These are misguided Christians or you have misinterpretted their statements. You need to have Faith in Christ . . . not just believe. Let me explain . . . There are several incident in the Bible where Satan recognises Jesus as the Son of God and therefore believes in his existance. So if you only believe in Christ then you're no better than Satan. But if you have faith in Christ, this means you Know that he exists and trust His teachings to the extent that you will obey and follow those teachings because you believe in the promise that if you do so, they will lead you back into His presence and bring eternal life. And the faith they have is proven by the "feelings" of the Holy Ghost (feelings that come from God telling you something is true) Those feelings (evidences) are more powerful and are a greater reminder than any evidence that is seen or heard. The same principle applies to children. They often dont listen or see . . . but once they feel, then they obey and never forget. eg. "Dont touch the hotplate, you will burn" usually they dont believe you, so they touch and burn, but they never touch again because they now know. We are Gods children and God allows us to feel too, so that we will never forget. We as parents should not use idol words when teaching our children about God. But we should live our lives in a manner that will be an example of obedience to Gods laws so that the spirit can be in our homes to help our children have that spiritual "feeling" and know of God's existance. Nobody will ever know if they have done all thats required to be saved until they meet their maker. Baptism doesnt save you . . . its just the gate to the right path . . . the path is a life time of correct choices and repenting of bad choices. The term saved is only rightfully used by God when HE says it to you at the day of Judgement. Until then, keep doing your best and keep improving. Life is a treadmill, if you're not going forward then you goind backwards.

To your first question, the reason why is because that's what Jesus, the putative founder of Christianity, said would happen. "Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels" -Matthew 25:41 To your second question, Christians believe they are commanded to spread their gospel. And since the stakes are so high, according to them, it's imperative that children are brought up "the right way"--which is defined as within the parameters of their brand of Christianity.

Not all Christians believe in the teaching of the hellfire. Christendom’s concept of the hellfire is one of the fruitage of the apostasy that was foretold by Jesus and his apostles. The clergy mislead the masses by teaching false doctrines, such as the immortality of the soul, hellfire, and the Trinity. 2 Timothy 4:3, 4. Should we be surprised by all this deception? Not really. Regarding “the last days,” the Bible warned: “Wicked men and impostors will advance from bad to worse, misleading and being misled.” (2 Timothy 3:1, 13) As Christians, we need to be alert to misleading ideas that could turn us away from the truth. What would you think of parents who kept their children imprisoned day after day, or even tortured them? If you would be disgusted by such acts, should you not also be disgusted by a god who would cause his children to be tormented forever in fire? “The fact that the true God is not like that is seen from the reproofs he addressed to the Israelites who had ‘burned their sons and their daughters in the fire.’ Jehovah insisted that this was ‘a thing that he had not commanded and that had not come up into his heart.’ (Jeremiah 7:31) Since God had never thought of such things, how could we imagine that he would create a hellfire for his creatures? Yes, if cruelty and torture disgust us, how much more must they disgust God, who is love? See 1 John 4:8. The doctrine of hellfire also goes against justice. In his letter to the Romans, the apostle Paul explains: “The wages sin pays is death.” (Romans 6:23) Moreover, he tells us: “He who has died has been acquitted from his sin.” If death completely removes a person’s indebtedness, why should he then suffer eternally for only a lifetime of sin? Romans 6:7. Thus, the Bible shows that hellfire, as it is generally understood, does not exist. And this knowledge allows us to form a relationship with God that is based on love and not on terror” ( Taken from the Awake! Magazine of 8/8/86 page 18) They may be “forced to accept it” as children, but like me, as adults they are free to choose to examine the scriptures closely and leave behind traditions of men that are not true Bible teachings.

I'm not sure about Catholics, but in general, Protestant children are taught that Jesus has already died for their sins, and since they are a part of the church, they will go to heaven as well. Children don't usually think about disbelieving in God until they are older and can better understand the complexity of the issue. At this point, most reasonable parents/churches won't try to force a child or adolescent to believe (although there is the lunatic fringe). Try not to characterize the Christian Church in general by what the hellfires or the fighting fundies preach. Most Christians realize that any reading of the scriptures requires a personal interpretation, so everyone is going to look at it a different way, and hopefully gain different insights as to what the writers were originally saying. This is what Bible study and adult sunday school are all about: interpretation, meaning, sharing, and figuring things out for yourself to decide what you believe. Children are not mature enough to craft a personal interpretation from reading the scriptures, so sunday school teachers generalize the ideas to teach the core principles. Usually the messages are about being honest, not hurting people, not stealing, being generous... hardly things I would characterize as "supernatural mythology", and hardly things that anyone would argue against. And as far as having scientific backing to religious ideas: faith-based decisions carry no pretext of rationale, and need none. It is clear in the minds of many people that science fails to answer life's most important questions: why does the universe exist, by extension why do we exist, why does life have value, etc. This is why many people engage in a rich cultural history of spiritual philosophy.

