Want to raise kids Catholic, have some issues with Church

[Anonymous]

Honestly, if you have issues with the crucifixion, you have problems with Catholicism (and I would venture to say, Christianity) in general, because that is the central tenet of our religions: Jesus died on the cross for our sins. If you find that gruesome, imagine what He went through for you in comparison. That is small potatoes compared to what He went through for you. I think you actually should immerse yourself back into Catholicism and wrestle with this issue you have with it, maybe speak to a priest, and I think you and your family will find a spiritual home in the Catholic Church.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, if you have issues with the crucifixion, you have problems with Catholicism (and I would venture to say, Christianity) in general, because that is the central tenet of our religions: Jesus died on the cross for our sins. If you find that gruesome, imagine what He went through for you in comparison. That is small potatoes compared to what He went through for you. I think you actually should immerse yourself back into Catholicism and wrestle with this issue you have with it, maybe speak to a priest, and I think you and your family will find a spiritual home in the Catholic Church.

Many, many people died of Crucifixion -- and they're still dead. They didn't get to rise and then ascend into heaven and live forever and get credited for saving the whole human race. So it's hard for a lot of people, once they think about it, to get that excited about one guy suffering for a few hours and then living forever. I know it's central to the Christian faith, but it sounds like OP is wary about passing this concept down to the next generation, so immersion in Catholicism might not be practical -- unless the goal is to bring in another pledging family into the church.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
No one has too -- the bloody crucifix is in the center of the altar for all to see.

Not at my church and not at any CCD class I've ever known of.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I attended Catholic school from K-8 and don't recall any gruesome crucifixion stories or lessons. You learn about what happened and why in the context of Easter, similar to the readings or homily during Mass around this time of year but in a way that younger kids will understand. If you are truly concerned, why not contact your parish CCD teacher to find out how they teach these things to young kids? If you want your child be "Catholic", as in, having all of the sacraments, you can't avoid going either the CCD route or Catholic school. If you simply want your child to have an understanding of the Catholic faith and traditions, then just take her to Mass regularly and talk about it at home.

Maybe it was so in context, you didn't notice. If you start going to Catholic mass as a small child, seeing a man hanging on a crucifix in the center of he room seems quite normal. It's hard to imagine caring parents consciously putting their children in such an environment outside the Catholic Church.

Imagine a regular Sunday morning outing that involed gathering around a statue of a semi-naked man hanging from a noose. Or strapped to an electric chair.

PP here. I didn't necessary read OP's post as being concerned about the existence of a cross hanging in the front of the church (since OP admitted to taking the child to church previously) as much as with teaching a young child gruesome details about the crucifixion. Clearly you don't agree with it and that's fine. But don't start with the misplaced comparisons about nooses and electric chairs.

[Anonymous]

He is risen!

He is risen!

[Anonymous]

Look up the book "Benjamin's Box", that is how they teach about Easter to the kindergarteners at our Catholic schools and it's just about perfect.

[Anonymous]

if you want to raise a Catholic child, you kind of have to go the CCD/Sunday School route. That's how your kid will receive the necessary sacraments -- unless you choose Catholic school. CCD at our church starts at 4.

[Anonymous]

I teach Catholic Sunday School to 3 year olds (during mass, so it's sort of babysitting/sort of a class). The most theologically challenging lesson we've had is "God Gave Us Air." We played with balloons. OP, I don't think you need to worry about freaking out your 3 year old. BUT, if you have a more general problem with the notion of the crucifixion and resurrection, you probably need to shop for a new religion.
Incidentally, I thought this post was going to be about mediating the Church's more problematic social positions, like contraception and gay rights -- that's where I have the problems (although also not an issue with the 3 year old Sunday School program!). If your issue is with the resurrection, that seems to me a lot more fundamental and unlikely to be resolved in your lifetime, or in the lifetime of the Church.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I attended Catholic school from K-8 and don't recall any gruesome crucifixion stories or lessons. You learn about what happened and why in the context of Easter, similar to the readings or homily during Mass around this time of year but in a way that younger kids will understand. If you are truly concerned, why not contact your parish CCD teacher to find out how they teach these things to young kids? If you want your child be "Catholic", as in, having all of the sacraments, you can't avoid going either the CCD route or Catholic school. If you simply want your child to have an understanding of the Catholic faith and traditions, then just take her to Mass regularly and talk about it at home.

