A recent Swiss study revealed the following: “It is the religious practice of the father of the family that, above all, determines the future attendance at or absence from church of the children.”
Fathers, it's time to step up!
However, it is the example of the Father, sine qua non, that determines whether the children will be members of the Body of Christ.
This is because of the natural priesthood of the father. The father is the priest of the domestic church.
A recent Swiss study confirms this ...
Swiss Study Measures the Impact of Mom and Dad's Involvement in Religion on Their Children's Faith
The study was conducted by the Swiss government in conjunction with other European nations to study demographic changes. Its discoveries involving religion were just a by-product of the research.
The study is entitled “The Demographic Characteristics of the Linguistic and Religious Groups in Switzerland” by Werner Haug and Phillipe Warner of the Federal Statistical Office, Neuchatel (1). Sounds like pretty hot stuff, right?
The study provides the following table (p. 124):
This is incredible! Here is a summary of the data presented above:
1. Dad & Mom regular churchgoers >> 32.8% of children regular churchgoers
2. Dad regular, Mom irregular >> 37.7%
2. Dad regular, Mom irregular >> 37.7%
3. Mom regular, Father irregular >> 3.4%
4. Dad regular, Mother non-practicing >> 44.2%
5. Mom regular, Dad non-practicing >> 1.5%
Those numbers are staggering.
Children are TEN TIMES More Likely to be Regular Churchgoers When Dad Takes an Active Part in His Faith
You heard that right! Ten times more likely.
Otherwise-stated, if Dad is a regular churchgoer, the child is 10 times more likely to become a regular churchgoer compared to Mom's influence.
Clearly, the weight falls on the father's shoulders.
Men, take up your Cross! Be a Man. Your child's faith life depends on it.
The Natural Priesthood of the Father
Why is this?The Natural Priesthood of the Father.
The priesthood was limited to just the Levites because of the sins and apostasy of the other tribes of Israel. But in the beginning, it was not so!
The priesthood of the father goes all the way back in Scripture past Melchizedek and to Adam, himself.
Do you remember that line from Scripture? "You are a priest forever in the line of Melchizedek" (Hebrews 7:17)
We are all baptized as "priest, prophet, king".
The membership of the priesthood was restricted to the tribe of Levi at Mount Sinai due to the transgressions of the Wilderness Generation. God did not intend it to be this way.
The complete imbalance of religious influence revealed in this study is merely statistical proof of the great responsibility borne by the Father. Our humanity bears the imprint of God the Father.
The complete imbalance of religious influence revealed in this study is merely statistical proof of the great responsibility borne by the Father. Our humanity bears the imprint of God the Father.
(1) Population Studies No. 31, Volume 2; The Demographic Characteristics of National Minorities in Certain European States, ed. Werner Haug, Paul Compton, and Youssef Courbage, published by the Council of Europe Directorate General III, Social Cohesion, Strasbourg, January 2000.
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