Are parents responsible/accountable for the sins of their children?
Upvote:5
Disclaimer
I have been studying the book of Revelation, and haven't looked at OT for a long time. Thus, if I mis-remembered the story of Eli, please correct me. Thanks!
Answer
Jeremiah 31:30
But everyone shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eats the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge.
This does not say "die for parents of children's iniquity"
Revelation 20:12
And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
This does not say "judged for parents or children's works"
How then does one explain Deuteronomy 5:9?
Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me,
My personal understanding is that parents who reject God teach their children to reject God, and thus, the children, in following the parents advice, reject God and thus the sin "punishes for multiple generations."
Furthermore, in:
Deuteronomy 6:6-9 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
Parentes are commanded to raise their children to follow God. From thus, I would personally extrapolate that not raising up one's children to follow God is a sin; to not discipline them when they break the commands of God is sin.
In my personal interpretation, the failure of Eli were:
not raising his children to follow God (though I'm not sure how to handle this since I believe in predestination)
tolerating their evil behaviors (i.e. not removing them from power)
Upvote:5
There are a couple of important points about the story of Eli:
- Eli is not just a father to Hophi and Phinehas - has is also a fellow-priest, possibly their superior, and responsible for their actions more than a father would be.
- There is no direct punishment on Eli - the punishment that is declared is that his descendants will not live to an old age. Is this actually a punishment on Eli or on his sons?
While I don't want to address the general question, I believe that it is not valid to deduce that 'all parents are responsible for the sins of their children' from the story of Eli.
More post
- 📝 Some questions concerning Aramaic in the Old Testament
- 📝 Were any prophets sent to the Canaanites before Jewish immigration?
- 📝 Creation Ex Nihilo?
- 📝 What is the basis for not believing sola scriptura?
- 📝 What is meant by, "mild drinks" in D&C section 89?
- 📝 Why is the term Immanuel/Emmanuel considered to be a title rather than a proper name?
- 📝 Why did Martin Luther reject the idea of the priesthood (sacerdotalism)?
- 📝 When was the title of "Mother of God" first ascribed to Mary?
- 📝 What is God's good news before Jesus's death and resurrection?
- 📝 Is there a standard text of the Litany of Loreto accepted for universal use by the Catholic Church?
- 📝 The Meaning of St. Philip Neri's "to Despise being Despised''
- 📝 Was Jesus an adherent to 'Sola Scriptura'?
- 📝 How do Cessationists view "being led by the Holy Spirit"?
- 📝 If Anger is one of the Seven Deadly Sins, how could Jesus have been angry yet still be sinless? (Catholicism)
- 📝 Why does God say we shouldn't eat Crab & Pork but Jesus says that doesn't really matter
- 📝 Where are the Mormon "relics"?
- 📝 How do 'soul sleep' adherents explain reports of personal experiences with deceased saints, friends and relatives by Catholics and other Christians?
- 📝 Difference between spirit and soul and consciousness
- 📝 What is a Nazirite?
- 📝 Do Catholics believe that everyone should convert to Christianity for their own salvation?
- 📝 Which church denomination has a very strong emphasis on the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation?
- 📝 Scriptural/theological reasoning for renaming: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
- 📝 How well-accepted are Thomas Paine's views about the Bible being against monarchy?
- 📝 According to Eastern Orthodoxy, does Matthew 17:20 apply to all people?
- 📝 Where in St. Ambrose's writings do Virgin Mary's title "Mother of the Church" appear?
- 📝 The original number of The Beast is 616 not 666; previous Bible prophesies effected?
- 📝 Why did Calvin reject these Catholic doctrines about Mary?
- 📝 How can I understand the rise of the Egyptians as a race in the Old Testament?
- 📝 What lost bible commentary did St. Thomas Aquinas want more than an entire kingdom?
- 📝 When was the word "trinity" first applied to God in Christianity?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Are parents responsible/accountable for the sins of their children?
- 📝 What is the basis for the belief among some LDS/Mormons that children in their pre-mortal existence choose who their parents will be?
- 📝 When are children held accountable for ther sins?
- 📝 Which denominations believe that the misfortunes of Jews are a result of "God's curse" for their killing of Jesus?
- 📝 In the tradition of Jehovah's Witnesses, does Romans 6:23 mean that all people who are resurrected have their sins blotted out?
- 📝 For Christians who are skeptical of the writings of the Apostolic & Ante-Nicene Fathers, what is their epistemological basis for trusting a canon?
- 📝 How much are we personally responsible for the salvation of someone else?
- 📝 Is there an instance of parents lying to their children that was approved by God in the Bible?
- 📝 What's the scriptural basis for Protestants to believe that their future sins have been forgiven?
- 📝 Why do Catholics have to go to regular confession to have their sins forgiven if they pray The Lord's Prayer and ask for forgiveness daily?
- 📝 Can someone atone for the sins of another, in the life after death, if they asked this grace from Our Lord before their own death in this life?
- 📝 What is the Baptist response to 1 Corinthians 7:14 if the children are believers but the parents are not?
- 📝 What are the sins that God kills for in the Bible?
- 📝 If an individual sins because God "hardened their heart", does that make God the direct responsible of the sin (i.e. a sinner)?
- 📝 Are Christians bound to the laws of their country?
- 📝 For Catholics who object to Vatican II, what are the key issues?
- 📝 In Theistic Evolution, when did the alleged evolutionary animal/ape/man become accountable for his sins?
- 📝 Are there Old Testament Scriptures that mention salvation for the Gentiles?
- 📝 Why do Mormons use the term "elder" for their missionaries?
- 📝 What is the Biblical basis for withholding communion from believers who are unbaptized?
- 📝 Since God provided for the forgiveness of sins in the Old Testament, why do we need Jesus?
- 📝 What is the Biblical basis for saying that wives can divorce their physically abusive husbands?
- 📝 For how long did the early Christians share all their possessions?
- 📝 Among modern critics who believe in the attributed authorship of the Gospels, what are their arguments?
- 📝 What are the main arguments used by Christian pro-lifers to justify their stance against abortion?
- 📝 Are there any English Bible translations whose primary text for the OT is the Septuagint?
- 📝 How do Jehovah's Witnesses respond to the charge that they are false prophets (because their end-of-the-world predictions didn't come true)?
- 📝 What are the reasons for calling oneself a "follower of Jesus" rather than a Christian?
- 📝 What are the stipulations for a mixed marriage to be valid in the Catholic Church?
- 📝 If baptism cleanses original sin then why do the children of baptised parents still need to be baptised?