Christians - Why is it that some of you consider telling your children "little white lies" is ok?
954633
Thank you for saying :"some of you".  I think your question is a very good one.  I purposefully did not tell my children about Santa Clause or the Easter bunny when they were little.  The Bible says "Because they receive not the love of the truth, for this cause God shall send them strong delusion."  I think these "lies" are perpetuated by the masses so they won't have to think about the birth of One who can forgive their sins, or One who was resurrected from the dead to give eternal enjoyment and Bliss in His presence. The easterbunny has its roots in pagan fertility rites. A lie is a lie is a lie.  There are no "white lies".  Who is "the father of lies"?  Who is "The Way, the Truth and the Life"?  The two can not have communion together. "Whatsoesver is not of the truth is a lie". "Whatsoever is not of faith is sin".  I think you are doing a wonderful job in raising youre children by telling them the truth.  It is becoming harder and harder for Christians to raise their children as day by day the forces of worldliness and anti-Christ well up in "public opinion" angainst Christian doctrine.  You are doing what Jesus wants you to do.  Christians in many cultures have had to undergo persecution and ridicule but it has only caused the "true church" to grow stronger, and the "little white lie" church to be exposed as what it really is: lukewarm hypocrites which Jesus said He will spew out of His mouth.  Be brave, continue what you are doing.  Jesus said, "they that overcome shall receive a crown of Life."\nRead Revelation! <smile>.  # 8^ ) 3
376582
Not really. I think that there is a difference between giving half truth or lieing though. I think most of the time people lie because they do not want to hurt others. But what they do not realize is that the other person will usually find out that they were lied to and that hurts a lot worse then the truth.\nIt is best to tell the truth and just get it over with no matter how hard it is to say. Even if you half it or sugar coat it. At least be honest. And you have to be honest with yourself too before you can be honest with someone else. And being true to yourself is one of the most important qualities a person can have.\nI have taught my daughter I would rather her tell me the truth and she will get in less trouble then that than if she lies and I find out she is lying.
515481
Speaking as a  mother of five children, If I were to walk in on one of my children I would quickly walk out to give them their privacy...and think nothing of it. But I would respect them enough to never mention it to them. It is normal. And I'd rather they be doing that than contracting an STD or an unwanted pregnancy.
445836
It's funny when we Christians respond to a question be it from an athiest or any other religion, the answers as we know them are called preaching. Our answers are based on what Jesus has taught, what He has said. Through our own research and studying we believe them to be acuurate facts or truths. Answering a question is not preaching, it simply answering a question in an open forum. It is sharing what we have learned, we do not expect everyone to believe or think the way we do, that is everyone's choice. The beliefs we have, have with stood the test of time, we see things that many others do not. We try to share what we have seen with others to bring comfort, and hope, to want them to see and experience the things we have, so that they can see what we do, for it is sheer joy and relief from things that we all suffer through. The only time I know a Christian will say something is wrong is when there is a question about behavior or the bible has been misinterpreted about a certain subject either due to not having the knowledge or on purpose. That is our place as Christians is to teach and share about God. I leave the preaching to the "preachers" whom are called by God to do so.  *****SPECIAL NOTE TO JONATHON***** Ask for proof? You got it. When my husband and I began dating he was diagnosed with Hepititis C. The medication that is given to put the virus to sleep is a cocktail of drugs, and very powerful. They affect people like chemo and radiation treatment do. Over the years, we have lost six or seven pregnancies, all but one were conceived during the time he was not on the medications. It is strongly advised against pregnancy while on the medication because of severe birth defects and the pregnancies have such a rare chance of going full term. We had miscarried time and again. The ever lasting affects of the medication complied with the length of time it seemed to stay in his body, coupled with our ages and the fact that with each miscarrage we were told it would be harder and harder to not only concieve but carry to full term. Now sitting here, after many heartbreaks, counseling suggesting either I get my tubes tied or husband a vesectomy to avoid getting our hearts ripped out yet again, I am seven and a half months pregnant, looking at turning 39 years old in September, husband 41, with a very healthy baby girl growing inside. Then amnio test comfirmed this. The laws of proabability were strongly against us, as were the laws of nature. Our pregnancy occured the old fashion way, no drugs, no invitro, no nothing from my OBGYN. My baby is indeed my husbands, and no chance of anyone eles's, I love him way to much to ever do that to him. My husband is a blessing from God, and now I am blessed with his baby. This child is our miracle. All done by God, we didnt do anything different that we had not done before, execpt stop being angry, worried and wanting, in prayer I turned over my desire for a baby to God, I told him that if it were His will for us to have a child together then so be it, if it wasn't then I would except it and move on. This answer to my prayer took six and half years to be answered. I learned through all this patience, God moves in his time, not mine. He knows more then I do, I had to trust him, and I couldn't do that being angry at him. When I learned the patience lesson and to trust beyond basic faith, I grew closer to Him and learned that He has good things in store for me but I wait for Him in His time, that He knows my future better then I do. We just bought a new house. I became pregnant in September, we closed on our new house in November. We had just started looking in September. Don't give up hope Jonathon. There is still some to be had. I know, I have been there.
