What is this world coming to? This is a must read!

This article is SO scary! This is a preschool for goodenss sake! .....No 'him' or 'her'; preschool fights gender bias

http://beta.news.yahoo.com/no-him-her-preschool-fights-gender-bias-122541829.html

Here is a snippet:

Director Lotta Rajalin notes that Egalia places a special emphasis on fostering an environment tolerant of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. From a bookcase she pulls out a story about two male giraffes who are sad to be childless — until they come across an abandoned crocodile egg.

Nearly all the children's books deal with homosexual couples, single parents or adopted children. There are no "Snow White," ''Cinderella" or other classic fairy tales seen as cementing stereotypes.

Rajalin, 52, says the staff also try to help the children discover new ideas when they play.

"A concrete example could be when they're playing 'house' and the role of the mom already is taken and they start to squabble," she says. "Then we suggest two moms or three moms and so on."

Share your thoughts!

 

Scary is a school shooting or child predators, not a book about male giraffes adopting a crocodile. While this may not be your cup of tea I can see how it might be a service to other parents, especially same sex couples.

If it's not something you're interested in then you don't need to send your kids otherwise I think the tone of alarm that accompanies stories like this tends to get a little tiring.

ETA: My reply came out sounding pretty snarky. Apologies.

 

I disagree dawninns.

This is scary when a person wants to raise a child with a belief that homosexuality is wrong and other people want to make sure that child believes that it is right.

As a parent we should be able to raise our children with our belief system and that should not be taken away when they go to school. No one has the right to tell my son that it is OK to have two mommies or two daddies, etc.

The other thing about this is that not only are they trying to present sin as normal and OK, they are also trying to present the opposition to sin as wrong. Eventually, the people who stand against sin will be seen as hateful people.

These kind of things happen in degrees and it is happening right before our eyes. Now if you have no problem with it-then it is not alarming to you. I happen to have a problem with it.

 

This biggest issue I have with this is, like I said on the other thread:

 

I agree 100%. Why are those of us who oppose sinful behavior treated like we are the intolerant, hateful people? It is not the people we hate, it is the sin.

If we cannot teach THEIR kids that God created a MAN & a WOMAN to be together, not the other way around, then they SHOULD NOT BE ABLE to teach our kids that it is "normal and ok" to be same sex couples.

It is ironic we Christians has to be sensitive to "other" beliefs but NOBODY has to be sensitive to ours!

 

This is Sweden, right? Then it seems normal for Sweden. A preacher was sentenced to a month in prison for preaching against homosexuality there. He was accused of hate speech. I think he strongly worded things though - something like calling homosexuality a cancer on society.

Is homeschooling legal in Sweden? Do parents have a preschool choice? If so, then I think parents who want to promote those ideas espoused in the preschool should have a choice to have a preschool like that.

 

What about books designed to comfort children of divorced and remarried parents? There are some who believe that is wrong too, but that's no reason to make the children feel like outcasts.

I do agree that the matter can become alarming when all books are of this type, because that's indoctrination. If present alongside other more traditional books, though, I can see the value. Maybe it will help prevent incidents where gays are beaten up, treated with disdain, or discriminated against. More to the point, maybe it will help children living in gay homes not to feel like outcasts. There was a time, not so long ago, when the absence of black faces in our story books kept alive active discrimination against minorities in society - and the absence of books with women pictured as airline pilots, for example, put pressure on many women not to have a career. How did the children of racially mixed marriages feel - accepted or viewed with suspicion? Or the child of a single mom who works a professional career - normal or strange?

Not an easy subject.

 

This is an article about a secular preschool in a very secular society. It's fine to have an opinion on the issue but to get alarmist about something happening halfway across the world where Christian ideas of sin may not be a prime consideration is more then a little overboard IMO.

This is a liberal neighbourhood in Sweden. You certainly have a right to teach your children your beliefs and worldview just as they have a right to teach their children theirs. Other people exercising their rights is not an assault on our rights.

That dosn't quite work in this instance. Steve and I are both Christians sharing beliefs and views about the subject that are informed by our faith. We're not outsiders assaulting a Christian worldview or core Christian doctrine.

Further, it may well be the view of a lot of Christians that homosexuality is a sin but it is not a universal Christian view. Indeed, the biggest protestant church here in Canada ordains gay people and my own Anglican diocese recently decided to grant ministers the right to bless gay marriages.

Everyone has the right to decide what they teach their children whether it you with your family or a community in Sweden.

 

Real, born-again believers in Christ who believe the Bible is the final authority will stand firm that homosexuality is a sin. Anyone who believes otherwise is not following scripture and should evaluate themselves to see if in fact their salvation is genuine.

Furthermore, I don't think someone will go to hell BECAUSE they are a homosexual, they will go to hell becasue they are an unsaved sinner, just like anyone else who is unsaved. I have a friend who lives with her boyfriend. I have confronted her with scripture. If she dies in her sin, she will go to hell, just like a homosexual. It is sin, bottom line.

