What The Bible Says About Parenting Biblical Principle For Raising Godly Children

Obviously when a parent reads a book on parenting there will be aspects and opinions that are not always agreed with. I am not finished with the book so I will only review what I have read so far. I am in chapter 4 and still reading, that's good! If I don't like the beginning of a book, I won't read it! First, what I do not agree with; In chapter 2 he mentions that some parents are extreme in their efforts to protect their children from sexual material, that if we, as parents, do not allow our kids some sort of knowledge of sex, that in their sinful nature will conjure up their own ideas of it. He uses the idea of historical art; that we shouldn't keep them from it, but allow them to see it, as art but using it as an opportunity to teach our children. I am an artist, I am a Christian, I do not agree that nudity in any art, modern or historical, can be considered art. I feel that nudity in historical art is just older forms of pornography. I do agree that children need to be informed about sex, body parts and their functions, but allowing them to gaze at naked people in a painting so that I can seize the opportunity to enlighten my children is not the way I am going to approach that subject. I would not allow a movie with any nudity in my home, nor will I allow art with nudity. (By the way, he only makes mention of this subject, it is not a big portion of the book that he lingers on, I am merely passionate about it because I am reading this book with a couple girlfriends, they do not agree with me, I am alone in my [personal] conviction) Also, when he begins the book he uses extreme examples to bring across his point of how far off our society is from being just (Example: a man went to jail for 5 years for killing a dog, and a woman went to jail for 5 months for throwing her baby out a window)Not that that is wrong to use the extremes, but there is middle ground that I think more people could relate to and understand that maybe could have been better examples for making his point. Second, what I love; MacAthur is not slack in backing up his teaching with Scripture! I love it, so far, the best part! Chapter 3 is almost entirely all Scripture. You cannot argue Scripture, you can argue man's opinion, but not the Lords'!! MacArthur is doing a wonderful job at presenting a Godly view of parenting. My hope is that the things I disagree with, are disagreements because I cannot understand his tone in the way he presents his opinions or examples. I cannot hear the love in his voice through the pages, perhaps hearing this subject taught would be more affective than just reading it, so much is lost in black and white. God Bless him and his ministry, and God bless you as you read this book!

As a field missionary I urgently needed this book for guidance in using the Bible for parental counseling. This book is one of the best.

One of the best books I have read on parenting. I would say this is a must read for every parent. I have read a lot of books on parenting and this is top on my list. One thing I like is the author makes it clear that parenting is not about making sure you do a bunch of things right or his way. It is not about rules in parenting it is more about relationship and training.

We like that the book uses Scriptures to support childrearing methods.

This book broke my heart. I’m a lifelong Christian and new mother, and I’m also a psychiatrist. The book started off decent enough (although there were some questionable areas - in one section, John MacArthur basically condemns women who work outside of the home), but I tossed the book out after reading pages 86-87. I’m guessing John MacArthur has zero schooling in psychiatry (as evinced by his ignorant statements regarding mental illness and psychotropics), but he writes as if he has authority on the subject. He suggests that mental illness is “fake” and simply an excuse for misbehavior, and that medications are given in place of proper parental discipline. This couldn’t be further from the truth, and it’s so sad that well-meaning parents read and trust this hateful narrative, and perhaps will now avoid mental health services. Thanks for further stigmatizing mental health and spreading ignorance, John MacArthur.

Great, practical advice based solely on the Bible. Better than the parenting advice books that are solely based on "scientific" research. I wish I had read this a few years ago.

Still relevant today. I highlighted all these bible verses in my bible to teach them to my children. Thanks J-Mac!

Pastor MacArthur has written a great parenting book that is timeless because it is so focused on Scripture. Highly recommend to anyone wanting to know what is truly important in parenting and not just looking for the latest fad.

There are many books on parenting and there are still more to come onto the market, I am sure. (I plan to write one myself, God willing! Reading this is research!) Why is there such an insatiable demand for parenting advice? It is because parenting is hard for two reasons: (1) the values our culture buys in do not produce the kind of children we want at home, so we need to start from scratch in understanding the challenges of parenting before learning the solutions, and (2) there is resistance in our culture to acknowledge the time, attention and effort that parenting demands. A scientific approach may be appealing in this age of skepticism but raising children is fundamentally a value-laden endeavour as we seek to shape and mould children into whom we believe to be decent adults and citizens of the world. Ignoring this, we just have a toolbox of control and manipulating techniques that do not tame the wild hearts.John MacArthur is a faithful servant of God. He tells you what God tells us in His Word and he cannot tell you otherwise. This is his trademark and if you are seeking God’s counsel on the subject, then this is trustworthy source to go by. If you start from God, His truth has an internal logic that dictates its implications and applications, which you will find are counter-cultural. In fact, our culture gives them really bad names and caricatures. This is our battle, internal as well as external. This book will tell you the cost of following Christ in the home. How costly it looks to us reflects the distance the society has moved away from God’s teaching.John MacArthur defines what the parenting problems are according to the Word, and why and what we need to teach our children according to the Word. The principles are very simple and the resource is one – the Bible. But merging its teaching into our whole life is the challenge for many, but children are our goad. Their spiritual needs actually sanctify us as we seek to sanctify them.This may be a difficult read because it does not soften on our parental responsibilities at all. To fulfil them may demand some drastic lifestyle change and a lot of learning (the Bible) with our easy exits that we rely on to soften the impact blocked. It can be a painful wake up call to many, not just about the task of parenting but also about the state of our own faith walk. It is so daunting that it can get us despair! This is where I think John MacArthur could have done better in this book – which is to encourage parents along the line that where we fail, there is much grace, much more than sufficient!The other area that I think John MacArthur could have expanded a bit more to balance his view on feminism is that feminism has negative impact not only on women but also on men in fulfilling their godly roles at home. While women get more independent and dominating, a lot more men never grow up to take up the responsibility as godly men let alone the head of the family. Many men treat women appallingly and walk out on their family responsibilities because they can’t handle responsibilities. How many single parent families are headed by the mother? How many men are dodging child maintenance payments? Feminism produces not only strong women who do not want to stay at home to raise children but also wimpy men who are not dependable! The cultural war is waged on both sexes, not just on females.