DEAR SUNBLYND DONT SAY Religion have no proof, what do you think, Parents from centuries are lying to their children about the Miracle of Moses, which has passed down on to us. Dont discount history as unscientific. 12 tribes who saw the miracle has passed it down to their children, that is the proof. We humans teach our children like this.

"... without any scientific backing?" ... this question presupposes that science would be able to provide the answer to EVERY question ... which ALSO presupposes that the supernatural DOES NOT exist. Here is the problem: Darwinian Naturalists like to point their fingers at people of faith and accuse them of being "weak minded" and "ignorant" to the REAL truth/explanations about the world/people and it's/their origin(s) ... while at the same time adding/subtracting their own presuppositions and biases into their interpretation of their "scientific" research, thus clouding/blurring their "infallible" "scientific" results/outcomes. For example, Intelligent Design has been disregarded as a "pseudo science" by the majority of scientists within the Darwinian Naturalist community. The accusation is that Intelligent Design is NOT science at all, but rather religion cloaked in a "pseudo science". But is that REALLY the case? I have listed SEVERAL scientific observations/interpretations that have been made by Intelligent Design proponents here on AnswerBag.com under the question "Is it a possibility that God doesn't exist?" (URL: http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/66610) ... please feel free to review them ... and refute them! (if you can). To answer the question ... "what is the reasoning behind informing children about Jesus/God and Heaven/Hell?" Well, first of all ... let's define HEAVEN & HELL. Heaven is ETERNAL fellowship with God. Hell is ETERNAL separation from God. Both are ETERNAL (i.e. ever lasting), and both are polar opposites of one another. The "reasoning" is that Christians want to raise their children up in righteousness and truth. "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction. Hear, my son, your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching ..." - Proverbs 1:7-8 ... "you will discern righteousness and justice and equity and every good course." - Proverbs 2:9 ... we are called to raise our children in a way that honors God. If you knew that your child was terminally ill ... and you knew that you had the cure/medicine to the illness ... would you then decide NOT to give the cure/medicine to your child (that would SAVE HIS/HER LIFE) if you knew that the cure/medicine would cause discomfort and even possibly pain to your child? NO! You would give the cure/medicine to your child KNOWING that it is FAR better for your child to temporarily endure discomfort and pain RATHER THAN TO DIE! Christians believe that we (humans) are BORN into a sinful world and BORN with a sinful flesh ... this, of course, creates a deep chasm between us (humans) and God ... because God is PERFECT in every way ... and cannot be present where sin is present. Therefore, comparatively to a murderer or rapist who is in need of a just punishment for their actions ... we as sinful humans, who live in rebellion to God and His ways, are in need of a just punishment for our actions. If a murderer or rapist were to walk into a court and say "hey, ... uh ... I am sorry that I murdered that person ... uh ... can I go now?!" ... would you expect the judge to say "uh ... yeah! sure! you can go!" ... NO! IF THAT WERE TO HAPPEN YOU WOULD BE OUTRAGED! The same is true with God and HIS justice. BUT WAIT! There is GOOD NEWS! (Gospel = good news!) ... Jesus Christ came to BE A SIN OFFERING FOR US. He took OUR punishment for us ... "But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed." - Isaiah 53:5 ... and we have been SET FREE! BUT, in order to receive this free gift ... you MUST "confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; ..." - Romans 10:9 ... Therfore, that is why we "force program [our children] to accept this supernatural mythology without any scientific backing" ... or in other words, we recognize our children's terminal illness ... AND GIVE THEM THE CURE/MEDICINE (Jesus Christ) OUT OF LOVE FOR THEM. REMEMBER: science CANNOT explain everything ... because science can only explain the natural world. There MAY BE planets and stars that we have NEVER SEEN and have NEVER PROVED THE EXISTENCE OF (scientifically) ... but do they still exist? YES! So, if you consider yourself an intellectually honest person WHILE AT THE SAME TIME use/begin with a naturalistic ASSUMPTION to exclude/include certain possible outcomes/explanations from/to your interpretation of the evidence before you ... then you are badly mistaken and should reevaluate your position(s). Thank you.

that's not true for all of the Christians but I'm most interested in why you think scientific backing is necessary for believing when it has been stated that science is always late to the dinner, thinking, perception, faith and inspiration have always come first, explanation, description and modeling always last.

because then they have a way of scaring there children into believing in what they believe in.

