Passing down the faith: How Christian parents should introduce their children to Christ

Many Christian parents want to pass down their faith. This is a common goal for Christian parents. However, most parents believe in punishing their children in order to pass down the Christian faith. However, the fact of the matter is that children need encouragement from fathers, not punishment from fathers, in order to learn the facts of life.

Passing down the faith takes place in the context of the Christian doctrine of mutual submission. See Ephesians 6:1-4 KJV:

Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

The Greek root word translated "obey" is υπακουο (Latin: hupakouo) and refers to secure, vulnerable rest in the love and submission of parents. Children are to rest in the sacrifice of parents, just as parent believers rest securely in the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ. This surrender to parents came with strings attached on the part of parents, meaning that children could issue lawfully binding orders from their place of rest, usually when parents didn't do their fair share around the house.

The Greek root word translated "provoke...to wrath" is παροργίζο (Latin: parorgizo) and refers to damages or offenses, namely the slightest of personal offense perceived by a child, including, but not limited to, the slightest of offensive touch or speech perceived by a child, stemming from entitlement. This commandment was intended by the Apostle Paul, and understood in its original context, as a moral statute prohibiting all forms of punitive parenting, including, but not limited to, any punishments, reprimands, or other controlling demeanor towards children. In the Old Testament, punitive parents were put to death by way of bloodletting, after punishing their children one last time. Parents who punished their children were charged with kidnapping, with "kidnapping" being defined under the Law as the slightest of damages or offenses stemming from hostage-taking - child punishment was seen in biblical times as holding your child hostage merely for things that they did wrong, thereby treating your child as a quartered slave. Paul here was lifting up the Law in order to convict a group of Greek Christian parents who brought their pagan custom of spanking and punishing children into the church at Ephesus. Paul, contrary to popular legend, was anti-spanking, and opposed any and all punishment of a child in his secular writings. Paul may not have gotten along with women, but he sure loved children, and took in orphaned children. Indeed, Greco-Roman parents used the scourge of cords to punish their children, but NOT the Christians among them - the Early Church was hated by broader Greco-Roman society largely for being "too soft" on their children.

The Greek root word translated "nurture" is παιδεία (Latin: paideia) and refers to here, in this context, modeling Christian discipline to children. The Christian standard of discipline is deserving of absolutely nothing, therefore grateful for absolutely everything, coming from a sinful nature, leading to a chastened up example for children to follow. Christian parents in the Early Church centered their entitlement in view of their children, with children following in their parents' footsteps. Children, in biblical times, were caught being good, as opposed to being caught being bad. Whenever a child was caught emulating the disciplined example of parents, they were lavishly praised and encouraged to "keep headed down the straight path". Boys were given manly praise when caught being good, whereas girls were given snuggles and physical affection when caught being good. Sometimes, children needed direct parental instruction. The Greek root word translated "admonition" is νουθεσία (Latin: nouthesia) and refers to the advice and counsel of parents, meaning parents could only offer advice when needed, or else counsel their children when upset. Otherwise, parents were under the divine authority of their children.

Passing down the faith was never done by punishing children in biblical times. Children were taught facts of life by parents leaving out a Bible for the child to explore and peruse. Once the child's father caught the child reading the Bible, he praised and encouraged his child by saying "that book is good for you!" From there, children studied the Bible, and compared notes with their father, with their father offering pointers on the context. When children discovered the concept of Hell and atonement, they were comforted by fathers.

What motivated children to learn the facts of life all on their own? Children were motivated to learn the facts of life by way of a secure attachment, first with their mother, and secondarily to their father. For the first 6 years of a child's life, children were in constant closeness to mothers, meaning that wherever the mother went, so did the child. The Early Christians practiced birth nudity, where mother and child were in the nude next to each other, in skin-on-skin closeness and intimacy. Whenever a child cried, mothers swooped in to the rescue, cooing at the child before picking the child up, then holding the child close to her bosom in skin-on-skin mammary closeness. 

The abovementioned closeness and intimacy led to children having a secondary secure attachment with their fathers. Fathers made learning about the Bible fun. Children were eager to learn the facts of life, and looked forward to religious discussions with their fathers. When fathers caught their children following the teachings of the Bible, they were rewarded with praise and encouragement. In fact, any good behavior was rewarded by fathers with praise and encouragement. 

Today, this context can be applied by parents leaving out a Bible. The leverage that Christian parents can have is leaving out only a Bible, thus limiting your child's accessibility to religious literature. When you see your child reading the good book, praise them and encourage them to keep exploring the Bible. Children have religious development of their own. At first, a child's religious beliefs will seem like mish-mash. But, they will most likely, at some point, conform to a specific denomination of Christian, and it will work like magic.

The depraved and entitled parents who provoke their children to wrath through punitive parenting will not inherit the Kingdom of God! Let them forever be cast into the lake of fire and burning sulfur, which is the second death prepared for Satan and his accomplices! Let them descend into the abyss which is the ever-burning Hell of fire and torment, suffering God's Wrath day and night forever and ever! Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!