R
It depends of the person. If it is with in you to do so you should know what the other religions say at the very least.
Not something I would recomend for a new believer.
I think it depends what you mean by explore.
When I was at school we had religious education which covered the major world religions. I quite enjoyed learning about them. I have, as an adult learned a little bit more about some of them, but honestly, now I would rather learn about what God is showing me as a Christian.
Learning more about religion has been extremely rewarding to me. I've started to wonder if others who are within a religion feel the same way. By "explore" I simply mean learning about it's belief structure, tenets, rituals demographics and history.
@zaksmummy
How do you feel about the idea of everyone studying world religions?
@drich
Why do you feel a new believer should not study other religions?
@drich
Why do you feel a new believer should not study other religions?
Do you feel it is ok for under age children to have sex with adults? Why do you feel this way?
Assuming you say no;
If you are not willing to subject a young body to the perverse nature of one who preys on the young of age. Why would you subject one young in the Spirit to a system of belief designed to prey on and pervert the Spirit against God?
Why fear/abhoar the one who can corrupt the perishable body, when there are those who corrupt the immortal soul?
Now tell me why you believe it is good for the young in the faith to explore different religions.
How exactly did you misunderstand this? could you not read past the mentioning of pedophilia, and then plug in your own sense of righteousness, so you could soap box or champion your beliefs over what was actually said?I'm sorry, but are you seriously trying to compare someone freely exercising their right to believe or not believe anything; regardless of a state's constitution stating either way; to an underage child's inability to consent to sexual acts?
Are the young in Spirit any less subject to issues that far exceed the consequences of anything that could happen to this earthly body?Of course we agree that's a bad thing, because, excluding extraordinary exceptions, underage children do not have the maturity or the mental capacity to even understand, let alone consent to sexual acts from adults.
I did not make that conclusion, you Infact did. The question was asked why should someone young in the (christian) faith not seek out and explore other faiths. I was describing the need for us to teach our young to preserve and protect their spiritual purity from outside influences at least till one reaches spiritual maturity. You are the one equating or drawing the parallel of the teachings of the other specific religions to the perversions of a pedophile.You cannot compare people manipulating children's innocence about sexual matters for their own selfish sensual pleasures to a Buddhist monk, Jewish rabbi, Muslim imam, or the like teaching a curious child about their religions if they freely ask without any provocation. Child molestation by authority figures is nothing like someone who is a young adult or even an adult in general who is genuinely curious about spiritual matters exercising their freedom to investigate and exercising their reason in comparing them, as well as their heart in whether they feel compelled and/or fulfilled by those beliefs talking to someone and asking question.
This enlighten approach can be taken from any position outside of Christianity, because no matter which "faith" one decides on. the ultimate goal has been accomplished in that the "believer" is no longer worshiping the God of the bible.Same reason it's good for children to engage in sports or other things that might disappoint them; because without suffering some terrible things in life or at least general unsatisfactoriness, they won't come to believe in things seriously and will be less committed to anything, even if it's something you disagree with. Would you rather your friend or child just waffle between various beliefs or experience enough about various beliefs and themselves in relation to them to make a decision and stick with it?
The reason we don't let under age children have sex is because it would psychologically damage them. Letting children explore other religions in some basic sense or letting mature adults explore spiritually distinct religions is not even close to letting children experiment with sex.How exactly did you misunderstand this? could you not read past the mentioning of pedophilia, and then plug in your own sense of righteousness, so you could soap box or champion your beliefs over what was actually said?
Just because there is a risk does not mean you should shelter them from everything as if they are made of paper/glassAre the young in Spirit any less subject to issues that far exceed the consequences of anything that could happen to this earthly body?
You hardly made it absolutely clear you weren't implying that underage children having sex was due to pedophilia or due to their own desire, which is much rarer, I'd wager. Spiritual purity is hardly something you can ever maintain, far as I'm concerned. To expose children to other religions and their teachings at a young age will not be a problem. If the child makes that choice when they grow up to be a young adult, it is their choice, and not yours or even the parents' to try to change if they are of a mature enough age to discern these things as individuals.I did not make that conclusion, you Infact did. The question was asked why should someone young in the (christian) faith not seek out and explore other faiths. I was describing the need for us to teach our young to preserve and protect their spiritual purity from outside influences at least till one reaches spiritual maturity. You are the one equating or drawing the parallel of the teachings of the other specific religions to the perversions of a pedophile.
The only thing I borrowed from this analogy is that those "other faiths"(such as atheism or the religion that surrounds scientific discovery and belief) are much more mature and sophisticated that anything the young christian has in his arsenal that he can use to protect himself with, and i also gave an example of a young man who is struggling with this very issue.
A fair mistake. But you still seem to misunderstand the intents of other religions. For one thing, not every religion is evangelistic, so it's not as if exploring it will actually suck the person in, unless they are gullible and susceptible to begin with. You could have a very discerning or skeptical Christian that could nonetheless explore other religions and still maintain their faith even if they were new. You're presuming every new Christian is the same, which hardly seems fair.My message was of preservation of the spiritually young, not labeling what others believe in specific religions. You made that observation on your own.
You are painting every non Christian religion or lack thereof with an unfair stroke. Just because someone chooses a different religion does not mean that there was some conspiracy or agenda behind it. The individual's choice is only partly influenced by others.This enlighten approach can be taken from any position outside of Christianity, because no matter which "faith" one decides on. the ultimate goal has been accomplished in that the "believer" is no longer worshiping the God of the bible.
Oh I've been up and down that road many times...Learning more about religion has been extremely rewarding to me. I've started to wonder if others who are within a religion feel the same way. By "explore" I simply mean learning about it's belief structure, tenets, rituals demographics and history.
Allowing and advising are two different things. Personally if I had children of my own I'd allow it, but not advise it until they were older and mature enough. I say that because I only began to research things when I was mature enough for it and had I not been than the consequences would be, simply put, disastrous.That seems to be a practical consideration. If there are people that are gullible and easily swayed, perhaps it would be best to merely educate them about the beliefs and not let them look into it for fulfillment, but not everyone is so sucked into this that they can't say, "Maybe Buddhism has something for me, but maybe it's also in Christianity" Not to mention the whole attitude of not letting people search religions seems to just violate the idea that people are free agents and are not to be coerced into believing a religion out of fear of any kind
Are you really saying that a young Christian who is uncertain and waffles between Christianity, Judaism and Islam is better than a committed Buddhist apostate from Christianity who has done much contemplation and finally made the decision based on various factors?
Hello. I'm an atheist. Just a disclaimer. This is the "exploring Christianity" forum however I'm curious to hear everyone's opinion on the matter of exploring other religions. Is it accepted? Off-limits? Do some Christian sects accept this? Thanks for your time.
The reason we don't let under age children have sex is because it would psychologically damage them. Letting children explore other religions in some basic sense or letting mature adults explore spiritually distinct religions is not even close to letting children experiment with sex.
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