The Bible Speaks to You May 24, 1969 Issue

[The above is an abbreviated, postprodurtion text of the program released for broadcast the week of May 16—22 in the radio series, "The Bible Speaks to You." Heard internationally over more than 1.000 stations, the weekly programs are prepared and produced by the Christian Science Committee on Publication, 107 Falmouth Street, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A. 02115.]

RADIO PROGRAM NO. 372 - Helping Children to Reject Violence

Ron Clifford with contributions from Jerome Franke

[The speaker is Jerome Franke. The questioner is Ron Clifford.]

Questioner: Children are impressionable, and I believe that most authorities agree that they are influenced by the violence they are exposed to, whether it's brutality in real life, on TV shows, in motion pictures, or in comic books. What can we as parents do to help children reject brutality, to see that they don't glory in hurting others?
Speaker: I think the important thing for us to remember is that we start with ourselves by seeing what we find entertaining. Our children reflect our way of thinking and going about things. And if we find violence entertaining, it isn't unusual that our children have somewhat the same response to it. Would you agree that our thinking affects our experience?
Questioner: Could you be a little more specific?
Speaker: Well, in the Bible we read (Prov. 23:7), "As he thinketh in his heart, so is he." If we can appreciate the depth of this message and help our children to think more constructive thoughts about themselves and about the effect that thinking has on their experience, we can give them some helpful guidance. Have you had any experiences that would indicate that the actions we see are the result of thought manifested?
Questioner: I've seen my youngsters push each other around after watching a bruising tackle in a professional football game. I think children tend to imitate what they see and read.

Speaker: Violence can remain in thought. This is why it's so important that we bring to our children a deeply religious respect for what man really is. Entertaining a right view of man gives us the basis to really help our children respect themselves and others and thereby reject violence.

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