Your Child and The New Age

Chapter 14

Preparing children to love what God loves

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"'When children from nine years of age upward are led to believe that [contemporary teen novels] reflect how most people live, then their conduct will certainly be influenced... If more acceptable conduct is desired by society, then society must hold before young people more acceptable conduct (Pro-Family Forum)

Literature that fails to thrill, titillate, or terrorize doesn't get far in today's secular marketplace. Shallow and provocative substitutes for good literature seduce rather than build noble character. Traditionally, the classroom has been a purveyor of character-building books. It still is, but what kind of values does it now build?

In the fall of 1988, my son's eighth-grade English teacher required her Students to read Jay Mclnerey's Bright Lights, Big City. The setting: a nightclub for singles, in the wee hours of the night. The hero: "You."

You spot a girl at the edge of the dance floor who looks like your last chance for earthly salvation... There she is in her pegged pants, a kind of doo-wop retro ponytail pulled off to the side, as eligible a candidate as you are likely to find this late into the game. The sexual equivalent of fast food.

She shrugs and nods when you ask her to dance. You like the way she moves, the oiled ellipses of her hips and shoulders. After the second song, she says she’s tired. She's at the point of bolting when you ask her if she needs a little pick-me-up.

"You’ve got some blow?" she says.

"Is Stevie Wonder blind?" you say.

She takes your arm and leads you into the Ladies.’ A couple of spoons and she seems to like you just fine, and you are feeling very likable yourself. A couple more. This woman is all nose.

"I love drugs, " she says, as you march toward the bar.

"It's something we have in common, " you say.

"Have you ever noticed how all the good words start with D?"

"…You know. Drugs. Delight. Decadence."

"Debauchery, " you say, catching the tune now.

"Dexedrine."

"Delinquent."1

A discussion with my son's teacher resulted in a change in reading assignments. Yet it takes more than an occasional win to slow society's downward drift. In Amusing Ourselves to Death, Neil Postman compares the prophecies of two authors, Orwell and Aldous Huxley:

"Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture, preoccupied with some equivalent of the feelies, the orgy porgy, and the centrifugal bumblepuppy.... In 1984 ... people are controlled by inflicting pain. In Brave New World, they are controlled by inflicting pleasure. In short, Orwell feared that what we hate will ruin us. Huxley feared that what we love will ruin us."2

Postman suggests that Huxley, not Orwell, was right. I believe that if Huxley was right, Orwell's reality will follow. New Age optimists, who believe man's inherent goodness will lead him on an upward journey to spiritual perfection, have, in Huxley's words, "failed to take into account man's almost infinite appetite for distractions."

America still reads, but popular books aim to entertain, not inform. Thrills sell. Facts don't. A charismatic world leader needs no military weapons, only promises, to take control over a hedonistic and non-thinking people.

I am not a pessimist. Our King has won the war, filled us with Himself, and promised us a glorious future. We don't need to fear anything - other than turning our backs on God. And if we awaken to the current challenge, we can make a difference in the world.

Step One: Personal Preparation

Are children being taught to read discerningly, or do they accept whatever is in print simply because it is in Print?

· Pray as a family for discernment and wisdom. Don’t let fear of offensive literature stop your family from feasting on wonderful books.

· Commit yourself to a deeper knowing of the Living Word. Continue a daily Bible study program together. If children know truth, they will spot the lies.

· Enjoy books together that demonstrate God’s values. Read-aloud times build in most children a deep love for reading, while they also enable you to direct your children’s taste for enriching books. "While the average first-grade student reads from a primer with only 350 words, his listening vocabulary approaches 10,000 words, according to the Council for Basic Education."3

Step Two: Recognize Deception in Magazines

· Discuss magazine displays with your child, if and when appropriate. Look at titles together and point out what is counterfeit. In addition to a broad selection of questionable teen magazines, I see the Yoga Journal, East West, Magical Blend, Shaman's Drum, UFO, Hinduism Today, and Meditation. If you haven't seen them yet, you will.

