Wollstonecraft surprises me with her content on the affections and duty of parents. Supposing she is simply referring to the extremes, Mary Wollstonecraft says:
"Woman, however, a slave in every situation to prejudice, seldom exerts enlightened maternal affection; for she either neglects her children, or spoils them by improper indulgence." (p. 156)
Very interesting. After reading this, I immediately began to think about the extremes of parenting, and, while their are more than two, I would like to focus on Wollstonecraft's examples: the total neglect of children and the obsession over one's children. First, I am referring to the parents who lack any involvement in the lives of their children, not teaching them and training their character as they grow and increase in knowledge. Scripture clearly teaches that parents are to raise their children up in the ways of the Lord. Deuteronomy 6:4-9 clearly sets the tone concerning how parents should approach rearing their kids. God commands us to teach His magnificent truths to our children so that they will know His Word and walk through the darkness of life with the illumination of the Scriptures. Much of the world is lacking in this biblical upbringing in truth, and as a result many seek unreasonable, detestable, and selfish understandings of logic and reason when faced with interaction in a fallen world. As for the parents who obsess over their children, they are doing their children just as much of a disservice, possibly more so. The parent who obsesses over their child constantly is guilty of placing them in the spotlight. Attention is a serious need of children but the over indulgence of it leads to a twisted understanding in the eyes of the child. The son or daughter grows up clearly seeing themselves as the focus, and in many cases assumes it to be true. Not even elaborating on the dangers this presents in human interaction in society, this is a woeful predicament for the child. They grow up with a self-centered view of the world, and will almost certainly have a man-centered view of God, regardless of whether they are aware of this. They will approach God as a definition that must conform to them, and in many cases reject the difficult but true teachings of Scripture. This obsession of one's child may tarnish their understanding of God and lead them astray from Him, as bad as if not worse than neglecting the proper teaching of God's Word to the child.
While I think her approach to the duty of parents can be very logical, I deny it in favor of my convictions according to Scripture. Chapter 11 is full of parenting assertions by Wollstonecraft, but I will stick to mentioning one for the sake of the poor soul who grades my blog post. Very early in Chapter 11, Wollstonecraft says concerning parents,
"They demand blind obedience, because they do not merit a reasonable service[…]"
I am quick to defend this on account of the knowledge, wisdom, and authority that parents possess concerning the rearing of their children. There are many passages in Scripture in which God performs actions that were very strange to the individuals at that time. This is simply because God is omniscient and we are simple humans who cannot see the mighty innerworkings of God's Will. We are called to have faith and trust in Him, just as Joseph did in Genesis as he prepared a place for his family. Parents demanding blind obedience from their children are teaching them obedience, faith, and authority that they ultimately are called to show to God. Sadly, parents are not perfect and many have led their children astray, but they are commanded to bring up children in accordance to the magnificent truths of Scripture.
I commented on the posts of Anna Kate and Moriah.
"Woman, however, a slave in every situation to prejudice, seldom exerts enlightened maternal affection; for she either neglects her children, or spoils them by improper indulgence." (p. 156)
Very interesting. After reading this, I immediately began to think about the extremes of parenting, and, while their are more than two, I would like to focus on Wollstonecraft's examples: the total neglect of children and the obsession over one's children. First, I am referring to the parents who lack any involvement in the lives of their children, not teaching them and training their character as they grow and increase in knowledge. Scripture clearly teaches that parents are to raise their children up in the ways of the Lord. Deuteronomy 6:4-9 clearly sets the tone concerning how parents should approach rearing their kids. God commands us to teach His magnificent truths to our children so that they will know His Word and walk through the darkness of life with the illumination of the Scriptures. Much of the world is lacking in this biblical upbringing in truth, and as a result many seek unreasonable, detestable, and selfish understandings of logic and reason when faced with interaction in a fallen world. As for the parents who obsess over their children, they are doing their children just as much of a disservice, possibly more so. The parent who obsesses over their child constantly is guilty of placing them in the spotlight. Attention is a serious need of children but the over indulgence of it leads to a twisted understanding in the eyes of the child. The son or daughter grows up clearly seeing themselves as the focus, and in many cases assumes it to be true. Not even elaborating on the dangers this presents in human interaction in society, this is a woeful predicament for the child. They grow up with a self-centered view of the world, and will almost certainly have a man-centered view of God, regardless of whether they are aware of this. They will approach God as a definition that must conform to them, and in many cases reject the difficult but true teachings of Scripture. This obsession of one's child may tarnish their understanding of God and lead them astray from Him, as bad as if not worse than neglecting the proper teaching of God's Word to the child.
While I think her approach to the duty of parents can be very logical, I deny it in favor of my convictions according to Scripture. Chapter 11 is full of parenting assertions by Wollstonecraft, but I will stick to mentioning one for the sake of the poor soul who grades my blog post. Very early in Chapter 11, Wollstonecraft says concerning parents,
"They demand blind obedience, because they do not merit a reasonable service[…]"
I am quick to defend this on account of the knowledge, wisdom, and authority that parents possess concerning the rearing of their children. There are many passages in Scripture in which God performs actions that were very strange to the individuals at that time. This is simply because God is omniscient and we are simple humans who cannot see the mighty innerworkings of God's Will. We are called to have faith and trust in Him, just as Joseph did in Genesis as he prepared a place for his family. Parents demanding blind obedience from their children are teaching them obedience, faith, and authority that they ultimately are called to show to God. Sadly, parents are not perfect and many have led their children astray, but they are commanded to bring up children in accordance to the magnificent truths of Scripture.
I commented on the posts of Anna Kate and Moriah.
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