And they were bringing children to Him so that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, “Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.” And He took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them.
Mark 10:13-16
As I write this, my church has just finished several activities specifically reaching out to children. We’ve hosted about 100 kids at Vacation Bible School. We’ve sent children to Bible camps. We’ve filled backpacks with supplies for area schoolchildren. We’ve packed shoebox Christmas gifts (in July!) for children overseas. We are happy to spend considerable time, effort and money in order to introduce children to Jesus.
Children are trusting and impressionable. What they absorb during their first few years will impact the rest of their life. Christians have critics who think that we should not use that time to teach them about the Bible, and what it tells us about God and Jesus. Check out these quotes from prominent atheist Richard Dawkins on the subject, such as “Faith can be very very dangerous, and deliberately to implant it into the vulnerable mind of an innocent child is a grievous wrong.” Other examples include this 2014 article from Psychology Today “Does Christianity Harm Children?” and this 2023 Medium article “Christianity Hurts Kids”.
Obviously, I think that Dawkins’ perspective is very flawed. But I’d like to take a moment to articulate just why he is wrong.
Passing it on: That’s what parents do.
To begin with, one point made by critics is that parents are force-feeding their own values into their children. The children are not being allowed to form their own opinions.
Well, what else would parents be expected to do? Should parents teach their children values that they themselves don’t believe? In that case, the atheists should be teaching their children Christianity!
It seems that these critics would have parents give their children no guidance at all. By default, that would let the only input they receive be whatever the rest of the world teaches. We are all, children and adults, bombarded with conflicting information and opinions. Sifting through all of the noise to develop our own worldview is a daunting process. Are Christians supposed to send their babies into the world with no starting point at all, just tell them to go figure it out? That is not reasonable.
After all, we teach kids — by force when necessary — to eat their vegetables, do their homework, go to bed on time, say “please” and “thank you”. We are training them to become happy, healthy, productive adults. That is a parent’s job. Why would anyone expect that job to not also include teaching them moral truths?
I think it is safe to say that even atheists want all children to be taught that murder is wrong. So are lying, cheating, stealing, and a host of other “don’ts” that we drill into our kids. In positive phrasing, we want them to be honest and respectful, kind and courteous. Those things don’t happen naturally; they have to be taught to each new generation 1.
Since God is the Source of those moral truths, as well as the rest of reality, it only makes sense to also teach children about Him: His character, His sovereignty, and most especially, His love.
Christianity is objectively true.
That brings us to the real sticking point, and to the worst flaw in the arguments presented by Richard Dawkins and other critics: They begin with the premise that Christian parents are teaching their children something false. Deliberately teaching a falsehood about the basis for all of life would indeed be a cruel thing to do to a child.
However, there is abundant evidence supporting the Christian position. Others may disagree with or reject Christianity, for many reasons, but that does not make it false.
Christians have deliberately chosen Christ — as opposed to any of the other worldviews available — to be the foundation for their lives. Since they consider Christianity to be solid enough to bet their entire life on it, why would they not want to pass that foundation on to their children?
Just like adults, children need God.
Children are human beings, just like the adults in their lives. They have the same needs in order to be happy and fulfilled. We do our best to meet their physical needs for food, shelter, and safety until they are mature enough to provide for themselves. It is only appropriate that we also do everything we can to meet their spiritual needs, and to prepare them for a healthy mature spiritual life.
We all need an Anchor.
Life is difficult at times. Tragedy strikes; we face complex decisions; even the best-intentioned family and friends sometimes let us down. Christians find their faith to be a strong anchor in the storms of life. We find hope and comfort in knowing that God in control with a plan that will make everything come out right in the end (Romans 8:28).
Children need that same hope and comfort. Shouldn’t they learn that God will be to them the same Rock that He is to us?
We all need guidance.
Life can be a maze of bewildering options. Each choice that we make moves us either toward, or away from, our best future. Which option is best at any given time? Wouldn’t it help to have advice from Someone who already knows that future, and has a plan for our best good?
