The Most Important Vaccine
False belief is out there, like it or not.
October, 2020
Consider the following :
Parents know, no matter what they do, germs are out there. Sooner or later, their children will be exposed to them. More than likely, that will happen when Mom and Dad aren't there to sanitize things beforehand. So, to better protect our children, it's best to expose them to germs on purpose. That must be done carefully, deliberately, and in a controlled way. Done right, it gives the child a chance to develop resistance to those germs in particular—but it also strengthens them against other, similar germs. It won't necessarily make them immune, but it will make them stronger. That resistance to germs can only come by exposure. If we as parents don't offer that in a structured way, our children wind up vulnerable to germs they shouldn't even be threatened by. The end result of avoiding all exposure to germs is not a safer child, but a far more vulnerable one.
Now, please re-read the above paragraph, but every time you see the word "germs", replace it with "false beliefs".
Viruses, germs, and vaccines are not only on people's minds more than usual, they seem especially politicized and controversial. Debates over whether to apply this vaccine or that, or when, are rapidly becoming major cultural roadblocks. But it's reasonable to say there is an even more important "inoculation" to consider. It's crucial that parents put effort—and energy—into Scripture and their children's readiness to handle challenges.
Caring parents strive to protect them from false teachings and unbiblical philosophy. That's good. What's not good is that this too often comes in the form of total avoidance. Parents try to protect children's minds by eliminating all exposure to contradictory ideas, attitudes, and thoughts. That's actually a terrible strategy, which the germ analogy helps demonstrate. To borrow a phrase that applies to both scenarios, they can't live in a bubble forever.
It's critically important for our children to see that believers are aware of other views, have considered them, and have responded to them. It's tragic to see children leave home, or their home church, only to have their first, probably catastrophic exposure to the myriad attacks against their Christian faith. No one's surprised when an unvaccinated teen contracts mumps soon after moving into a public dormitory. Why should Christians be surprised when a child who was never exposed to conflicting ideas assumes their parents and church never considered them?
Intellectual avoidance only does one thing: it conditions the child to accept everything they read, hear or see. When they never have reason to be cautiously skeptical, they never develop that skill. Avoidance over-develops their trust in those who claim to be experts. It weakens their development of healthy, Biblically-endorsed skepticism (Acts 17:11, 1 John 4:1). Of course, children and teens aren't oblivious to contradiction. They'll notice when new information conflicts with their upbringing, and they'll feel the natural resistance to change. But without experience dealing with doubt, criticism, challenges, and alternatives to their faith, they'll have little chance of defending the truth. They'll be at much greater risk of abandoning it entirely.
At the same time, mere exposure isn't enough. Much as we'd like to imagine it, you can't inject spiritual discernment. The physical immune system does all of its work behind the scenes. But false doctrines, attacks on faith, and worldly thinking demand more than basic awareness. They need something beyond simplistic warnings and a laundry list of alternative views. They need to be taught how to think critically, rationally, and reasonably about all things, but particularly about matters of faith. We must demonstrate a reasoned, confident, informed faith and instill the same in our children. To repeat: that can't happen in a "spiritual bubble," where they never see or hear anything contrary to Christianity.
A woman once asked about a situation involving her teenaged son. He'd been assigned to read The Unlikely Disciple, by Kevin Roose. She was nervous about her son reading a discussion of Christianity and religion written by a non-believer. She had already begun to read it herself, but came to me for additional perspective.
I explained that her son was going to face contrary views and criticisms, sooner or later. There's no better time to explore those ideas than right then: when there's still a strong parental connection. In a controlled setting, it's good to learn how to be skeptical and curious about what we read. This was a chance to show her son that nothing is to be accepted or rejected right off the bat. It's possible to understand a contrary view without embracing it, and the best way to instill that understanding is by exposure.
In the end, the book provided excellent topics for discussion between the mother and son. The Unlikely Disciple is actually a good book for that purpose. Roose is not a believer, and his enrollment at Liberty did not change that. But his approach is reasonable and open-minded enough to serve as a good introduction to non-Christian views of our practices, attitudes, and beliefs.
Note, however, that long before she ever spoke with me, this mother demonstrated two critical parts of the "mental vaccination" process: self-exposure and involvement. She was absolutely committed to knowing what her son was being exposed to. She wanted to prepare to answer questions: to see potential problems in advance. She didn't wait for someone else to take the lead, or do it for her. This was her son, which made it her business. In spirituality, just as in physical health, it's critical for parents to be proactive and involved.
Education, health, and spirituality are not the ultimate responsibility of schoolteachers, family doctors, or youth pastors. Those are most fundamentally our responsibility as parents; those professionals are meant to be facilitators and mentors. Unfortunately, in most of our churches, critical thinking and deeper discipleship are left entirely up to the youth leaders, who all too often leave it up to the youth themselves. The result of this fragile, uninformed, un-tested faith plays out as expected: with the majority of young adults abandoning their faith soon after they outgrow home and youth ministries.
We vaccinate our children's bodies, in a purposeful and controlled way, to prevent physical disease. In the same way, and for much the same reason, we should vaccinate their minds to develop critical thinking, healthy skepticism, and sustainable confidence in their convictions. A little "hair of the dog"—a tiny bit of one germ in order to cure the worse one—should be part of every parent's plan for their children's spiritual growth.
[Adapted from this editor's blog post of 12/20/2013; original can be found at the archived Blogos.org site.]
-- Editor