142427
we lie for all the above reasons......AND because we are TAUGHT to lie in order to avoid unpleasant consequences of telling the truth.. the mother of a 5 year old girl will scold her child for telling another person they are fat, so the child learns to lie, or at least keep her opinions to herself!
477182
Parents tend to be the last ones to believe bad things of their children.  They tend to turn a blind eye to certain things in order to perpetuate the image of the "perfect" little boy or girl that they raised.  It's not healthy and tends to hurt the children more in the long run.
895989
E X A C T L Y.\n\nbecause people do not want to hear the truth- they want to sugar coat it- add to it- or water it down so it pleases them....The bible even warns us of those people- in Proverbs it says "do not add to His words, lest he rebuke you and call you a liar"\n\nThey make up a god to suit themselves- they are not even speaking of the one TRUE God when they make stuff up- they are making a god to please them...
1087308
I'm a Christian, and it is our belief that people lie because it is within our sin nature.  To lie is to break one of God's commandments, which He gave us to protect us from harm, not to suck the fun out of life.  He knows it hurts both the liar and the one to whom the lie was told - which you have obviously learned by experience - that's why He said not to.  There is always a reason for people's lies, whether to elevate themselves above others, manipulate others, protect themselves, get what they want, or many other reasons.  Even when you think you do something just because you wanted to, ask yourself why you wanted to do it?  What were you out to prove?  That you were smarter, that you could get away with it, that the other person was powerless to stop you or unable to ferret out the truth?  I remember finding great fun as a kid with siblings in lying to our mother, and since there were several of us, she never knew who really stole the candy from under her bed.  It gave us a sense of power, I guess.  \nLying hurts relationships, that's for sure.  I am sorry you had to learn that the hard way, but rejoice in the fact that you now see how you were wrong to do the things you did.  That's a sign of maturity, especially if you can ask for forgiveness from the people you hurt with your behavior.  I wish you well.
322486
Well, I'm not one of those Christians, so I can't really speak for them. If you have sensed that they fear you, I don't get it. I do know some Christians that feel they should disassociate themselves with non-Christians just because they don't have anything in common if they don't even believe in the same God. Also, many families want their kids to be close to other Christians because being around people who believe differently can open up issues that they feel would not come up if they only hang out with Christians. However, only hanging out with kids who go to church won't necessarily keep your kids from sin. Where do you think I learned all of my dirty jokes? (Christian School!) I think, though, that we need to accept those who feel they should be separate....as long as they are the ones to leave the public area instead of them trying to keep others who are different out. Did that make any sense?
119633
Everything is about what we are taught. If you put three children together who are not old enough to have misconceptions and bigotry, they will play and have fun based on their base feelings. \n\nThis way of thinking is taught and I say "shame on them" to the parents allowing this, but then again, the parents were taught as well.\n\nLike all bad habits, the chain must be broken by rethinking the way of believing ones own truths.
622100
QUALITY ATTENTION. That's the biggest gift you can give to your children to let them know they are loved and special. Truly listening to them when they talk, answering their questions, playing with them, giving them meaningful interaction. Never belittle them or make them feel they are stupid or bad. Their behavior may be bad, but the person is not, and don't lose sight of the distinction when you have to discipline them. Say I love you, say it often, and mean it. Don't lie to your children, it breaks their trust in you. Pick your fights carefully - are you saying no to something "just because"? That's not a fair reason and your children deserve more respect than that. Follow your heart, treat them with the love and respect you expect to be treated with. Teach them, share with them. Raising children is a full time job and requires sacrifice.
917381
I don't like that certain Christians tell me that I'm going to hell because I don't believe exactly what they believe.  If someone lives on an island, has no other people around, knows nothing of society, can you honestly think that this person will spend his afterlife in a fiery pit of despair and pain?  It sounds just like a Sunday School tale to scare children into behaving.  Old fairy tales such as Little Red Riding hood, Cinderella, etc, didn't turn out as happily ever after, they were to teach children to behave, and have good manners.  I respect Christians, they can believe whatever they want, but please I am happy with my own beliefs, and don't want to believe what you do.
1062101
great question. I had the same doubt when i was small but noobody answered me correctly. some said me to shutup, some scolde me and some said if i dont keep quite god will curse me. but later I understood that this story had been made just to make children 'god fearing ' any way we should appreciate our ancestors imagination. isnt it cool
672835
REAL Christians don't use that stuff, false Christians do. And if they are true Christians, they will want to have children("be fruitful and multiply"), but it is ok if they have that condition.
696014
Why would you want to set an example of lying to the school staff before your daughter? I'm sure there are more important things you should worry about than teaching her to lie! How about like a good education.......
997566
I don't think it is any more wrong than telling them about the Easter Bunny or Santa Clause or the Tooth Fairy.  Childhood is all about make believe and stories.  Sometimes we adults forget that.  My fondest memory is being at my Grandmother's house during a thunderstorm where I was frightened of the thunder.  My Grandma told me the very same thing....That God was bowling and he just got a strike!!!!  It is a memory that I love to remember, and I thank you for the question because that memory came to mind.
502275
I have always thought that was an absurd thing myself.  How can an innocent child be damned like that?  Personally, I did not have my child baptized.  I have taught her to be open minded and if SHE wants to explore getting baptized into a religion of HER choice, she can do that when SHE deems to.