For children to not be well versed in logic, philosophy and theology

For children to not be well versed in logic, philosophy and theology before they hit college or go out on their own is probably the greatest danger Christian parents can create for their Christian children.

I know that the parent sometimes fears logic as some kind of a trick; as some worldly magic destined to destroy their child’s good will by making them too smart – but the alternative is that they will not know how to think.
Now the wiles of the world, it’s traps and temptations, they will be the same whether your child knows how to think or not.

Simply, they are better prepared for resisting lies and falsehood if they know how to think than if they do not.
I have never seen in decades of ministry the case where the child knowing how to apply godly reason was ammunition for the devil.

Now “critical thinking” courses and secular philosophies unaided by careful Christian guidance, that’s not what I’m talking about. Those crafty classes where skeptics teach impressionable youth to question everything and that doubt is good produce doubtful Christians and often atheists, or at least agnostics.

Christians, if we are careful with the language, are not critical; we are reasonable. We carefully weigh evidence and distinguish between good and evil, truth and falsehood. We follow the truth wherever it takes us because the truth is from God and God is never wrong.

We are not doubtful, we are logical, applying divine wisdom to all thought and being knowing that it is thinking the way God himself thinks and that those that love him think this way.

If there is a wrong conclusion, from that there is not a God that is there all the way to that an evil thing is good, there has been an error in logic. All lies have this trait in common, that they betray the way God thinks for the thoughts of fallen man. The first thing Adam lost was his God given reason and man has been a broken thing ever since.
But in Christ God refreshes our ability to think true thoughts about God and ourselves.

So you challenge, prepare and wrestle with your children so that they will not be too weak for the way ahead.
How much more shall you toughen their mind?

“Come, let us reason together”, says the Lord.

Neiswonger