Do you think religious instruction can cause mental health problems?

1. 60

   LindseyCrockettposted 13 years ago

   Do you think religious instruction can cause mental health problems?

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2. 71

   Tusitala Tomposted 13 years ago

   Absolutely!  Especially if given to infantile and uncritical minds of the very young.   The really young tend to believe whatever is told to them by anyone they regard as an authoritive figure: parent, elder sibling, grownup of any kind.   Moreover, once the first impression is lodged and accepted at the subconscious level it is very difficult to change as time goes time.  This includes logical argument and counter instruction.    Those under six or seven years of age are like baby ducklings who mistake whatever they first come into contact with as their mother.   A great deal of harm has been done throughout the ages by well-intentioned - and deliberately ill-intentioned people as regard creating a lot in inner turmoil in other people's minds about religion.

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3. 71

   Larry Fieldsposted 13 years ago

   Yes, the doctrine of Original Sin, which some Christian denominations emphasize far too heavily, makes some children feel guilty for just being born.
   
   A more healthful teaching would be that most people have both good and not-so-good tendencies. Skilled parenting can bring out the good qualities, with or without JC. A typical person is born with the potential to have a conscience as an adult. Sociopaths are the exception, but they are only something like 1% of the population.
   
   As moral beings, we have the power to make the right choices sometimes, and to make the least bad of the bad choices at other times, with or without JC.

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4. 61

   JBBlackposted 13 years ago

   I think the manner in which it is taught could potentially cause mental health problems.  An abusive or unstable enviroment for a child could cause mental health problems, with or without religious instruction.

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   CalebSparksposted 13 years ago

   Most people who believe that "religious instruction" causes "mental health" problems are simply trying to escape the conviction of their own consciences. Innate in every human being is a sense of right and wrong, given to them by their Creator, the Lord Jesus Christ.
      Those who seek to ease their guilty consciences by throwing off every vestige of the Bible and Christian influence are just like the people who go into a forest and carve out an idol to worship as they please---in the end they are worshiping themselves because they themselves are the standard of truth.

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