MIL trying to send MY Jewish kids to Bible camp!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok. I am jewish. My wife is jewish. I would have a huge HUGE problem with this. Mostly because Bible camp is about proselytizing.

At the Jewish camps we sent our daughter too, there was no proselytizing. Instead, it was just living life according to jewish rules. At it is Jewish camp, not Torah camp. I would have a problem sending my DD to something called Torah camp.

If you are both Jewish, you wouldn't have this problem.

My friend and her husband are both Jewish. One of them converted, but they are both Jewish now. Fortunately, the non-Jewish in-laws understand that and don't push anything onto that family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ok. I am jewish. My wife is jewish. I would have a huge HUGE problem with this. Mostly because Bible camp is about proselytizing.

At the Jewish camps we sent our daughter too, there was no proselytizing. Instead, it was just living life according to jewish rules. At it is Jewish camp, not Torah camp. I would have a problem sending my DD to something called Torah camp.

Yes, I agree.

I am atheist. I have sent my kid to a preschool run by a church, a camp run by a faith based school, the JCC and the YMCA. All have been fine, although I admit I chose the denominations carefully.

But Bible school is different. It's purpose is to create Christians. I wouldn't send my kid there any more than I'd sign him up for Religious school at the local shul, an activity whose purpose is to transmit Judaism

[Anonymous]

All the Christians on this board are hypocrites. If their in laws decided to send their kids for a week to a Madrasah camp to learn the Koran without asking them they would be having conniptions. Hey just broaden your world view why don't you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All the Christians on this board are hypocrites. If their in laws decided to send their kids for a week to a Madrasah camp to learn the Koran without asking them they would be having conniptions. Hey just broaden your world view why don't you?

It's not about the religion. It's about the ILs overstepping boundaries.

I'm an atheist and I'd gladly send my kid to any non-extremist/evangelical religious camp if my kid asked to go. I would be pissed if my MIL try to sneakily sign him up for it without discussing it first.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
And there is a basic misunderstanding about Christianity. There are a zillion different branches and sects. From Unitarians & Quakers to

Unitarians are NOT necessarily Christian. They USED to be, but now anyone identifying as a UU could also identify as Jewish, Muslem, Christian, Agnostic, Atheist, Buddhist, etc.

"This article is about Unitarianism, a Christian theology that constitutes a belief in God and his unitary nature. For Unitarian Universalism, which holds no specific creeds concerning Christianity, God, or God's unitary nature, see Unitarian Universalism."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unitarian_Universalism

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For me, it would depend on the type of Christian church. Methodist, Catholic, Episcopalian Unity, UU, I would be fine with. Southern Baptist.... Hell no.

UU is NOT Christian.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm episcopalian and I would not let my kids go to some bible thumper summer camp. This is not like sending your agnostic kids to some genteel Northern Virginia or Bethesda summer program sponsored by the local UU or a UMC church with a rainbow flag outside.

UU is not Christianity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree with you that your in laws are in the wrong, and that it was a sneaky thing of them to spring on you. However, although you are definitely morally in the right here, I would have approached it in a different way. By walking away from the phone call and then just cancelling the trip, you've escalated the conflict. You're probably going to have to continue to have a relationship with these people since they're your husband's parents and your kids' grandparents. By no means do I think you should have sent your kids to the camp, but the better thing to do would have been to tell them calmly that the kids were not allowed to go, and ask if they would prefer for you to find a different half day camp for the kids, or if you needed to cancel the trip.

This is idiotic. The gp have shown over time that they can't be trusted to respect the parents' wishes. Glad OP isn't a doormat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All the Christians on this board are hypocrites. If their in laws decided to send their kids for a week to a Madrasah camp to learn the Koran without asking them they would be having conniptions. Hey just broaden your world view why don't you?

Please don't paint us all with a broad brush.

-- Christian who posted in agreement with OP, but didn't mention my religion because it's not really relevant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok. I am jewish. My wife is jewish. I would have a huge HUGE problem with this. Mostly because Bible camp is about proselytizing.

At the Jewish camps we sent our daughter too, there was no proselytizing. Instead, it was just living life according to jewish rules. At it is Jewish camp, not Torah camp. I would have a problem sending my DD to something called Torah camp.

Yes, I agree.

I am atheist. I have sent my kid to a preschool run by a church, a camp run by a faith based school, the JCC and the YMCA. All have been fine, although I admit I chose the denominations carefully.

But Bible school is different. It's purpose is to create Christians. I wouldn't send my kid there any more than I'd sign him up for Religious school at the local shul, an activity whose purpose is to transmit Judaism

No, not all are like this. I attended several Protestant bible camps as a kid, and they were all about teaching bible (old and new) stories to kids who might not already be getting them at home. Also lots of crafts and singing. You can look at this as proselytizing, but it sure seemed more like education.

FWIW, my parents also sent me to a Jewish preschool.

[Anonymous]

No big deal. Life is short. Let them go to Bible camp.

[Anonymous]

It's a bigger deal to the parents. And - news flash - they are the deciders.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Curious how many of you MIL supporting posters would be cool with Muslim inlaws surprise signing up their Jewish grandkids for a week of Koran camp at a time when it will hugely impact their parents to find other arrangements.

+100

I think that would be awesome. But I don't believe in choosing my kids religion for them, but exposing them to everything, and I would want them to be familiar with the religion their father grew up with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm episcopalian and I would not let my kids go to some bible thumper summer camp. This is not like sending your agnostic kids to some genteel Northern Virginia or Bethesda summer program sponsored by the local UU or a UMC church with a rainbow flag outside.

UU is not Christianity.

That's really not up for you to decide.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

How did you explain this to your children? I think canceling your trip altogether was the nuclear option. You probably should have tried talking it out first instead, but I sense your real wish is to cut the inlaws out of your life completely, right? Please remember that there are very few people on this earth that live your kids like their grands. You've treated them as completely expendable, which perhaps in your mind they are.

I agree with the sentiment of this, although I also agree that you should not have sent them to the camp. It's ok to tell grandma that the kids can't go to the camp, but canceling the trip was really the nuclear option, and you jumped right to it. Why? I could see that approach AFTER you discuss your position with her, and she refuses to cancel the camp, but why as the first option?

Agree 110%

I also agree with the poster who thinks OP views the children as primarily hers.

OP is going to be in for a rude awakening in a few years.

Rude awakening? Wow, you are dense. It's not that she thinks of the children as hers, it's that they are Jewish. Full stop. They aren't half of anything. They are Jewish. Even her DH gets that.

Then they both will be in for a rude awakening. People choose what religion they are and it seems to me OP will have a hard time if the kids decide they want nothing to do with being Jewish and as controlling as she is about it it's a pretty sure bet 1 if not both of them will drop religion the moment they turn 18. Probably sooner I predict alot rebellion for OP's kids. It's all you can do when you grow up in a controlling environment.