My child came home the other day and told me the most shocking things. She said she had been reading a book that several other students at her school are also reading. In fact, she said that she was sure there was a copy of it in her school library and many teachers had copies of it on their classroom shelves. I asked her what was so scandalous about this book. The following list contains many of the topics that she found discussed in the book:
· Sex/Lust
· Prostitution
· Adultery
· Lying
· Stealing
· Murder
· Witchcraft
· Demons
· People worshipping non-Christian gods
· Violence
· Words such as bastard and damn
· Animal sacrifice
· Fathers trying to kill their own children
· People being stoned to death
· People being left to be devoured by vicious animals
· People being beaten and tortured
· Polygamy
· Homosexuality
· Sodomy
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing! How could all those serious subjects fit into one literary work? Who would think that reading it would be appropriate for my sixteen year-old? I asked her to let me see the book. I just knew that if I had a copy of it and bookmarked certain pages, I could email it to Ms. Norman, Mr. Buff, and Mr. Barnard. Surely they would see all this “obscenity” and do their best to keep it out of our schools! Then, when my daughter handed me the book, I realized that she had been reading the Bible.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I realize that the scenario above was trite and predictable. However, it does illustrate a point. For centuries, mankind has realized that in order to raise our children to be moral and just, we must arm them with the necessary knowledge. Sometimes that knowledge isn’t pretty. It won’t always come wrapped in pretty ribbons and tasting sugary sweet. There are times when it is necessary to taste the vile bitterness in order to understand and grow. The fact that a book is upsetting, has a little violence, or has a few words that you wouldn’t say yourself, doesn’t mean that it has no educational value. You should remember that Ms. Norman the next time you sit in Sunday School.
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1 comment:
Good illustration. If the scriptures are devinely inspired (and I believe that they are), then how could God look favorably upon those who would deny a young person the opportunity to grow in knowledge?
Oh, I understand the dangers of depending soley on "gnosis". Paul made it a point to caution the early churches against trading knowledge for faith.
Both are important, but there must be a balance. And we must not allow the fear of exposure to truth and atrocity to rattle our faith.
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