MIL trying to send MY Jewish kids to Bible camp!

[Anonymous]

ILs have been very disrepectful

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would be totally fine with my Christian kids doing a week at a Jewish religious camp. We have a Jewish Community Alliance Center near us. My kids did several camps there a few years ago.

I would too. I have sent my Christian child to camp and other activities at the JCC. But that's because Judaism is. Not an Evangelical religion. The purpose of a Vacation Bible School is evangelism. To convince children that Christianity is the one true faith. Not appropriate for kids whose parents don't believe that.

No, usually it's to give the moms a break.

[Anonymous]

NP here ~ in laws are totally in the wrong. Not nice.

[Anonymous]

OP, what did your MIL say when your husband told her that the trip was cancelled and stressed that what she did was wrong? I could honestly see my MIL not understanding why something like this was problematic. She and FIL lead such insulated lives, have so little contact with people of other religions, and are so self centered, that I think it would be hard for them to see why what they did was wrong. Every time we visit them, they pitch a fit about DS not wanting to go to church with them, even though he has strong feelings about not going (although from DS's perspective, it probably comes more from a place of being an agnostic than a strong belief in another religion).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cannot believe all the posters saying they'd be ok with this. Bullshit. The whole point of these vacation bible camps, like everything else at any christian church, is evangelism. OP's children are jewish. And no, she did not "marry into" a christian family. Her husband married a jew and agreed to raise the kids jewish. You all are unreal.

No, that isn't true of most churches.

Stay away from baptist, etc.

But say presbyterian church of the USA (not America), episcopal, Lutheran etc - is mostly about giving moms a break. It's usually free.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This sound like something my MIL would do. I would be livid. But this is also based on my experience as a child. My southern baptist grandparents sent me to VBS and Sunday school when I visited. I was being raised Catholic. I was quizzed endlessly by the other kids and mocked for "worshipping Mary." It was uncomfortable, too say the least. I'm not okay with grandparents attempting to undermine the religious decisions of the parents and that's exactly what OP's in laws are trying to do.

But that's southern baptist. Yes, say no if it is southern baptist. They will proselytize. Most will not.

[Anonymous]

Still it is not nice

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think there is a basic misunderstanding among many PPs where they assume it is okay to expose a Jewish child to an evangelical environment. Proselytizing is extremely offensive to Jews. Jews have spent centuries being forced to convert under the threat of torture and any attempt to coerce Jews to worship Jesus is considered repugnant. It is not a matter of exposing the kids to a different faith, it is clearly an attempt to convert them. It is

also not the same as a Christian kid going to a Jewish camp because Jews don't proselytize. This is just so highly offensive of the MIL to do this.

And you are also making an incorrect assumption. Many Protestant denominations do not proselytize. Most vbs do not. Your assumptions are ignorant and offensive.

[Anonymous]

Disrespecting parent wishes - - that is what this is people.

Religion, the specifics, can be debated. But the point is ILs are WAY out of line disrespecting the parents.

[Anonymous]

We're Catholic and just did a week of Protestant Bible camp it was a canned program based 99% on books of the Bible that Chistians and Jews share. Adam & Eve, Cain and Abel, Abraham, Sarah, and Isaac, Noah, Esther, Jacob, Joseph, David & Goliath, Jonah, and Job. Surprisingly little theology. I got just one question right in Bible Bowl because it was all "Old Testament". My kid cleaned up thought.
Very little talk of Jesus except a "Good Shepherd" acitivist with cotton balls sheep.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't send them, no matter what the particular vacation bible school is like, just because they are so young and it will be confusing for them. Our family is atheist, but my MIL sent my son to vacation bible school when he visited her for a week this summer. I thought it would be ok because it really was mostly crafts, songs, etc. But afterwards, DS, who is almost 8, was explaining to me how Noah lived for almost 950 years, and it was obvious he believed it was true. If DS wanted to become religious, that's actually totally fine by me, but he insists that he doesn't believe in God, yet still believes in the story of Noah and the ark.

[Anonymous]

Op if your in laws go to a mega bible church than you knew that this was bound to happen at some point. My mother has caught on that I don't buy it either (wasp here but with hard core mom)and she proselytizes a bit to my kids each time we visit and I am sure prays for us every day. . I butt in when it gets too much but have used it as an opportunity to talk about the social psychology and near universality of religion of all stripes. My kids see this religion as part of grandma but they know that others have different religions and some have none and that whatever speaks to them as they grow up is fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good teamwork between you and DH, OP. I'm so sorry that you're having these boundary troubles with the in laws. I'd take your kids if you were my friend!

+1

This is so not about religion, its about boundaries and a pushy in law situation.

[Anonymous]

I would let my kids go to Christian mythology camp OP. Being familiar with the Bible is a good educational experience. Just be sure to tell them that it's just that, mythology.

[Anonymous]

Maybe you can find out more about the program and how much teaching there is. And you can frame it to your children like a PP said: as "a way to learn about Grandma's beliefs, which we don't share." Talk about how learning about the ideas of others helps us understand others, and reinforce the ways in which your faith departs from what they may hear.

I'd be concerned about the social aspect, if as Jews they are going to be in the minority. My DD has gotten into debates at school about God, and if your kids are asked and thus put in an awkward spot with respect to defending their beliefs, is that something you OR Grandma would want?