- Jan 12, 2014
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So in summary, please explain why indoctrination is acceptable, why it is necessary, and what the overall motivation/thought process underlying indoctrination is.
I don't think it is acceptable. I think that most Christians have missed the point of the Great Commission and this results in some conclusions that are not as sound as they might think. These conclusions develop into a thought process that isn't as in harmony with Scripture as they might believe. Here is what I mean....
The Great Commission is first of all not started with "GO!" as it appears in English. Instead, it is "going" as in, "as you are going make disciples," rather than, "Go and make disciples." Really, it is a call to walk a righteous walk and when one desires to hear, is seeking, then teach. Seconding, somehow this has morphed into a call to convert the world to Christianity when the word "disciple" means student. Since we can't force anyone to learn, and since John 6:44 says it is God (and not man) who draws a man unto God, and since the Great Commission is in passive form ("as you are going" is passive, "make students" is in command form).... then our desire to convert and save the world becomes the paradigm we are born into. As such, we are inclined to want to 'save' our friends and family, especially our children. So, we almost force them to become clones of us, at least in terms of belief. This causes many problems because we spend our time filling their minds with facts they cannot defend and many end up losing their faith to anyone who can make a decent argument they can't handle.
What the Great Commission really is, is a call to teach others not just facts but the process through which sound conclusions would be made. In the first century, a Rabbi would have taught his student methodology, procedure, and even allowed him to explore the opposing opinions so that when the student arrived at his own conclusions, he would own the answer having had to work through the process to arrive at the answer. This then allows the student to defend his belief and withstand attacks by those who believe differently. And in the process, make him more secure with a result being less polarization between those who might not see eye to eye. This is what we see Yeshua (Jesus) doing... one might ask him a question and then he would answer with a question. However, when that person worked through his question to arrive at an answer, that person will have developed the ability to work through the problem and answer his own initial question.
So I am against filling my children's minds with my thoughts, I don't want to clone myself.... instead, I teach them that there are ways to solve problems. I teach them the same thing I teach at our congregation... historical analysis, linguistic methods, etymology, semiotics, etc. This way, regardless of what problem is before them (biblical or not) they have the tools to work through the issue and arrive at their own conclusions.
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