I have heard on a variety of forums that mother’s don’t fully agree with abeka academy teaching for one reason or another. Well, today I’m going to tell you about another one of the lessons we will not be taking part in. We started earlier (by a week to two weeks than most people) so if you want to skip these lessons just know they are coming.
For the most part I have really liked the Abeka academy bible teachings. They tell the story in a fascinating way that the kids can understand. One thing they do do is they push for the children to tell their families about God and what they are learning about Jesus really really hard. As a result my daughter talks about it a lot. The comment often that some kids might want to become a pastor, but they do include other things like some kids might want to be a fire fighter, police officer, or teacher in their lessons as well. I have noticed in the last few weeks they have been circling back to that pastor point. After my daughter said she wanted to be a pastor several weeks ago I started to listen to how many times they said some kids might want to be a pastor in the social studies portion vs other careers…it is more. Hmmmm. Anyway. We are soon ending the careers portion.
The actual bible teaching with the stories of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Abram and Sari, etc have been really GOOD. Just great story telling. Really captures the kids attention. But there is a thing here and there like the pastor hints dropping and a few other minor things that kinda make you turn your head but they aren’t so bad. The good story telling out ways the “veto” I do on some of the other videos. (Because numbers don’t give birth to children…vetoed all number videos it got weird for us, but to each their own).
This week though (lesson 37) I will be using the VETO. They don’t tell you this in the helpful lesson plan book but this is where they start the “once saved always saved” lessons. They litteraly tell the children that if you ask God to be your savor at 5 years old then you will always be saved. You only have to do it once. Then they do their question and awnser thing. They have done this with other biblical things like, is the Bible true, who wrote the Bible etc. Now they are on this topic as well “how do you get saved”. Well, I personally think this is a little grey, and a little dangerous.
Perhaps they are thinking if the children are so indoctrinated they won’t every loose their faith in God. That way the parts of the Bible where it says if you don’t have faith in Jesus you don’t get to God, won’t affect these children. Or the parts where it says it it worse to loose your faith than to not have it in the first place, won’t affect them either. I think that’s a fatal mistake.
We are skipping out on the videos, and just reading Bible passages until this portion is over. Because while I have believe what they have said in the videos story wise and the biblical know how they have taught so far such as: that the Bible is true, who wrote it, that not everyone goes to heaven. This new phase of “once saved through one prayer at 5 years old equals always saved” doesn’t completely check out.
I wrote a post Friday on protecting your kids from far left extremes in school, but I also think it is true that we need to protect our kids from far right extremes as well.
Here is the scripture basis of why I personally do not believe in this method:
Only those in the book of life go to heaven (Revelations 20: 12-15)
In James 2: 18-20 the bible say that your faith is shown to others by your works, you are known by your works, if you turn to athiesm or just way from your belief in God, then how are you able to show your faith to others? How do you show your faith when at the root you have no faith.
It is worse to know God, and be Lead astray, than to have never known him. (2 Peter 2: 20-22)
It also specifically says in First John whoever denies Jesus, doesn’t to get God. But whoever acknowledges Jesus, also has God. It goes on to say in the next verse that if you continue believing in Jesus (if your faith remains in him) he shall remain in you and you shall have eternal life. (1 John 23-25)
Don’t Buy into the fluffy Christianity:
While many people can point to a lot of evidence in the bible of the “once saved always saved method” and the Abeka system literally says to the children that you only need to say one prayer one time when you are 5 years old and you will be saved. I think there is a lot of evidence that if you turn from your faith that you can loose your salvation. Obviously, this is up to God. We are not God so, in the end we don’t know if he will be merciful in this regard. It does say that Jesus wipes away all sins, which is why many people believe in this method. But I have not seen where it says that turning away from God (or in other words atheism) is said to be a sin, it does say that it is the path of death though. (Proverbs 14: 12-14)
But I would rather go along with the be safe than sorry method, and listen to these scriptures (above), where it specifically denounces turning away, saying it your ticket to hell. Therefore there is something that you can do to loose your salvation after you have gained it as a child. In a day and age where people are walking away from God at astronomical rates (Christianity dropped by 12% in america over the last decade).
This “once saved always saved kind of philosophy makes, parents not worry wither or not their kids are going to hell (because oh my kid said one prayer when they were 5) or makes people more relaxed about sin which in turn then leads them away from God instead of closer. SINCE no sin can change your salvation, if you trust in Jesus as your savor (though if God is your savior truely you should want to have some restraint through his bestowed grace) kids get in their mind that what they do doesn’t mater. Because kids will be kids. The more sin in your life you have the further you go from God (it is a rabbit trail, I have been down it in my past, I know.) The further you go from God the more likely you are to turn to the world and away from him. Sin separates you from God. BUT…
Jesus wipes away all sins if you believe in him. That is if you put your faith in God. (John 3:16)
Anyway, is this method right or wrong? I don’t know. It is one of those touchy topics in the christian community. BUT I have chosen to skip this portion of the lessons from the Abeka Vidoes (it could last a week or two of video protion). Just a head up if you started later than us…it starts on lesson 37 in the K5 program. (We didn’t do the K4 program so I don’t know if it is there.)
Brie
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