O.K. here it goes...I want to know what you think about certain books for youth#

[chiefersone]

Why do so many Christians say to their younger ones that its o.k. to be entertained reading about wizards, warlocks, and witches?
"I've heard the excuse of, 'well at least my kids are reading?'  C'mon....that's lame if you ask me for allowing matereials to be polluting young minds when many are very impressionable.  And I'm not just saying this because I happen to be a Christian Fiction writer myself, for I am and one of the main reasons for venturing into the art of writing action/adventure books for kids and young teens is just that; their are not alot of good biblically based in your face Jesus scifi/fantasy books that will entertain AND simultaneously build the Faith of the reader. 

Tell me your opinion on reading and ingesting material that uses witchery as entertainment....

[Soldier4Christ]

Hi chiefersone,

Welcome to Christians Unite. I, too, am against many of these books. What we expose our minds to does have an effect on us spiritually. This is especially true of our young children. This is the reason that I am a strong advocate of homeschooling or good Christian private schools. The books and indoctrination that our children get in public schools is detrimental to the spiritual well-being of our children. It should also be noted that it is the parents responsibilities to insure that their children are being properly taught.

[chiefersone]

Hi Pastor Roger,
Please accept my apologies for crossing into that area of 'adverts' for it was not my intent to do so.  I get a little carried away with my passion regarding what our youths are often exposed to by their quote unquote 'role models'.  It definitely was not my intention to skirt around the 'no advertising policy of this forum. 
Blessings to you today...

[Soldier4Christ]

Not a Problem, Chiefersone. I do get very passionate on what our children are exposed to also. It is a travesty what parents allow there children to go through.

I do hope to see more of your posts and to enjoy some wonderful Christian fellowship with you.

 

[chiefersone]

  Amen buddy be blessed by the best today!!
Matthew B.

[islandboy]

While I agree books that promote wizards and etc.. are not in the best interests of young children, I also feel that it is the parents responsability to teach their children what is really and what is fiction. When I was growing one of my favorite cartoons was the roadrunner. I was always happy when that mean ole coyote didn't catch him. However, I knew it was not real. I knew that falling of a cliiff would not be survivable, and I was raised that violence was wrong.
Alot of children now days don't really grasp the difference between right and wrong, let alone  fiction  or non-fiction. Sometimes I think reading books is safer then seeing the movies. The violence in movies can warp a child's mind quicker than reading a children's story book.

[G_G_PRINCESS]

:-*I don't think that books, T.V. shows, or movies that promote violence and witch craft should be read or watched by anyone, kids teen or adults.  I was raised in a non-Christian home and it was those kind of things that i chose to use to entertain myself.  Now I live with a Christian family and we are very careful with what we read and watch, but because I was not careful when I was younger the memories and images are forever stuck in my mind.  Even the smallest things now scare me and I definitely wish that my parents had cared enough to explain why those kinds of things were wrong and not let me watch them.  I find it very important as a teenager not to let those kinds of things enter your mind.  They desensitize you and hinder you from hear the voice of God.  He can't not be where those kinds of things are and therefore if you let yourself dwell on such things you are separated from the one Living True and Holy God.  If you are into those kinds of things there are good Christian books and movies that one can read without sinning.  There are many good authors who write scary book or book that deal with witch craft that honor and glorify God.  What ever we do we must be careful to guard our minds against the evil things of Satan.   

[Debp]

I don't agree with reading books about witches, etc, either.  It is important what we put into our minds.

When I was a child and teenager, I loved reading Trixie Belden and Nancy Drew books.  There was another similar type book but I forgot the name of the character (female).  These are good, adventuresome books for children/teens.

[Soldier4Christ]

Hi Debp,

Perhaps you are talking about the Hardy Boys? They were pretty popular about the same time as the Nancy Drew series. I enjoyed reading them as well as the Nancy Drew stories when I was a young pre-teen.