· Realize that magazines have changed. The January 1989 issue of Seventeen featured three main articles:

- "Spa Splurge" – "At last ... your folks have disappeared, and the house is yours!"

- "Bad Boys - Why we love them so" – "A cute ... good boy who has the same amount of experience you do ... simply may not make you feel sexy and grown-up enough."

- "Are you ready for sex?" - Until you have ... a birth control method ... [and know your boyfriend's sexual history] you are not ready."4

- Across from the index page you see a young girl seductively posed in black stockings, black miniskirt, black leather jacket pulled open to reveal a chest bare except for a black metal lattice bra. Caption: "Some people are really into metal. They insist on it - even in unusual places ... Swatch [the watch] gives you more than the time of day."

Step Three. Be Alert to Deception in Books

· A crossless version of Christianity fits the New Age lie that all can be one - with or without Jesus. It denies man's need for redemption and, in effect, makes man his own savior. "For the message of the Cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are saved it is the power of God" (1 Corinthians 1:18).

· Examine gift books for children. Discuss your observations with your child. Some of Audrey and Don Wood's attractive books are filled with enticing New Age magic. Other picture books, like The Witches Handbook by Malcolm Bird, treat witchcraft as a game for all to enjoy.

· Check contemporary children's poetry. While some poems are superb, others are grotesque and macabre.

· Check fantasy game books. They make you the hero - but what beliefs do you follow? What mental pictures will your imagination create? As you make decisions appropriate to the story, will occult forces become part of your thinking? Some titles will warn you - like Seas of Blood and Castle Death - but I many others sound innocuous.

· Be alert to what peers read. Discuss their influence with your child. During the winter of 1989, many of David's eighth-grade peers read Cycle of the Werewolf by Stephen King, master of occult horror.

· A new kind of joke book has captivated readers. The object of the humor may be sex, marriage, parents, or God. Some of the illustrations may be pornographic. While we desperately need a sense of humor, we don’t need to laugh at corruption and delight in immorality. God wants us to love, accept, and forgive each other. But He also tells us to discipline and control our own human nature. Discuss these Scriptures with your child: Leviticus 11:44, 20:26; and Matthew 5:6, 8. Review Romans 12:1-2, 9, and 13:14.

Step Four: Check Your Library

· Befriend your local librarian. Learn your library’s guidelines and limitations. Know its definition of adult literature and whether or not children can check it out.

Many decision-makers seem to deny essential differences that separate childhood from adulthood. Children have neither the knowledge, wisdom, or experience to make adult decisions and carry adult responsibility. Adult movies, television, and books feed children adult-sized mental stimulants that they are unprepared to handle.

The American Library Association's "Bill of Rights" states that, regardless of age, all persons have unlimited access to all library material.... In principle this eliminates any distinction between juvenile and adult sections.... Children have access to all books! Who gave the American Library Association the right to make this important decision? (Pro Family Form)5

· Scan the books promoted in special displays for children and for young adults (teenagers). Do they promote anti-Christian religions or low values? Do biographies promote social philosophies that oppose Christianity? Are they balanced with other views? If not, our libraries become like the media - a political force with incredible power to influence children according to their own bias.

· Discuss your concerns with the librarian. Observe the guidelines in Chapter 2. Suggest solutions. While your local librarians may share your values, the American Library Association denies the need to shield children from certain kinds of adult literature and illustrations.

Step Five: Join in the Battle for Truth

· Continue to pray with other Christian families for God's wisdom and direction.

· Write advertisers in offensive magazines. Under Dr. Dobson's leadership, a flood of parental protest against Sassy's style caused some of its major advertisers to withdraw. The consequent financial pressure seems to have made Sassy more responsible in its coverage.

· Keep an up-to-date church library and encourage other families to support and use it.

· Let God encourage you with biblical passages that promise victory to those who trust and follow Him. See Psalm 25:1, 4-5; Exodus 14:13-14; Deuteronomy 1:30; 20:1, 4.

Chapter 2: How Parents Can Prepare Children for Counterfeit Spirituality?

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