In an election tonight, Democrat Senator Warnock beat challenger Republican Walker for the Georgia senate seat. Midway through the evening, it was really close, so the Walker rally held a prayer circle:
All the ballots were already cast, so try to guess what they were praying for …
Please consider this thought provoking article: Philosophy With Children https://aeon.co/essays/how-to-do-philosophy-for-and-with-children
New article from TIME:
See full article here: https://time.com/6128721/tell-your-family-you-are-an-atheist/
See: https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/20/us/diwali-nyc-public-school-holiday-trnd-reaj
QUESTION: As children become more and more acquainted with the diversity of RELIGIOUS points of view on life, will the understanding grow that a particular religion is just one voice among many?
On 16 September 2022, a 22-year-old Iranian woman named Mahsa Amini died in hospital in Tehran, Iran, under suspicious circumstances, due to police brutality according to witnesses.
The Guidance Patrol, the morality police of Iran’s Law Enforcement Command, arrested Amini for not wearing the hijab in accordance with government standards. Eyewitnesses, including women who were detained with Amini, said she was severely beaten. These assertions, in addition to leaked medical scans,led independent observers to believe Amini had had a cerebral hemorrhage or stroke.
Amini’s death resulted in a series of large-scale protests across the country which garnered international attention, including a statement from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, putting a focus on violence against women in the Islamic Republic of Iran. (Wiki)
Is difference between this above child and the more mild cases of religious upbringing of children we see one of degree, or of kind. Picture a child who is not vocal like this one, but holds similar or more mild conservative Christian views.
Here is a helpful analogy video on religious child grooming: inundating a child with just one kind of religion, excluding others and secularism:
BONUS: Thinking about logic and humor – have you ever noticed the connection between logical errors and humor? Picture a reductio ad absurdum: a method of proving the falsity of a premise by showing that its logical consequence is absurd or contradictory. So: “The Earth cannot be flat; otherwise, we would find people falling off the edge.” That people are not falling off the edge makes Flat Earth proponents false/wrong, seem silly, which is to say hilarious! Question: Is the video of the conservative Christian preacher child above in the first video (i) not something we should care about, (ii) horrific, (iii) hilarious, or (iv) profoundly true?
One thing you sometimes hear is that without God there could be no objective morality (the oughts), because if moral rules/principles don’t get their authority from God, where could their authority come from?
Of course, this way of thinking is wrong. Children from a very young age understand what being a “friend” means without God having anything to do with the knowledge. So, kids can extrapolate from this understanding of friendship principles like “you’re being a better friend if you play the game your friend wants to play than if you selfishly demand to play your favorite game” or “you are being a bad friend if you steal your friend’s toy car.”
Another important point here is that the key elements of morality such as altruism are present widely in the animal kingdom, and so aren’t simply implanted in humans as the unique and special pinnacle of God’s creation. One article on this topic makes such points as:
see: https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/morality_animals
ARTICLE: Finding Morality in Animals
Two new books explore research on animals to better understand the roots of human morality and challenge human specialness.
Great new article suggesting to treat kids like philosophers:
https://time.com/6177632/parenting-kids-how-to-raise/
Here’s an excerpt:
I hope the kids continue to have those sorts of conversations. I want them to think deeply about the world, to ponder big ideas, like truth, justice, and God. But the research suggests that those conversations are likely to trail off as they age. Little kids (age 3-8) often raise philosophical questions on their own (“Why does the world exist?” “What is it like to be dead?” “Am I dreaming my entire life?”). They’re puzzled by the world—and they’re trying to puzzle it out.
But as they age, kids start to worry about what others think of them. They don’t want to seem silly or risk being wrong. And they notice that the adults in their lives don’t discuss questions like, “Why does the world exist?” or “Am I dreaming my entire life?” Over time, they lose some of their curiosity and courage as thinkers.
I think that’s a shame. The world could use more deep and discerning thinkers. We’re flooded with disinformation, and too many people are too easily duped by it. Our society values hot takes and tweets more than sustained thought.
The good news is: we can push back on that. If we support our kids’ philosophical adventures, they’re more likely to continue them. In fact, we can raise philosophers.
CHECK IT OUT!
