Vacation Bible School?

[Faery-Wings]

My cousin, whom I am very close to, asked me if I would like to send my son with her son to vacation bible school. She is very active in her church, She knows I am not religious anymore in the Catholic sense but she does not know I am Pagan and I honestly don't know how she would react. I am really not sure if I want to do this. Part of me says, he is 5, let him go, have fun and he can be slightly exposed to Jesus in a fun way. The theme is Jesus to the Rescue :) Part of me feels like i could be opening a can of worms. I want my children to be able to choose what they want to believe and how that want to practice when they are old enought to choose, so in that it would be a good thing. But will he come home with questions I can't or don't want to answer?

And then there is the issue of my husband, who deosn't want the kids to exposed to Christian faith at all....

Have any of you dealt with this or have any advice?

Thanks!

Chris

[Revelation]

That's a tough one. I beleive in exposing kids to other faiths, but I know I couldn't send my child to vacation Bible school.

I think that exposing children to religion is a good thing if the parent is involved in that process. I remember going to VBS at 6, and having counselors tell me I had to accept JEsus into my heart as Lord and Savior and they kept asking me over and over if I accpeted the Lord. I was 6! When my mom found out about this she was furious. No one has the righ to be that dogmatic with a child unless it is the parent or with the parent's permission.

I think VBS is too much for a little one. It can be very intense. I would, personally, feel more comfortable exposing my child to other faiths with my own guidance, to be sure that no indoctrination is going on.

AFter all, this is a tender age.

[random]

I've went to a first baptist church VBS for one summer, it was fun.
But, it still produced the ideas pounded into your head.
It still taught the story of the bible and everything around it.
Then, I think I only went because I was going to the church on sundays, I was o nly going to the church because my friends were and it got me away from my house. But unfortunatly I was forced to wear a dress, which I dispise doing greatly.
He;s five? well, if he goes, he might not remember in the future, then again, he might want to go to the church after this experience.

[Lilu]

Are you pagan at home? In front of your son? Why do you feel you wouldn't be able to answer any questions he had? I think you should analyse how you feel about dealing with the situation. Don't worry about what you should and shouldn't be doing for his religious health - he'll have plenty of exposure to Christianity when he gets older. If you aren't comfortable with it then don't do it.

I think one thing that is also being overlooked is you state your husband won't like the idea. I think you should seriously take this into consideration also, it's not just your decision to make. You should probably sit down with your husband and weigh the pros and cons and decide together.

Personally, I wouldn't do it. But that's just me *grin*

Lilu

[SnowStar]

I went to VBS just about every year from 3rd grade until 6th at a Baptist church more or less because my mum worked in the nursery and because she was searching for some sense of community in the new town we had moved to. I won't get into exactly why we left the church, but it is mostly because my mother did not like being treated as less of a person and because there was a lot of hipocracy and bigotry. But anyway, where was I? Oh yes. VBS. I think they scared me into being "saved" when I was...oh...10? 11 maybe? They had the youth minister come in and talk to us about some stuff and basically mase it sound to an 11-year old me that if I didn't do it I was a bad and worthless person and that if I did that all of these good things would happen and yadda yadda. Sure...play off of my incredibly low self-esteem as the unaccepted new kid who already felt pretty worthless.

What really got my mum was that they were trying to push my 6-year old sister and 3-year-old brother into the same thing! That is in no way old enough to make a decision like that! 11 isn't either! I finally was old enough to make my own informed decision about my beliefs when I was about 13...and as you might be able to tell it wasn't for Christianity. I was never forced into anything by my parents and my mum is totally cool with my decision to follow this path because she knows it was MY decision this time and not something that I was frightened or tricked into.

I am not trying to sway you in one way or another in this respect, but I am just telling my story as someone who had experienced this sort of thing firsthand. IMO it really is just a way of brainwashing. They take kids when they're impressionable and give them a fun environment but fill it with "only one way" propaganda.

Maybe when your child is older and wishes to attend Church/Sunday School/Youth group with a friend to see what it is like that would be a much better idea than to just send them when they really still don't have much informed say in the matter.

[Faery-Wings]

I have decided to not send him. My husband is really not comfortable with the idea. And I am not comfortable either with the idea of not knowing what they are teaching him. My mom has talked to him about God, but always with me around. So I know how to respond to him afterwards. I want him to be respectful of other religions, but it isn't worth exposing him at 5 years of age.

Thanks again.

Chris

[Myst]

I went to bible school every summer for years and years, and absolutely loved it. These days I couldn't tell you what stories I learned at the time, but I can tell you about friends I met, activities we did, and crafts we made. My parents were (and are) Atheists, though we celebrated Christian holidays, and signed me up every year because I begged them too.

Personally, my fiance is without religion, and I am very Pagan as are most of our friends. I hope I can send my children to bible school if they want to, as long as they feel comfortable with discussing it with me - how they feel, what they learned, what it means, etc. I fully intend to let them know what Mommy does, and that Daddy feels differently, that Grandma and Grandpa, and Papa and Nana celebrate holidays like most people but not because of Jesus, etc. and let them find their own way. I think it was the flexibility and openness of my parents that allowed me to find my own way, from atheism to Christianity finally to Paganism.

[bloodstone20]

If your cousin found out about your beileifs, would she freak out? If she would, then that is not the right chruch. You should sit down with your kid and tell him about different beileifs. You'll be surprised what he understands. Maybe take him to chruch on day, then a ritual the other. Let him have fun, and later in life he can have experiences to draw on. I went to VBS, and got kicked out becuase I defended the serpent. I was 7 at the time. I think you need to talk to your cousing first.
Just my 2 pents.