Have your children been christened

howiepoohs said:
No. I went to a Christian primary school and didn't learn about science until I was 11 and at senior school. It was more important to learn about Noel and his ark. Quite why Mr Edmonds had an ark I can't remember now as I wiped it from my memory as best I could.
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Bad school then, I take it this was at a time before people bothered checking up on school stuff before enrolling their kids and just sent them to the nearest one.

It is not the religion that makes the school but the teachers. It happens that some of the best educators out there are at religious schools because for some reason, certain schools have very high standards for both teachers and pupils (trouble makers are very rarely accepted and can be refused easily due to the high number of applicants).

I went to a catholic primary school, secondary school and sixth-form. I was taught by 3 qualified physicists and went on to be one. Religion was never forced on any of us and if anything, the school taught us to make our own religious choices. Those of you who think it gets shoved down your throat or that they dont teach proper subjects due to the religion are completely wrong. They all have to adhere to certain curriculum, you are thinking of a different time.

I understand not wanting to baptise your children or not wanting them to go to a religious school but assuming a school to be bad because of religion is ridiculous
 
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LeeUK said:
So by the looks of it everyone is calling religion a fairy story yet they do great schools.

Can't make it up.
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Probably something to do with the requirements to get in, well judging by the demographic of my little one's primary. I've given up a few Sunday mornings (the wife more so) to get our child into a good school. Dishonest? Perhaps. Do I care what God thinks? LOL
 
d_brennen said:
Probably something to do with the requirements to get in, well judging by the demographic of my little one's primary. I've given up a few Sunday mornings (the wife more so) to get our child into a good school. Dishonest? Perhaps. Do I care what God thinks? LOL
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Precisely. If you had tons of parents trying to get kids into school, schools can refuse entry on basis that there are too many applicants. They will favour more promising ones. Also the kind of parents that jump through hoops to get kids into schools are not the kid that cba and let their spawn run around whatever they want.

You choose a school to give your kid good people as friends, good teachers are a bonus!

Lets face it, there is really no way to know the capability of the teacher they will get 5 years from now, but you can get an idea on the school kids based on the requirements to get in. IMO the kind of friends kids make effect them as much or more than the kind of teachers they have, since their attitude as well as personal standards come from their friends.
 
Tosno said:
Some people nowadays call their husband or wife their partner. A clinical term, so I can only assume without extra details it's a business partnership for mutual benefit.
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What a bizarre point of view, firstly it's an easy way of getting across a concept which 99% of people will understand from the context without giving away too much information (which some people are concerned about online) or without having to write girlfriends/boyfriends/wives/husbands every time you're referring to a group of people's partners

Secondly the word "partner" implies equality and is hardly clinical. Do you have a problem with equality in relationships? I can only assume without extra details that you do.

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Seeing lots of responses about getting kids baptised to get into a decent school... nice to see that religious discrimination is so prevalent in 21st century Britain
 
It's not about religion, it's about funding. Our local C of E gets funding off both the C of E and local government so it has more money to improve educational standards. To get my kids into a school with better educational standards involved one of us being a church goer at a C of E church, simples :)
 
Avenged7Fold said:
Bad school then, I take it this was at a time before people bothered checking up on school stuff before enrolling their kids and just sent them to the nearest one.

It is not the religion that makes the school but the teachers. It happens that some of the best educators out there are at religious schools because for some reason, certain schools have very high standards for both teachers and pupils (trouble makers are very rarely accepted and can be refused easily due to the high number of applicants).

I went to a catholic primary school, secondary school and sixth-form. I was taught by 3 qualified physicists and went on to be one. Religion was never forced on any of us and if anything, the school taught us to make our own religious choices. Those of you who think it gets shoved down your throat or that they dont teach proper subjects due to the religion are completely wrong. They all have to adhere to certain curriculum, you are thinking of a different time.

I understand not wanting to baptise your children or not wanting them to go to a religious school but assuming a school to be bad because of religion is ridiculous
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I taught in a Catholic School, despite being a committed atheist.
 
Tosno said:
Because it's a beautiful thing! :)

Some people nowadays call their husband or wife their partner. A clinical term, so I can only assume without extra details it's a business partnership for mutual benefit.
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You're a weird one.

Have you talked about day orphanages in this thread yet?
 
I went to a non-religious school at ages 5-11, my parents never went to church, it was something we never did. Only time as a family we went to a church was for weddings or funerals! We did have a local baptist 'mission' church just down the street, and they run 'sunbeams' on a friday evening. I went for about 4 years, like most of the local kids, we learnt about the bible stories and sang hymns and the favourite was the tuck shop at the end of the night..!
I then attended a public school which had a chapel on the grounds, church every morning and a lovely hour on sundays.. Unfortunately I could sing so I was press-ganged into the choir and for 4 years spent the best part of 20hrs a week practising or singing in churches, (every other week went to churches all over the country to sing) yep, I've done my penance!!! I was confirmed C of E, but leaving school stopped with the religious stuff.

