To God? Themselves? Their parents? The state? The church? Some mixture of these? Who is ultimately responsible for children and who has the right to make decisions on their behalf? Please justify your answer.
To Whom Do Children Belong?
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It's parent's responsibility to make decisions on the children's behalf. The state should only step in in extreme cases.
So, to answer the OP, it's parents. They have a natural right to raise their children as they see fit, within certain very reasonable limitations, of course.
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My position is that children belong to God. God then gives stewardship primarily to the children's parents. But if a parent is abusing their God-given stewardship then it is the responsibility of the church and the state to intervene. But if a parent is stewarding their responsibility according to God's word then these other institutions have no rights over the child.
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VirOptimus
A nihilist who cares.
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Last I checked human beings are not property to be owned. That said, both parents and the state have a responsibility to ensure proper care and a measure of accountability.
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J Cord
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Agreed.
Agreed.
And that's the rub: "within certain very reasonable limitations". Who decides what's reasonable and what's not? For instance, millions and millions of Americans believe it is very reasonable to brag about sexually assaulting women. I would disagree. Who is correct?
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If children don't belong to their parents then what right do parents have to tell them what to do?
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J Cord
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So if a parent permanently locks their child in the basement, and then starves and tortures that child, society shouldn't step in? God is great, but we need to take care of our own backyard.
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State authorities are commanded by God in such a case to intervene. The important principle here is that God is the one who dispenses these authorities.
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If they do not own themselves then they have no rights over themselves. If no one owns them then no one has rights over them. Where do their rights come from?
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I guess that depends upon your religious views. I know a lot of Christians believe they are "Owned" by God. Obviously I do not agree with that. I am not sure I would express it as self ownership but without thinking about it to much I suppose you could say it that way.
To a degree. There is a responsibility to ensure health, safety, and learning. There is also a responsibility to ensure the other authorities are doing their job properly.
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I think that God has established a balance of power in this regard. Parents "own" their children like a steward "owns" his charge. They ultimately belong to God and so parents must rule over them according to God's commands. They cannot do whatever they please. If they violate God's commands then others have the right to intervene.
But the state can also abuse their authority over their citizens. The state can assume certain rights over its citizens that God has not given. This is when it gets scary, I think, because if the state overreaches and violates the rights of parents over their children then it's state vs family and the state will always win because they are much stronger.
This is why when the sovereignty of God over both the family and the state is jettisoned a whole host of problems is introduced.
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VirOptimus
A nihilist who cares.
Rights come from laws. Rights have nothing to do with ownership.
No, ownership is not applicable since slavery is abolished.
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The earth is the LORD’S, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; (Psalms 24:1, 1984 NIV)
What does it mean to "belong" to someone? Other humans are given the task of being good stewards of all that they have through God-given authority. God has given responsibilities to parents, relatives, the state, and most of all, has accepted some responsibilities himself! We raise our children for the Lord (which is different than becoming one with our spouse).
What does it mean to "belong" to someone? Other humans are given the task of being good stewards of all that they have through God-given authority. God has given responsibilities to parents, relatives, the state, and most of all, has accepted some responsibilities himself! We raise our children for the Lord (which is different than becoming one with our spouse).
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