How Religion Effects Child Development and Education:

Adults instinctively protect and cherish infants. This is essential in the survival of our species. But humans do not protect every baby. They might kill newborns that are not their own. In my Child Development Theories class in the 2nd chapter where we talk about Theories it discusses infanticide and references Jesus and Moses. It states in The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence 12th edition, “The Christian Bible chronicles several examples, including two in the story of Moses and one in the birth of Jesus” (Berger). In the story of Moses, the Pharaoh wanted to depopulate the Israelites so that they would not try to overthrow him. He ordered the Egyptians to kill every newborn baby boy throwing them into the Red Sea. Moses’ mother puts Moses into a basket and sends him into the water in the hopes he will be saved. He was. Ironically the Pharaoh’s daughter raised him as her own. Jesus also escaped a time of Infanticide. King Herod found out that a King was born and ordered that all babies be killed. Joseph, Mary, and Jesus fled to Egypt to prevent Jesus from being killed.
According to the Child Development text book, Understanding Child Abuse and Neglect by Cynthia Crosson-Tower, In Chapter 1 it states, “Infanticide has occurred since early times. The Bible cites Abraham’s intention to sacrifice his son, Isaac, to God. In early Rome, the father was given complete power to kill, abandon, or even sell his child. In Greek legend, Oedipus was doomed to death until he was rescued by a family retainer. In Hawaii, China, and Japan, many female and disabled children were killed to maintain a strong race without overpopulation. Infanticide was practiced for many reasons. Like the Hawaiians, Chinese, and Japanese, some cultures saw the practice of infanticide as a means of controlling and regulating the population so that society’s resources could be expended on the strongest and most valued. As in the case of Abraham, babies were offered to appease Gods and infanticide was in some ways associated with religious beliefs. Attempts to limit family size or ensure financial security were also used as rationales for killing children (DeMause, 1998).”
Parents sometimes abandon newborns or while pregnant, drink, smoke, and do drugs. Biology as well as cultures favors traits that promote survival of the next generation. This explains some ancient practices that we now condemn such as letting a newborn die because it was a girl, or a twin, or a burden on the family in some other way. We live in a world where abortion is glorified, funded, and not seen as murder. I am a Child development college professor and in our child development textbook it addresses the issue as to when life begins. I presented an informal anonymous poll of when life begins and here is what I got:
1 student wrote that life begins at conception
7 wrote when the brain develops
12 wrote when there is a heartbeat
1 wrote outside the womb when baby can breathe air.
According to The Scientific Consensus on When a Human’s Life Begins, “biologists from 1,058 academic institutions around the world assessed survey items on when a human's life begins and, overall, 96% (5337 out of 5577) affirmed the fertilization view.”
Pro-life-The pro-life position is that life begins at fertilization, and that all human life is precious and made in the image of God.
Pro-Choice-The pro-choice position is that it is the woman’s right to choose whether to have an abortion, because an unborn child is considered to be a part of the woman’s’ body. Under tis definition, the unborn child is not considered to be fully human.
Life begins at conception and the baby should be protected! All the genetic information to make an individual is present at fertilization, so right from the start a fertilized human egg cell is totally human. There is no biological basis for drawing any other line for when we become human every human is fully human from fertilization to the end of life. Abortion is the killing of an unborn child in his or her mother’s womb. From both a biblical and scientific perspective, life begins at the moment of fertilization. Since abortion destroys a human being who is fearfully and wonderfully made in God’s image, it is murder. “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I set you apart” Jeremiah 1:5. The Lord is giving several pieces of information to the prophet. First, God says that He knew Jeremiah when he was in the womb. Second, He makes clear that He knew Jeremiah even before He was formed in the womb. Third, He tells Jeremiah that his growth in the womb was as a result of being “formed” by God Himself. It is a direct act of formation by God. Jeremiah 18 is the well-known chapter that talks about the potter and the clay. A similar image is being used of an unborn child in Jeremiah 1:5 where Jeremiah is a person-fully human.
College faculty is overwhelmingly pro-choice, and it rubs off on the students.