“That’s how I was raised to believe.”

This is a dangerous statement.

Sure, the thing you were raised to believe may be right and good, but if you can’t articulate why you agree with that which you were raised to believe, you’re going to be in trouble.

My grandmother is convinced that people must clean their plate every time they eat. She gets upset with me when I stop eating because I am full and have met the limit of calories I have determined (through research & study) are healthy for me to consume. She says, “Josh, you have to clean your plate!” “Why grandma?” “Because, my daddy told me to clean my plate. That is how I was raised.”

I recently met with a young couple (not married) who live together. The young woman of the couple has tension about the decision to share a bed. When asked why she has tension about the current living arrangement, she confides that she was raised to believe that it is wrong.

For most of it’s history, America has embraced christianity. The typical answer given for why people are christians….”that’s what I was raised to believe.”

Now, I embrace the orthodox teachings of christianity. I believe they are right and good. I believe that the death & resurrection of Jesus offer the only real hope in this world.

Yet, let’s be clear, I don’t just believe this because that is what I was raised to believe. I have dug into my beliefs. I have asked tough questions. I have stretched and challenged my faith, and I now know why I believe what I believe. I can articulate it.

If you’re best answer for why you embrace a belief is “that’s how I was raised,” you are going to have problems. You will find that your beliefs don’t hold a lot of water.

When you face a period of trial, “that’s how I was raised” will be empty.

When someone confronts you about your beliefs, and the only defense for your positions is, “that is what I was raised to believe,” your only recourse will be to plug your ears and hum.

When faced with a decision where economics collide with faith, you will chose economics, because “that’s how I was raised” doesn’t have any power of economics.

When your kids are asking you why you do the things you do, or say the things you say, and your only answer is, “that’s how I was raised to believe,” you will have nothing to offer anyone but dogma, and dogma destroys.

Reject dogma. Find better answers for your beliefs.

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