How should i teach relgion

Discussion of raising your family in the pagan tradition.
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Rosewitch

How should i teach relgion

Post by Rosewitch »

Hello my name is rose and im getting ready to start a family. Now i my self am pagan but my fiance is christian.we cant decide to raise the baby to one or the other or let the baby choose when they are ready. Now i have the main choice and i really wish my baby not to be christain because every single (no joke) christian including my fiance is close minded and ect. But i dont want to diminish the right it has yo choose its own path. What should i teach to my soon to come baby smileykiss2
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AutumnMaidens
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Re: How should i teach relgion

Post by AutumnMaidens »

Well since many of the basic propperties from paganism were "stolen" by the christian church, a lot of the old pagan ideals can be taken directly from the christian faith. So maybe you would be able to find some comment ground?

There are lots of small things you can teach your child(ren) that don't scream religion right away. Things like respecting nature, to look for fairies, to always say thanks (can be in prayer before eating even) than there are books filled with anchient wisdom now seen as old wives tales. Things like eating an apple at midnight on christmas to ask for good health the comming year (apple is sacred to the goddess) or never throwing away bread lest you invite hunger into the household etc.

Something like that?
Bless
"If you take a copy of the Christian Bible and put it out in the wind and the rain,
soon the paper on which the words are printed will disintegrate and the words will be gone.
Our bible IS the wind and the rain."
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Re: How should i teach relgion

Post by JBRaven »

Also placing great importance on equailty. The christian church is very male, as in wicca it tnds to be a more female driven faith. I would show the baby that both female and male are connected and one with out the other is incomplete.

You can bing the four elements into the babies life easily. playing under the covers "ohhhhh doesn't this feel like a cave? Cool earth protecting you like a mothers love?" or at bath time" isn't the water ever changing, just like our emotions and dreams?" Be creative, cooking, cleaning, walking to school, nap time stories are all time to teach a child about the elements.

Use herbal remedies, upset tummy have a ginger cookie. Also use childs fears, "Mommy there is a monster in the closet" "Ok love let me get you this amulet to ward off scary things" NEVER NEVER lie to you child about what faith you or your man follow.


Make a deal with your man saying the baby can go to church with you every other sunday. The baby then comes with me the other sundays to my church. Because no matter if you want your baby to be pagen or not if you keep a certain religion taboo he or she will yern for it.
xhesive

Re: How should i teach relgion

Post by xhesive »

Rosewitch wrote:i really wish my baby not to be christain because every single (no joke) christian including my fiance is close minded and ect.
I quoted this part because I think it's important to remember that there are close minded people in every religion, including paganism. Our religions are our own path, they come from our own needs and beliefs and our own relationships with our deities. The people around us can influence us but they certainly aren't the religion itself and shouldn't be treated as such.

Now as to what to teach, I agree with what people said about doing small things that kids just think are fun. My 6 year old daughter likes to help me with gardening, sometimes we'll take walks and look for shells, feathers, pretty rocks, etc to put on my "table." I tell her stories from mythology and she has a dream catcher over her bed to get rid of bad dreams. Her dad is christian and he'll tell her stories or sometimes she'll help him cook something for his group or she'll go to one of their events if it sounds fun. We keep our heavy religious stuff to ourselves but if she has questions we answer them honestly with "mommy belives this, daddy believes that, grandparents believe this, and someone else might believe that, etc." She knows we have different beliefs and that it's ok. It just works for us.

Congrats on the baby :)
absynthe17

Re: How should i teach relgion

Post by absynthe17 »

Rosewitch wrote:Now i have the main choice and i really wish my baby not to be christain because every single (no joke) christian including my fiance is close minded and ect.
I know many people who are christain's and are more open minded than athiests, wiccans, buddhists etc. Doesn't matter what religion you are (if any), people can be closed or open minded regardless.

I am a catholic myself, but I also practice wiccan rituals. I grew up in a family that is catholic and we went to church every sunday, but my dad collected crystals and taught me about buddhism and taoism and that the spirit is the most important thing. We were taught the values of christianity (loving your neighbour, respecting others etc) and were taught about the bible in that everything in it is not a fact, but a story to explain things. My parents focused on the 'life lessons' in the bible, which, when you look at them, are no different to any other belief.

I believe in the spirit and the power of the mind, and I also believe in God. My husband is from a family of athiests who barely even believe in spirits, but he believes that religion and faith can teach children very valuable lessons if you teach it right! We have always been honest with my step son when he has asked us things, and we tell him things we think will help him. For example, he was having a lot of bad nightmares so we told him that if he prays to his guardian angel and asks it to protect him and give him good dreams he wont have any more nightmares. When we put him to bed we remind him and he has not had nightmares since.

In my opinion there is no reason the two cannot mix. It is not religion that is parenting your children; it is you. It's up to you to teach them what aspects of each you want them to know.
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