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How does belief in “naïve foolishness” (stage 1) contradict the idea of childhood innocence?
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Our culture leads us to believe that we are born basically good and that our parents, environment, friends, experiences, and biology bend us toward woundedness, trauma, and hurting ourselves and other people. In the end, these influences can lead to insight and healing, but often culture turns this into a blame game where excuses and all other kinds of sin are pardoned because it’s just not our fault.
The Bible teaches that we are all, if not guilty of sin, bent towards sin from birth. There is something in our nature that is immediately broken and trending towards sin and foolishness. There’s nothing we can do in and of ourselves to stop this ‘trend.’ However, the Good News is wisdom personified. It is the cure, the prevention, the ultimate, and ongoing solution to foolishness within us. -
Naive foolishness lines up with the Biblical teaching that we are all born with a sin nature. That nature draws us away rather than towards God. Psalms 58:3 says, “The wicked are estranged from the womb; These who speak lies go astray from birth.”
From the time of birth, we are inclined to operate in a way that moves us away from God. Compare that to childhood innocence where the unfortunate circumstances of life shape or define the child’s behavior. In other words, that child was not selfish from the beginning, but became this way due to their particular life situation. -
Childhood innocence is explained that we are born good and wounded by trauma and are helpless victims of others. The Bible teaches that we are born bent away from God and bound to foolishness. It is my choices that lead me away from God, not others fault.
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According to the Bible we are foolish and inclined towards wickedness away from God from when we are born. This is just natural and inherent, every child knows what he wants, and it doesn’t include God. Thus, there is no childhood innocence.
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We generally feel children are innocence as they have yet to learn what the world is like.. However, navie foolishness indicates that even before the children realize, there is the natural energy driving the children to seek for experiences or acts that will satisfy their longings. It may be as simple as crying will get them attention, have the diapers changed and being feed.