OUR CHILDREN, OUR FUTURE: THE CULTURAL, MORAL, SOCIAL AND THEOLOGICAL DIMENSIONS OF CHRISTIAN CHILD UPBRINGING

摘要

The divine and natural laws have bound parents and children together, which necessarily requires the latter to succeed the former as life progresses. Children are the future of a people or nation, which necessarily requires investing a moral and intellectual capital in them for proper ethical conduct for our healthy future. Both adults and children have complementary roles in the healthy development of human society. By the natural order, parents own children but they need to respect them and bring them up in a responsible way by not only teaching them the right things to do but also involving them in certain decisions and activities that will inculcate a sense of responsibility in them. However, this responsibility involves all adults who are not necessarily parents but who occupy positions that connect with children. This research focuses on three principal avenues of impact for child development and growth, which are the home, school and religious arena. Drawing from the basic Christian principles, the argument here underscores adults’ moral capital and selflessness towards giving their time and resources in actualizing this holistic human development for the good of the society.