[islandboy]

I don't think there was quite the mixture of these kinds of books when I was growing up. I was a avid reader of nature and animal books, both fiction and non-fiction. I had from a young age wanted work with the land by becoming a forest ranager or farmer, but ended up doing neither. I read Boy Scout magazines and Hardy Boys. When I was small we had Big Little Books, and the Golden Book series. There were some science fiction novels but nothing I was interested in at the time. Plus, again my parents paid attention to what we were reading and doing. and we knew what was real and not real.
Ce norship is good in some ways, but going overboard in prevention can do more harm than good. It is impossible to defend against things you know nothing about, as children and adults.  But there needs to be parent responsibility in watching out for children both in and out of school. If children are raised in a good Christian home their borders are already guarded and in place. They know right from wrong, but still need to be able to interact with other children and adults  their life. This is a hard subject to deal with, as we know from growing up that whatever is forbidden, is the very thing that children and young adults seek when in disobedience.

[Soldier4Christ]

parent responsibility

That is the key words. God will hold the parents accountable for what is or is not being taught to their children. We must be on gaurd at all times and know what they are being taught. I agree that they should be taught why these things are evil and how to guard against these evil things. This does not mean that we should allow them to partake in them. This is the same thing with interaction with other children and adults. We should not isolate our children completely from the world but we should be careful not to let the fox into the hen house and allow them to be devoured by the fox. If a child is allowed to be with whomever they want whenever they want, especially during the formative years and without proper ongoing Christian guidance, they will in fact learn things that they aught not to. The majority of the time nowadays it is how to be disobedient and rebellious and that the things of the world are okay to partake of.

[Debp]

Hi Debp,

Perhaps you are talking about the Hardy Boys? They were pretty popular about the same time as the Nancy Drew series. I enjoyed reading them as well as the Nancy Drew stories when I was a young pre-teen.

No, I didn't read The Hardy Boys, but I used to watch that tv show.

[Debp]

We should not isolate our children completely from the world but we should be careful not to let the fox into the hen house and allow them to be devoured by the fox.

Amen.  That's why I think some secular books as long as they are good (like the Nancy Drew, etc) are good for the kids.  When I was older, I used to read some other mystery novels, but there was nothing wrong with the content....just interesting mysteries.  Too bad some current authors feel the need to put trash in their novels.

[Soldier4Christ]

I was a weird kid. I enjoyed reading. At the age of 10 I read through the entire Bible for the first time, then went to the Local library and read the entire series of both Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys (they were only missing one book in each series) and then went on to read Dag Hammarskjold's  (UN Secretary General from 1953 to 1961) autobiography which was required reading material for college level students.

This reading was in my spare time only. I say spare time because I was required by my parents to help in household chores and help in the gardening (4 acres of vegetable gardens) and church activities. We had something going at church everyday of the week during the summer months.

[nChrist]

Brothers and Sisters,

As one of the resident "OLD SQUARES", I want to add maybe two cents worth to this discussion.

First, I think it's a horrible mistake to underestimate the power, skill, and cunning of the devil. I am firmly convinced that there are many things that the devil wants our children to read, hear, and do. The devil still snares great hosts, and that includes the children of Christians. BLUNTLY - Christians must be continually on guard and watching for the devil's attempts to influence and snare our Children. The devil and the powers of darkness are quite real, so we MUST KNOW that the devil wants our Children. Some might laugh about this statement, but I would hope that most Christians know this is a deadly serious subject.

On the opposite side of the coin is the beautiful THINGS OF THE LORD. Christians never have to worry about whether they should or shouldn't teach their children the THINGS OF THE LORD. We are commanded to teach our children the THINGS OF THE LORD, and accomplishing this in a diligent way is definitely the highest form of Love we can show our children. Faith still comes by hearing, and hearing by the WORD OF GOD. In my blunt opinion, neglecting this highest priority of teaching is a sign of hate and cruelty toward our children. As Christians, we already know about the misery, consequences, and wages of sin. If we love our children, we will raise them according to our Biblical obligations. I must add that these Biblical obligations are LOVE!

Love In Christ,
Tom