its doctrines to be debated in a manner that allows people to make informed decisions on their own views and thereby challenge the standard principles. My next question is “When did we stop wanting our children to think for themselves?” followed closely by “Do we now withhold information from our children for no other reason than to ensure their beliefs follow that of our own?”
Even more confusing for me is the similarity of this Christian School to the complaints of Christians against Communist regimes with their apparent unacceptance of religious paraphernalia. So, excluding Bibles from Communist society is inexcusable, but excluding creative fictional fantasy from Christian society is excusable. It doesn’t matter what item it is that you exclude from society, the fact is an item has now been excluded; a choice or piece of information, which would otherwise form part of the whole picture, has now been removed. The Christian religion operates primarily in capitalist economies that pride themselves on freedom of choice, freedom of speech and sales-based market decisions. How peculiar, then, to see the Christian sector display an example of: 1.) taking away a choice from consumers; 2.) taking away the ability to express oneself through the restriction of particular clothing; 3.) making decisions contrary to the market representations.
I was reminded of an article I read in 2010 entitled “Altar Egos” written by Malcolm Knox in the Sydney Morning Herald that related to schools and scripture. Here was an article written by an atheist who exposed his children to religion in order that the children formed their own decisions on spiritual beliefs as opposed to being indoctrinated by either religion or atheism. This standpoint plays fair; it’s honourable and is based on trusting children to discover what is spiritually appropriate for them. I strongly respect Mr Knox’s wisdom and have no doubt his children shall learn far more from their parents’ avoidance of strong doctrinal sway than many other children. [The full article is found athttp://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/altar-egos-20101105-17hlj.html].
I believe knowledge is best achieved by presenting unbiased views, especially where ideologies and children intertwine. Children trust the information provided to them by adults and they deem it to be truth. Let’s not exploit or deliberately manipulate that trusting nature in kids. We instruct our children in science, languages, mathematics, history, geography, etc in a schooling environment that denotes factual truth. Therefore, I cannot see constructive religious education being attained through the current system of scripture in schools. I just don’t agree with specific spiritual beliefs being taught to children as truth when, in reality, there is no factual evidence underlying it. Combining religious instruction with a fact-based school curriculum, in my opinion, is a brainwashing technique to sell the doctrines of adults to children as though it were guided by scientific evidence.
Parents who wish to instil their own chosen religious culture in their children should do it on their own time, outside the education system. If parents care so much about these religious notions, then I have no doubt they would devote the required time necessary to ensure their children had their spiritual needs fulfilled. Now, I’m not advocating removing scripture from the schooling system, although that would hardly bother me. I simply recommend a fair and unbiased approach to religious instruction if scripture is to continue to utilise the education system as a preaching medium.
Commence a school subject called People & Religion, Faith-based Studies, Intro to Sociology, Religious Doctrines, or whatever else it needs to be called, and allow it to cover all religions. As a mandatory part of the curriculum, allow the school children to study Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity, Atheism, Confuscism, etc. In this way, our children are able to later make contemplative decisions about their own spiritual awareness due to adequate exposure to the variety available. Further, we may actually minimise religious-based persecution in the coming generations as their knowledge may provide them with acceptance rather than intolerance for religious beliefs other than their own.
The limitation of success with a new religious education model is not in the children’s acceptance of it, but in that of the parents’. Are the believers of these religious doctrines willing to let their children establish their own spiritual ‘best-fit’ or are their children only allowed to follow the family’s pre-set religious beliefs? Are the believers of these religious doctrines willing to offer their religion up for scrutiny and conjecture in the secular world without retribution for those who decide against it?