Making up my mind on how to teach my son values in life seems to be an on going struggle of what is right and wrong. Being raised in a sheltered jw life until after leaving high school seems like going from one extreme to another of being over restrictive or under. Trying to find that balance. And situations that most people have gone thru that I never faced, I wont be able to know what my child is even going thru, if that makes any since. Is anymore else going thru this or gone thru this?
is it possible to raise good kids with out religious morals?
by Princess Ashe 28 Replies latest jw experiences
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Darth Fader The Sequel
I spend a lot of time wondering about how I will teach my kids about God and help achieve a faith without the structure of the JW's. I am proud of the morals and principles I have. They came partly due to my JW upbringing. But, I also realize that it is a cult and I cannot allow my children to experience the risk of being chewed up and spit out by the same cult. I have no answers for you Princess Ashe. I just want you to know I have some of the very same concerns.
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nicolaou
Good parents do the best they can with the life experiences they've been dealt, you will too. Is there a specific issue that's concerning you? As for JW morals being 'good' . . . think that might be worth a topic of its own.
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berrygerry
I would ask the question this way:
"Is it possible to raise good kids without good morals?"
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NAVYTOWN
JW Morals 101: If a family member doesn't believe the same way you do concerning religion, then shun them, or at least treat them as second-class people. JW Morals 102: If a JW makes a mistake or violates some 'rule', including asking inconvenient questions, kick them out of the religion. That's the way to show Christian love and forgiveness.
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zeb
PA: yes you can instill ethics. When they are little along the lines "would you like that done to you".
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happy@last
Religious morals are restrictedcto the religion, if they can be called moral! Of course good morals can be taught without any religious slant, without fear of eternal torment or loss of gods approval. You can still guide a child through life's situations pointing out the rights and wrongs.
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smiddy
Think about what you asked , it suggests that if one doesn`t have a religion , one doesn`t have any morals.
Surely you dont mean that , therefore morals and ethics are not dependant on religous beleif.
Otherwise what you suggest in your opening post is that all people without a religion is immoral , and unethical .
Have you HONESTLY ever read the bible from cover to cover ? Have a look at Evil Bible .com
Its a phurphy to beleive you have to belong to a religion to be moral or have ethics.
smiddy
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cofty
"Religious morals" is an oxymoron.
True morality is only possible by first rejecting arbitrary rules of religion.
Teach your children humanistic values for their own sake without supertitious promises and threats.
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Coded Logic
While there are several different cognitive tools for teaching ethics some of the most basic principles are:
Empathy
Fairness
Liberty
Loyalty
Morality is all about wieghing how your actions will effect others. No two moral situations are ever exactly alike (which is why "moral commandments" are often anything but). It's also why a good parent doesn't tell a kid what to think. Rather, they teach thier kids how to think. So that when the child is faced with a moral delemia they have good metrics for determining how best to effect human and animal well being.