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To: rhema
I appreciate your response but I think you may have missed or dismissed my point. God doesn't build kids differently today as opposed to 50 years ago. The inherent ability to be good or bad hasn't changed. Evil, in all of its carnations, has been present since the beginning. The choice to be one thing or another is what defines humanity. I think achievers can come from non-achieving parents. I think good kids can come from bad backgrounds, and vice-versa. I believe in human beings in general until they prove they are not worthy of trust.

This point of view has been the subject of many a theologian's life work. It has also been the work of many a sociologist's life work. I subscribe to the view that a child is not necessarily an empty vessel, although that state predominates. Most kids will have successful and productive lives if they are given the proper data inputs in the first case. Those without appropriate cues cannot be expected to behave in an accepted manner. The popularity of misogynist, violent, and inappropriate music is not a product of the kids themselves but rather reflects the quality of their upbringing. Do you see the difference?

53 posted on 06/10/2003 6:34:36 AM PDT by Movemout
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To: Movemout
Most kids will have successful and productive lives if they are given the proper data inputs in the first case. Those without appropriate cues cannot be expected to behave in an accepted manner. The popularity of misogynist, violent, and inappropriate music is not a product of the kids themselves but rather reflects the quality of their upbringing. Do you see the difference?

I'm a high school teacher who sees that difference every day, but . . . (see Matthew 15 disclaimer below; there's no evading personal responsibility for one's actions)

God doesn't build kids differently today as opposed to 50 years ago. The inherent ability to be good or bad hasn't changed. Evil, in all of its carnations, has been present since the beginning. The choice to be one thing or another is what defines humanity.

Jesus noted as much in Matthew 15: "But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person."

65 posted on 06/10/2003 7:45:39 AM PDT by rhema
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