Christians have that kind of Guide. God’s Word in the Bible teaches the principles, and God’ Spirit within us guides in the specifics. Why would parents who rely on following that guidance be expected to leave their children wandering on their own?
We all need a Savior.
Another quote from Richard Dawkins is “Who will say with confidence that sexual abuse is more permanently damaging to children than threatening them with the eternal and unquenchable fires of hell?” Lovely thought, isn’t it?
It is true, however, that children do inherit the same sinful nature that their parents did. They are inherently selfish, seeing everything from the perspective of their own needs and desires. We have to teach them to share their toys, to avoid interrupting adult conversations, and to apologize when they’ve misbehaved.
A moderately well-raised child soon develops a conscience: When they have done something wrong, they are aware of it, and feel guilty as a result. Once they are old enough to understand that they have misbehaved toward God, they need to be aware of that, as well. Letting them continue to adulthood without realizing that they owe allegiance to their Creator would not be a kindness!
We can’t teach only the first part of the story: that they have missed the target, that they have sinned. We must also teach the solution: that their guilt can be erased, and that their sin is already atoned for. If their parents relish the freedom that Christ provides, why would they allow their children to still be imprisoned?
We all need to be loved.
I’ve saved the most important point for last. The deepest need that we all have is to know that we are loved. We need the security of knowing that we matter, that we are not alone, and that we will be cared for. What greater way to know that than to realize that God loves us so much that He came in person to rescue us?
One line from the Psychology Today article linked above is “Christianity teaches children that God killed his own child to make up for our wickedness.” No, what Christianity teaches is that God’s Son loved us so much that He was willing to sacrifice His life for us. Remember, Jesus chose the cross; He was not forced onto it.
Teaching that they are loved unconditionally, no matter what they do and no matter what is happening around them, is the greatest gift we could ever give our children!
That leaves us with the next consideration: How should children be taught all of this?
Teaching does need to be done carefully.
Some of the complaints, while not accurate depictions of Christianity, do point out a caution needed when teaching children about Jesus: We must be extremely careful to make sure they are hearing the message accurately.
Comedians can make a good living off of all the times that children understand things very differently than adults do. From mis-hearing “Hark the Harold angel sings” and “Stand beside her, and guide her through the night with a light from a bulb“, childhood misunderstandings are notoriously funny. (Here’s a link to a few of them.)
But misunderstandings become much more serious when they interfere with a child’s view of God. Picking up on “burn in Hell” without the context of choice and salvation is terrifying. Hearing “fear of God” without “God loves you” results in a totally off-putting image of the intended relationship.
Another risk is that children are watching us all the time! When we teach “God is love” but they see us doing unloving things, we do immense harm. Every Christian adult who interacts with a child needs to be very, very careful.
We can’t be perfect. We will make mistakes, miss opportunities, phrase things confusingly, get angry…generally be normal sinful people. We just need to follow up with apologies and clarifications.
We can make a habit of asking and listening to children telling us what they hear and feel, so that we can correct any miscommunication before it gets entrenched and becomes a serious roadblock.
Teach what they need to know.
Christ will save anyone who comes to Him. He has saved people from a lifetime of sin, including crimes that many would consider irredeemable. He has saved people in very dire situations, including on their deathbeds. But Christians don’t want our children to wait until a crisis before they come to know Him.
We want them to have a lifetime of knowing the joy and peace that Jesus brings. We want their life to be the full, abundant one that God has planned for them. We want their future entrance into Heaven to be simply the continuation of a long and happy intimate relationship with their Creator and Savior.
That’s why we are willing to go to time, effort, and expense to teach them that Jesus Loves the Little Children.
Train up a child in the way he should go,
Proverbs 22:6
Even when he is old he will not depart from it.
Footnotes and Scripture References
- As economist and influential writer Thomas Sowell put it: “Each new generation born is in effect an invasion of civilization by little barbarians, who must be civilized before it is too late.”