Why do you equate Jesus with God in your question? Almost as if you're implying they are one being which isn't possible- if not for the obvious reason that they are two separate entities- but also that God is the creator. I'm really interested. Help me understand.

With all respect. Unfortunately, fear of Hell is usually the motivation for many Christians to hold their faith. For many people their religion (even Christianity) is their god. Because religion gives them assurance, comfort, trust and encouragement, they are believers. When they wish the same thing (paradise) for their children, they push sometimes them to believe the same belief. One wrong way to push children is to make them scared.

To scare them into doing the "right" thing. I think it often backfires; for instance, a very dear friend of mine had his mum tell him he was going to burn in hell because he "didn't accept Jesus Christ as his personal saviour" (how exactly do you do this by the way - do you just say it in front of a lot of people - if so, anybody can say anything - I thought it was meant to be a way of life). He has now become a Wiccan.

Hell is just a very simple marketing strategy for Christians. Fear is a very simple and powerful motivator especially for Children. Many Muslims use fear of Hell to promote their beliefs in the same way.Howeve, Islamic Fundamentalists believe that being a Christian is a sure way to end up in Hell. Nowadays though, many Christians do not accept that Hell exisists as a place.

IGNORANCE; just plain ole ignorance.

It's a way to enforce children's compliance. Any mention of God's law stops discussion. It seems abusive to me to threaten your children with eternal punishment, because a good parent should cringe at the idea of their child suffering, not revel in it. Some parents seem to derive sadistic pleasure out of scaring their children by telling them all sorts of bad things that could happen if they disobey. If you command your children's respect instead of demanding it, there should be no reason to threaten them, because they'll know you're reasonable and they'll obey you.

The burn-in-hell teaching, I think, was more popular in the middle ages. In modern times, Christian teaching has evolved into a Jesus-loves-you theme. More people are teaching their Children about guardian angels and a Holy Father and other warm-and-fuzzy things. But maybe when your kid is really being naughty, and you're at your wit's end, you resort to threatening them with hellfire?

They need more christians for the future for the business to run...... So do nto mind runing the innocent minds.

yawn

Yes to scare them into a belief! Control! mmmmhaahahahahaaa.....I am such a loving God, but if you don't choose me you will BURN IN HELL FOREVER!!!!!mmmmmmuuuhhhhahahahahaaaaa

Simply Christians teach their children that because they believe it to be truth. What scientific backing do you have to prove that lying is wrong? Or that siblings shouldn't fight with each other? Yet you still teach your children that.

I sincerely doubt that it is put to children in this manner to begin with and The term supernatural or supranatural (Latin: super, supra "above" + natura "nature") pertains to an order of existence beyond the scientifically visible universe. However God's intricate and precise handiwork has caught the eye of some scientist in the last few years. Check out the theroy of itelligent design.

Fear makes people believe the craziest things. Just look at 50% of America (always 50/50 there).

You want scientific backing? Check out the masses of alcoholics who have been freed from alcohol by a daily reliance upon Him to receive a daily repreive. That is proof. Check out history of drunks who have not had a way out until 1937 since man first crushed grapes. These people were hopeless terminaly ill folk. They died to self and received life. Absolute scientific proof. Religion is manipulated by satan throwing in just a little bit of lie. Discernment is necessary at the individual level. The church is where two or more are gathered in his name. Hellfire fear tactics? Fear is not of the Lord. There is no condemnation in christ. Are we all missing it? look within be true to self. Tell the kids the truth. If you do not know the truth humbly ask Him to show you. Your willingness to do that opens the door. Let predjudice fall away. Be quick to see where religious people are right. Throw away what doesn't feel right. God is Just. Why would we go to hell for judge them not for they know not what they do. Think before you die. Your indecision is your bad religion.

Forcing it on children really doesn't make any sense. They just rebel as soon as they leave their parents home. A large portion of atheists come from just that background. +5

The reasoning was to bring people to faith with fear. You can get people to do a lot of things with fear. This is the principle of all terror regimes. I talked to a Catholic nun lately about this and she told me that she does not find it good either to do this. Where I live, Christians who are working in education (nuns included) generally don't tell that kind of things to children anymore. To only teach things with scientific backing is also controversial. We had to made a lot of research before we could find any scientific backing for ethics, for instance. But we have always known that ethics was a good thing (even without religion).