On Being a Parent
Michelle and I were talking at dinner and I realized that I have been parenting wrong. I have been teaching my child to be a good person, to follow the rules and that going to church is a good thing. I have tried teaching her morals and to obey her parents. All of those are good things. But I am thinking that I am creating a moralistic therapeutic deist. This idea was made popular by Kenda Creasy Dean and has five basic tenants: A god exists who created and ordered the world and watches over human life on earth God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions. The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself God does not need to be particularly involved in one's life except when God is needed to resolve a problem Good people go to heaven when they die. While similar to Christianity this is not what we believe. In the United Methodist Church we have realized recently that we have missed t