They not the best but sooo much better than twilight !!

@SimonMorgan1 I liked both. I own both sets of the books.

It's not about Harry Potter!

@GlyndonD Then why mention it twice in 1 day? Harry Potter only has religious meanings to the religious people.

@Sarahroo29 Harry Potter is the best and most current example of my topic. Nothing more.

But some kids never realize that the Bible is fiction.

@GlyndonD I think most kids instinctively do. It'd only once they've been conditioned not to question things that they start to really believe in it.

Why would I want to imagine that there are more forces than the 3fundamental forces of nature? Or that you can fly?

@GlyndonD, oh, so you never pretended to be Superman as a kid? Personally, I wanted to be Gandalf.

@TaraMarshall Yes, wanted to fly. Miss those dreams. But is the price to pay that later in life you cling to mysticism? What are the negatives of that?

@GlyndonD, but our presence here suggests we didn't cling to mysticism.

@TaraMarshall But how many kids have?

@GlyndonD, considering more Americans have no religious affiliation now, lots.

@TaraMarshall Sadly, I don't believe your statistic.

@GlyndonD, they aren't necessarily non-believers, but they have no religious affiliation and don't go to church on holidays. You're hearing the last screaming cultural gasps from the desperate religiots who want to continue their myths.
[scientificamerican.com]

@TaraMarshall You mean, it's like they're a little bit pregnant?

@GlyndonD, many of them stop believing in or caring about god (s) as they get older.

@TaraMarshall True, but it's the ones that do not that cause problems. I'd like it to be less of those kinds of people.

The Bible is a book. It is not a culprit?

@GlyndonD I refer back to my reply. Where would a kid get a bible from, if not an adult?

Glydon, books are inanimate objects they Connor be culprits.

The Bible is a book.

@GlyndonD Exactly.

And the Bible is passed off as...? And children question the Bible?

@GlyndonD I didn't say that it eliminated religion, only that it can help.

GlyndonD, the bible is fiction, more to the point, mythology, it is no more harmful than Bullfinchs mythology.

My children question the bible, including with their school teachers.

Okay, as long as giants and dragons are still real.

That, too.

Except that no adult believes in the tooth fairy and santa. At some stage, a responsible adult admitted they were fictional, just like the religiots need to do about religion, but they won't.

You're correct.

How does reading the Bible, then, teach a kid to think critically and to distinguish between reality and fantasy?

@GlyndonD You are assuming our children are stupid. They aren't.

@GlyndonD It doesn't! Because children are told the biybull is real by irresponsible indoctrinated adults. Do we get the difference now???

@marmot84 But those children end up.believing the Bible. What's that? Are you calling it stupidity? I'm calling it brainwashing, and it has a process. Maybe going along with Harry Potter-like nonsense makes us unwitting participants in that process.

@GlyndonD In my humble opinion, (which may differ from yours) most children can separate fantasy and reality rather easily. Teaching children through the reading of fantasy is not generally a problem nor part of the problem. Telling children that "the Bible" is actually true may be a problem but that is not what you stated.

Sorry, I respectfully disagree with you. You've argued via an inappropriate generalization.

This is his second post today on bashing fantasy and Harry Potter.

@Sarahroo29 And this is your third comment coming to the rescue of Harry Potter.

@GlyndonD Harry doesn't need rescuing. Seems to me you need rescuing from some left over religious fears.

@GlyndonD you didn't address my argument..

Just like they pick up things from the Bible?

@GlyndonD Was that intended as a snide remark? If so, the cynicism was unnecessary, but I will give the benefit of the doubt and answer your question.

Yes, like things the can be picked up in the bible. There are lessons in the bible. Some of them are actually valuable lessons and ones we see mirrored in other books or films or real life. Depending on how you view the bible, it can also be a fantastical tale...that doesn't mean kids are being indoctrinated to it or the other fiction books they are reading. It can be another world to explore, it is another opportunity to expand their imagination.

I have 14 year old twins. They both read extensively. My son likely reads over 1000 pages a week, easily. We have never restricted what they read. He loves fantasy and science fiction. He loves reading about mythical Gods and dragons and space. He has read children versions of the Christian bible starting at probably 8? And at least portions if the King James version. (We had a missionary family with kids living next door. They were always nice enough to share. ) We have always encouraged our kids to learn about different religions. He is fairly intelligent and has critical thinking skills. Despite all that he has learned and read, he is steadfast in his view of religion. He is an atheist.

His sister, whose best friend was one of the missionary children sort of bought into religion. We had a feeling that as she grew older and grew more aware of the things happening in our world that she would likely see things differently...and that's exactly what we have seen. I would not consider her a full on atheist, but certainly a skeptic and agnostic.

Indoctrination required repeated exposures, authoritarianism, and coercion. As a pejorative term, indoctrination implies forcibly or coercively causing people to act and think on the basis of a certain ideology.

So no, I don't think exposing children to fantasy movies and books conditions their minds into thinking magic, spirits and God's can exist in our world. They develop the ability to think critically and the capacity to seperate what is real and what isn't as long as those ideas are not continually pounded in their heads.

@AdorkableMe I am not censoring my kids. I just let them know my opinion of things, like magic and fantasy aren't real. I'm just maintaining that many parents are using non-biblical fantasy as a stepping stone to getting kids to believe junk. I think my ex-wife had that motive.

Why does imagination have to involve mysticism?

@GlyndonD - It's fiction - it's not true! Really important that kids get to understand what's true and what's not - then they can assess the buybull too!

All children? They digest the Bible as stories?

Not all. If someone has an open mind, they can see a good story for a good story and move on.

@GlyndonD - When you give a child a book like Harry Potter, of course you tell them it isn't real! And then you read it together or they read it on their own, and they learn about fantasy, imagination and appreciation of fiction. The reason kids believe the buybull is because adults tell them it's real!

I have never met a kid who actually believes Humpty Dumpty was real, given the opportunity. Or the ester Bunny. In spite of years of childhood "indoctrination". Kids can actually figure things out.How many Road Runner cartoons did you watch before you figured out coyotes can't actually order bombs from ACME?

@RonWilliam53 I don’t mean to suggest that all external information is processed as fact. More to the point for me is much of the external information has very real influence on how we see the world and the actions we take as a result. This is most often discussed in relation to the effect of advertising on purchasing decisions, self-worth and self-image. But there is also a growing body of evidence that this same influence extends up beyond image and purchasing decisions. Particularly of note is the work coming out the field of Behavioral Economics. They turn the notion that individuals were rational decision makers on its head.

I think that can happen, but believe the flip side is more the case.

And it's done in a matter-of-fact way.

Which media? CNS yes, but Star Wars? Lord of the Rings? Okay, The Simpsons has Heaven but who wouldn't want to go to that Heaven?