Is this a bad thing?
IMHO, a lot of parents have a very nasty taste in their mouth about Christianity because, their parents forced them to go to church - and they resent that. For them (and largely for me until about 20 year ago), going to Church was a punishment for a crime I never committed. It was a chore that was resented - in short - my parents failed, miserably. To get a child or young adult to understand church, they must enjoy the experience - if not, all you are instilling is a deep seated resentment, and a pretty solid garrantee that they will reject the teachings, and do their best to avoid this again in the future.
My parents failed - miserably with this very simple, and very common task. I have one brother who is now a professed athiest, a sister with a long history of drug abuse (with both of her kids currently in jail) and no interest in church at all, another brother who has (like me) completely renounced the denomination he was raised in, and opted for a different Christian church. 4 out of 4 children renouncing your denomination is pretty much a 100% FAIL in my book.
So, if this program teaches Christian ideals, without espousing Christianity - I do not consider that a bad thing at all. The principles of Christianity are not unique, in that compassion, forgiveness, acceptance and understanding are found in most enlightened cultures around the world. What ever lays the seeds of Christianity, is a seed that may one day bear “good fruit”.
Granted legalistic churches can and do teach moral principles. Sometime with a smile that makes you feel good, sometimes by beating you up.
But of all the worldviews, only Christianity has God coming down to save sinners. The "good" people are pretty much left high and dry.
I agree. Using the Bible and teaching morality is a part of what the schools used to do. That can only be a good thing as opposed to the immorality taught in the schools today. What would have kids have learned if Veggietales had never come to fruition. It may have reached a broader audience the way it was presented. In the long run it can still accomplish God’s purposes. Too bad though, someone else has control of VT today.
That is me...my parents crammed Christianity down my throat growing up and now I don't want anything to do with it...I'm so turned off to it...
I do believe in God but that's about it..know some Atheist who are the most moral people I have ever met and some Christians who wear it on their sleeves who are the most lying, theiven hypocrites out there but I know I should not generalize in either case.
Parents has basically disowned me, told me I was never welcome to come home ever again but it is over another lifestyle issue.(no not gay or drugs)...terribly sad over it and don't think I will ever get over it.
I don’t consider teaching principals but not teaching Christianity such a bad thing. If the goal was to teach Christianity, then they missed their mark, but teaching foundational principals is a worthy accomplishment.
This series should be a tool, and not the only tool, in a parent’s toolbox. It opens the door to more discussion. I am close to two little boys, who never had any Christian teaching before last year. Veggie Tales opened the door to more discussions. They asked me questions, and I was able to tell them about Christ. Veggie Tales opened the door, but I never expected them to do all of the work.
BTW - Veggie Tales helped soften Mom’s heart and prepare it for the seed of the Gospel - which is flourishing now.
Bear with me for a short story.
When I was in fourth grade I had the Worst Math Teacher Ever. She was a former romantic rival of my mom and apparently still had some jealous rage to work through. I was singled out for mountains of "remedial" homework, had virtually every assignmet, quiz and test marked down for trivialiites and had to give up afternoon recess for an insultingly simple "Math Lab" with a group of second-graders. If I made even a peep of protest a letter or reprimand would be sent to my parents. I collected enough of those to merit a suspension, but the principal (a decent chap who understood what was gong on) never acted on it. By the end of the year I was absolutley hating math. I spent the next eight years avoiding it, shuffling through unavoidable credit courses with a D-Minus average and taking the easiest shlock electives I could when the option became available. I swore that I would never, ever, do math again.
The problem was, I wanted to be an engineer. You can't do any sort of engineering without higher math, and I found myself needing to learn it anyway, often secretly after having represented myself as proficient in order to get hired for a job. To my surprise, I enjoyed learning and applying math. It wasn't at all the horrid drudgery that I rememebered from childhood-it was a powerful tool to accomplish things that would otherwise have been impossible. Math was never the problem. My fourth-grade teacher was the problem, and after she was gone I was the problem.
There are rotten teachers and rotten schools. And there are rotten parents and rotten churches. It doesn't make the message untrue.