Sadly enough, there are many Christians who are a "Christian" in name only.

 

That settles it Steve. We're going to hell. Whoever gets there first has to set up the sprinkler.

 

I agree with this. Which is why I find it disturbing that traditional marriage is treated like the useless minority. I'd hate for children of male/female parents to feel like outcasts because they don't have two mommies or two daddies or even just one parent... which are all scenarios presented as the normal family picture (not a variation on family).

Beyond the homosexual issue, which I think is actually secondary here, is the idea that gender is part of what you are! Would we condone a school requiring students to shave their heads because blond/brunette/read-head is irrelevant and they'd hate for kids to feel held-back by being one or the other? What about a school that required kids to hide their faces because looks don't matter? The logical outcome is that kids learn to be ashamed of who and what they are. If teacher discourages little Johnny from being a "typical" boy, then how is little Johnny going to feel about himself if he's inclined to be a "typical" boy?!

 

While I totally get what you're saying, I think you have a contradiction on your hands here. I do not believe someone who chooses to be homosexual goes to hell either (this would defeat the purpose of Christ's death and resurrection!). However, in your statement you are making it sound like you think your friend will go to hell because she lives with her boyfriend, which really doesn't make sense. We all die in some sort of sin.

FWIW...I do not agree that living with a boyfriend/girlfriend is wrong though. It's what you do under the roof that may be wrong. Perhaps I am just uneducated about what Scirpture says about cohabitation (I'm always learning), but I don't know of anything in the Bible that says living under the same roof with someone before marriage is a sin. I believe it's just that our conservative society has deemed it unacceptable because of temptations that come along with living under that roof. You don't need to live under the same roof to fall into those temptations. KWIM? :love:

It's these kinds of things are unsettling to me sometimes. We have no place in judging someone's heart. Just because someone's sin seems to be more drastic, doesn't mean their sin is any greater than the next persons. I am sure all of us here have a sin we struggle with on a day to day basis, and everyone's walk with God looks different. Convictions are a touchy subject and it's best to not make judgements because someone's convictions are different than our own.

I believe Steve said it best in another thread about our two pillars. :angel:

As far as the article itself in the OP. Yikes. I am 50% Swedish...glad I don't live in Sweden. I don't agree with it at all, but that is why I would simply choose not to send my child there.

 

Yep. This.

 

I do understand the sensitivities involved here: The Bible declares homosexual behavior to be wrong - so, in the context of the local church, I agree that it should not be tolerated. But the same is true of a bunch of other behaviors, to which we often turn a blind eye - which makes us all hypocrites. Many of these sinful tendencies are genetic in origin: It doesn't make them right, but it does mean some are tempted in some areas more than others. In society in general, we can lead by example, but we don't have the right to impose our views on everyone else - any more than others have the right to impose on us. This led to some terrible times in world history.

I did document my thoughts on the matter here earlier in the year. The key point, for me, is that "all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away." Just because our genetic tendencies are different from those of others doesn't make those people any more, and us any less, of a sinner in need of God's mercy.

 

I'm imagining the thinking here...Perhaps it's that the kids see the traditional all the time outside the school and in the media? Regardless, I think Steve has a good point.

More good points. I tend to think that's the fundamental problem with schools anyway, there just tend to be a norm kids are expected to conform to. Sometimes the school imposes it with uniforms or by other means and sometimes it's the peer group with cliques and such. A lot of kids already leave school with that sense of shame about who they are. Of course I'm proving your point to a degree...I suppose I'm also saying that this doesn't outrage me that much because I think it's simply doing what most schools do, just being a little more upfront about it.

 

Beautifully put. You've given me a lot of food for thought.

 

I agree with you, Steve. At least as far as what you said here. I had a great friend in college (my first go-round) who was admittedly gay. I went to a Bible college. Not only did he decry homosexual behavior and was 100% celibate (no dating), he paid the extra fees each year to have a private dorm room so there was no question about what he thought or did with his roommate.

He believed and embodied what you are talking about, Steve: that even though he had certain temptations, perhaps even genetic, he would struggle with his nature to avoid sinful behavior.

Sadly, too many students complained and he was kicked out at Christmas break of our Sophomore year. It wasn't good enough that he was not committing sins (in that area), they wanted him to be perfect. Yet if I admitted that I struggled with vanity, I wouldn't have been kicked out.

The double standard is sickening.

 

You're right there. If it comes to brass tacks, that is exactly what I hate about school.

 

This is such a sad story. What about the student who was genetically inclined to be bad-tempered - even though he controlled it. Was he thrown out? What about the student who was genetically inclined to drink heavily but insisted on being a teetotaler. Was she thrown out? Based on this principle, every student in the college, and every professor too, should have been asked to leave. It's NOT wrong to have a genetic tendency; it IS wrong to give in to it. Your friend, to my mind, was a model Christian from whom we could all learn.

 

Ever heard the word "fornication"? It's unmarried sex. Jesus told the woman at the well that she'd had five husbands, and the one she had now she wasn't married to. He also told her to "go and SIN no more".