Not long ago my 10 year-old daughter attended a birthday party for one of her friends. I was flabbergasted when my daughter told me that one of the other invitees at that birthday party out of the blue said, “Whoever does not believe in God, raise your hand.”
Only my daughter and two other little girls did not raise their hands. The question did not end at that point but shifted to the subject of atheism by that little girl!
When I was at that age, believing in God was not even a question because he was in everyone’s mind. The entire society accepted God as a creator of the universe. We learned that God has always existed. Sadly, in today’s society the public’s belief has faded out and many people have separated from faith. Unfortunately, people’s disbelief has also been passed on to their children.
It was once common to be asked by a child for a description of God and His power and it was once extremely uncommon to hear that a child does not believe in God at all. The reflection of adults can always be seen in children, and denying God in these young ages can be traced back to the society and the influence of social media and propagandas of liberal groups.
Liberalism crosses children’s boundaries and diminishes the childhood life. At this stage of life children should not be in a mind set to deny God or reject religious beliefs. In 1979-80 I attended a Catholic elementary school in the City of Baghdad-Iraq. At that time, once a week the Christian and Muslim students were separated to two classes to study the principles of their religions.
No questions about each other’s religion were asked and no concerns were expressed by parents. My faith was not pushed into other children’s lives neither theirs was pushed into mine. Believing in God was not a question, it was the answer for all the children. To have a child in denial of God was and should be an alert and concern for all of us.
Children are a product of their families that one day become the very society itself, and the future of a society depends on how the existing generation lays a path for prosperity. But it is now a merciless era for human beings in general and children in particular.
To contemplate and look back 20 years ago , now I can see the downward trend socially, ethically, and morally in society. The safe space of childhood has been invaded and they have become the easy target. As naïve children being taught to deny God, they are victims of a society built by misguided adults who follow the darkness of atheism that leads to death.
After all, I answer to whomever denies God “The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.” – Psalms 14:1
– Serwan Zangana supported Operation Iraqi Freedom as a U.S Army translator before coming to the U.S from Kurdistan, Iraq in 1997 to seek political asylum. He was granted asylum status and years later proudly became a U.S citizen. He currently serves as a correction officer in Roanoke.