I met my wife who is a staunch catholic. Not that she won't miss church, but she likes to go.. she can't sing for toffee, but I appreciate the importance it has to her. Her folks are in their 70's and proper old traditional, we had our first daughter and weren't married, so when she went home with our daughter for the last 3 months of mat leave, I went for the last 6 weeks and took my folks too.. I spent a good 4 hours each day for 4 weeks to 'become' catholic..

I'm a science-loving guy, and the whole GOD thing is way beyond me, but I realised what was required, and I got much kudos from my in-laws for doing it. I now have 2 daughters, they both attend a school constantly in the top 2 for primary's in Birmingham. I personally think the bible stories are a good thing, they try to teach people the 'right way'. I don't personally attend church unless I have to, and I have to say some people in the church are quite up their own whatsits.. BUT, if it helps my kids, I'll do anything I have to. I personally think the bible is just a handbook for thickies to work out how to behave for a nice society, probably what it was for near 1800 years, I'd like to think we've progressed from that. My girls often remark that I don't go to church much, but I tell them it's important, until they can make up their own minds..
Both of mine were christened, and much as it was an enormous ball-ache (like weddings etc, you know it's your special day but you spend it worrying about your guests) it was fantastic to get all the family and your friends together. We went the whole hog and made a whole afternoon/evening of it, cost us plenty, but we had 200+ people who all had a great time, most of my aunts and cousins etc are still on about it years later.

For me it's one for the bank, if you have them christened, it's another tick in a box, and a great excuse to get everyone together.

Sorry this was so long, the auto-bio is out next year lol.
 
Haggisman said:
What a bizarre point of view, firstly it's an easy way of getting across a concept which 99% of people will understand from the context without giving away too much information (which some people are concerned about online) or without having to write girlfriends/boyfriends/wives/husbands every time you're referring to a group of people's partners

Secondly the word "partner" implies equality and is hardly clinical. Do you have a problem with equality in relationships? I can only assume without extra details that you do.

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Seeing lots of responses about getting kids baptised to get into a decent school... nice to see that religious discrimination is so prevalent in 21st century Britain
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Ignore him. He's a religious nut that thinks his is the one true god and all that.:p
 
cheesyboy said:
Yes, agreed.

I was a little upset when I heard he, when in the pre-school, had been having to pray thanks for his food before lunches. Just didn't seem right to put that on four year olds.
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Why didn't that seem right? Can't understand that one myself, surely it's teaching him to give thanks for his food? Appreciate the work which has gone into that food arriving on his plate? Even if it's not God, then surely there's people who have put that on his plate he should thank.

I know this maybe an out-dated concept, but maybe if people were more appreciative of things, life would be so much better. I like watching survivalist programmes on Discovery and History, and they all have the same thing in common, people trying to survive by themselves, and when they catch a fish or get some meat, it's like a huge celebration. I dare say our forbears were equally ecstatic, this is where this idea came from. Saying a prayer for your food, and being thankful is hardly 'shoving religion down my kids neck'.
 
Mucky_Pup said:
Pretty sure the last pope changed that rule, must have spoken to god on his amazing magic telephone, and smoothed it all over with him.

****.
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About time 'n all!

It might be an urban legend but I'm sure there was a provision that a confirmed Catholic could carry out an "emergency" baptism of an un-christened child even against the parents' will?

My mother was a Catholic and my father was lapsed CofE in itself rare in the early 1960's and back then the Catholic church stipulated in "mixed" marriages any children had to be baptised and brought up as Catholics. Due to a variety of reasons I only spent around 50% of my school years at an actual Catholic school but in the 60's and early 70's they were pretty grim places. You were certainly not given a choice whether to "believe" or not and certainly the junior school I went to in the North East any dissent was likely to be beaten out of you.

Even from an early age I was probably at best an agnostic, while keeping up appearances out of respect to my mother. Most of her side of the family, aunts/uncles were also devout Catholics too so it kind of got rammed down your throat.

Hopefully things have moderated in the intervening years, we never had kids but neither my wife or I would have had them baptised into any religion, would have been up to them to make an informed decision.
 
Wink said:
This.

I don't understand non-religious people doing it either. You don't need to have a christening to introduce your child to people....
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I agree but its funny to see how many people in this thread got their kids christened because their wife wanted it. Yet if they want a new CPU or GPU they need to seek authorization from their wife first. :D
 
malachi said:
I agree but its funny to see how many people in this thread got their kids christened because their wife wanted it. Yet if they want a new CPU or GPU they need to seek authorization from their wife first. :D
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Hmm, I think a human being and a CPU/GPU are on a different level.
 
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