Give Me a Child

Give me the child until he is seven and I will give you the man, proclaimed St. Francis Xavier, a 16th century Roman Catholic missionary.  He understood how easy it is to warp the minds of young people before their brains had developed enough to think critically and logically.

If indeed St. Francis actually believed the propaganda he espoused, there is no question that his own mind had been infected when he was a child.  If anyone doubts the accuracy of that statement, ask yourself what St. Francis would have believed if he had been born into a Muslim or Hindu family.

Scientists now know the human brain takes as long as a quarter century or more before it is fully developed. Think how different things might be if teaching religion was forbidden until at least the age of 25. If for example, you knew nothing about the bible until you had reached the age of 25, then found one in your hotel room and began reading it, what do you think your reaction would be? Would you excitedly pick up the phone and call your friends and urge them to read it because finally, you had stumbled upon the most deep and profound philosophy one could ever imagine; where the meaning of life had finally been revealed? Or would you wonder who in heck came up with this crap and toss it in the waste basket.

If we were given a tour through a mental hospital, no doubt we would eventually encounter a man in a padded cell wearing a straightjacket. Our tour guide would explain that this poor individual:

1. Talks to an invisible being

2. Thinks he can influence future events by appealing to that invisible imaginary being.

3. Believes snakes and donkeys talk

4. Obsessed with fear of being burned by someone with horns and a bifurcated tail

5. Cannot understand why everybody else does not see the threat and spends an inordinate amount of trying to convince others of it.

Think about it. How is this lunatic any different from the pope, preachers and imams?  

The most egregious sin we can commit is stuffing the heads of our children with rubbish before they have reached the age when they can think for themselves. If we spent as much time teaching our kids how to think rather than what to think, the world would be a better and less crowded place. We might actually survive for a few more centuries.