Children can’t be disciples so they can’t be Christians either Essay

In this piece of coursework l am going to give reasons both for and against why children can’t be disciples, and so they can’t be Christians either. Many people don’t know what age children turn into adults. So when l am talking about children l will regard them as any age up until 16 years old.  I believe that in ‘baptism we are called’ and ‘by confirmation we are sent.’ When we are called to be baptised we are being called to join God’s family and to be a disciple, as we are asked to be a follower of God and his teachings. As children we start our journeys of faith at our baptisms, therefore we are learning about God and his teaching making us become disciples. We learn about moral behaviour, which will later influence us on our adult lives and also through reading and church. We can learn to be more confident and stand up to peer pressure and what we believe in.  But however other people agree that if you want to be a true disciple you must give up a lot (cost) and follow what Jesus told us to do. But you don’t have a lot to give up at such a young age in life. The church states that children reach the full age of reason at 7 years old and so it could be at that age that they could fully understand they’re beliefs for the church more clearly and maybe give up pocket money or sweets to follow to be a disciple. Children can’t do that as they can’t preach and teach as Jesus had asked his disciples to do. Instead children can pray, give to charity and learn about there Christian responsibilities. It shows that children do take care in their faith, by many saints that are disciples at a young age. There was Saint Bernadette; she was only 14 when Our Lady first appeared to her. And there was Saint thersa of Liseux she was 15 when she entered the convent and Jesus was only 12 when he began teaching in the temple. Although the saints were only children when they became disciples, they were not scared of their faith, and they believed in it.  In Mark 10:13-16 it shows Jesus telling the disciples to let the children come to him, not to stop them, as they belong to the kingdom of God. There are many things that we can do in school to be a good disciple such as: help with assemblies, charity work, Bible reading etc. Most people don’t want to do these things as children can become embarrassed about they’re faith, but in the end they feel good.  I disagree with the heading. I believe that anyone, even children can be disciples as long as they can commit themselves to God, through prayer, mass etc. I myself don’t attend church as much as l should. But l hope one-day l will. After all the ‘seeds of today are the flowers of tomorrow.’ As the seeds grow so does our faith.