Maybe it was so in context, you didn't notice. If you start going to Catholic mass as a small child, seeing a man hanging on a crucifix in the center of he room seems quite normal. It's hard to imagine caring parents consciously putting their children in such an environment outside the Catholic Church.

Imagine a regular Sunday morning outing that involed gathering around a statue of a semi-naked man hanging from a noose. Or strapped to an electric chair.

PP here. I didn't necessary read OP's post as being concerned about the existence of a cross hanging in the front of the church (since OP admitted to taking the child to church previously) as much as with teaching a young child gruesome details about the crucifixion. Clearly you don't agree with it and that's fine. But don't start with the misplaced comparisons about nooses and electric chairs.

Crucifixion is actually worse, because it's a slower, more painful way to die. Maybe a better comparison would be a to spend an hour every sunday morning in front of a statue of a man being stretched out on a rack. You really don't have to teach kids any gruesome details -- the crucifix pretty much speaks for itself.

[Anonymous]

There have been a few comparable threads lately about doubts about Catholicism.

If you can't get past the basic ideas of Catholicism but still want the feel good of Christianity there are literally thousands of denominations. Stop hemming and hawing and just go be the protestant you want to be.

It's not that hard.

[Anonymous]

So, what, you want to tell your kids that Jesus climbed up on the cross to take a nap and then got up after three days?


This entire thread is ridiculous.

sounds just as plausible as the "real" story

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There have been a few comparable threads lately about doubts about Catholicism.

If you can't get past the basic ideas of Catholicism but still want the feel good of Christianity there are literally thousands of denominations. Stop hemming and hawing and just go be the protestant you want to be.

It's not that hard.

Some other brands of Christianity water down the gruesome details -- they have a small cross on the altar, with no dying, tortured, bloody, scantily clad figure on it. They also water down the wacky stuff -- for instance they don't teach children that bread and wine turns into the actual body and blood of Christ, that people then eat, every Sunday.

They do believe in the resurrection, but some of them present it as a metaphor for renewal, not the actual resuscitation of a corpse. They also teach the Mary was a virgin, but they don't dwell on it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There have been a few comparable threads lately about doubts about Catholicism.

If you can't get past the basic ideas of Catholicism but still want the feel good of Christianity there are literally thousands of denominations. Stop hemming and hawing and just go be the protestant you want to be.

It's not that hard.

Some other brands of Christianity water down the gruesome details -- they have a small cross on the altar, with no dying, tortured, bloody, scantily clad figure on it. They also water down the wacky stuff -- for instance they don't teach children that bread and wine turns into the actual body and blood of Christ, that people then eat, every Sunday.

They do believe in the resurrection, but some of them present it as a metaphor for renewal, not the actual resuscitation of a corpse. They also teach the Mary was a virgin, but they don't dwell on it

Right. I'm suggesting that OP and the OPs of the other threads of people wringing their hands about Catholicism and asking what they should do move on to a Protestant religion. There is one for every set of Christian beliefs and then some.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There have been a few comparable threads lately about doubts about Catholicism.

If you can't get past the basic ideas of Catholicism but still want the feel good of Christianity there are literally thousands of denominations. Stop hemming and hawing and just go be the protestant you want to be.

It's not that hard.

Some other brands of Christianity water down the gruesome details -- they have a small cross on the altar, with no dying, tortured, bloody, scantily clad figure on it. They also water down the wacky stuff -- for instance they don't teach children that bread and wine turns into the actual body and blood of Christ, that people then eat, every Sunday.

They do believe in the resurrection, but some of them present it as a metaphor for renewal, not the actual resuscitation of a corpse. They also teach the Mary was a virgin, but they don't dwell on it

Right. I'm suggesting that OP and the OPs of the other threads of people wringing their hands about Catholicism and asking what they should do move on to a Protestant religion. There is one for every set of Christian beliefs and then some.

Or if they want to avoid the various iterations of the Jesus story altogether, they can join an Ethical Society, some Unitarian congregations or just stay home on sunday mornings

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Look up the book "Benjamin's Box", that is how they teach about Easter to the kindergarteners at our Catholic schools and it's just about perfect.

They water it way down. It's not until the kids grow up more that they get to how really gory it is.