What Would Jesus Do?

A deliberation on the immorality of subjecting a child to religious indoctrination.

By John C. Duff

Copyright 2010 John C. Duff

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10 Nov. 2010

In America, where nearly nine in ten people identify with some sort of religion and 78% of the population adhere to some form of Christianity (Newport), there is an exploitation of children that is ignored by the majority: religious indoctrination. The indoctrination of any religious dogma is immoral and abusive but, because of the country’s addiction to Christianity, research will shed light on the effects of these most cherished beliefs.

Religion, especially Christianity, is full of superstition and myth that, with very little study, will prove to parallel the ancient mystery cults and be rooted in ancient Egyptian philosophy. For example, The Book of Going Forth by Day, written 3,260 years ago, reveals a resurrecting god and commandments that are synonymous with the Bible (Faulkner 2, 31). The ancient Mystery religions, which preceded Christianity, incorporated not only resurrecting gods into their theology but also included virgin births, Sunday worship, baptism, heaven and hell, communion with a cup and bread, and judgment after death (Gilmore 210, 419). These ancient mystery doctrines also came with the story of a suffering savior god whose death was the sacrifice for the atonement and salvation of mankind (Maccoby 196). There are many hypotheses regarding the origins of these particular beliefs, but one thing is certain, none of these doctrines are original to Christianity.