I'm fascinated to know which thing you consider to be "ramming down the throats" of children. Is it the attendance at the voluntary after-school club that is "ramming" or is it telling a non-believer that your religion will save their soul that is "ramming?" Or, was it ramming when the teacher told these kids they could opt out of the activity if they weren't comfortable with it?
You see coercion where ther is none. Ask yourself why.
What I find really shocking here is what this story tells us about the state of discipleship, not just of our kids, but of parents and pastors. This story is a wake-up call. We must learn what we believe, why we believe it and then instill it into our children, giving them a biblical view of all of life. We can’t stand idly by while relativism undermines the faith of our kids and robs them of the one sure hope they have—and desperately need. Friends, if this story gets to you like it gets to me, it’s time we got busy.
So the kids aren't buying Colson's version of the Christian message 100%. Colson says it's all or nothing, and wants to "instill" the full 100% of the message into these kids. How does he propose accomplishing that? Pressure? Guilt? Constant reminders and incessant nagging? May not be "coercion" but certainly counts as "ramming."
An earlier poster on this thread told me that "relativism" (whatever that is) teaches that some people are good and others are bad, while Christianity teaches that all people are bad. WOW!! What an uplifting message to teach to middle school students! I used a silly example in my post to lampoon Colson's being shocked, SHOCKED, that kids today adopt the culture but not the theology of Christianity. That's true of most, if not all, faiths -- including the much-feared Islam. Certainly true among the Jewish community in which I grew up.
Finally, yes, telling a nonbeliever that your religion will save their "soul" is indeed "ramming." Once, twice, infrequently, no. But if I understand correctly that Christians are "commanded" to "share the word" as much and as long as it takes for the rest of us heathens to "get it," then yes -- from our point of view, that counts as "ramming." Coercion is not the only form of ramming. I don't have to ask myself why, because I know why.