According to the Internet Archive [*See here*](https://archive.org/details/AdviceToParents/mode/2up) , which offers a modern version of a booklet entitled "Advice to Parents" by St. Alphonsus Liguori: > This exceptional booklet was created from a sermon given by the great Saint Alphonsus Liguori, founder of the Redemptorist Order, Bishop, and Doctor of the Church. In it he expounds on the privilege and responsibilities of parenthood as a special vocation from God. He backs up his statements with quotes from Scripture.. Saint Alphonsus Liguori makes two specific points in his text. In the first, how important it is to bring up children in habits of virtue; and, second, the care and diligence a parent should extend to bring their children up well. QUESTION: Does anyone know the whereabouts of the aforementioned sermon on which this booklet is based? And/or, can anyone point me to an older version of the said booklet? Thank you.

*This Q is appealing to each and every of the 35,000+ individual denominations of Christianity, and even those non-denominational sects who perhaps glibly adhere to biblical principles.* Q. If every word of scripture is true, trustworthy, and inspired, (2Tim 3:16) why does Proverbs say this when this didn't work out for even God himself? Pro 22:6 ESV >Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old **he will not depart from it.** And yet... Isa 1:2-4 NLT >**2** Listen, O heavens! Pay attention, earth! This is what the LORD says: "**The children I raised and cared for have rebelled against me.** **3** Even an ox knows its owner, and a donkey recognizes its master's care--but Israel doesn't know its master. My people don't recognize my care for them." **4** Oh, what a sinful nation they are--loaded down with a burden of guilt. **They are evil people, corrupt children who have rejected the LORD.** They have despised the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him. This isn't even an isolated incident, it was a recurring theme throughout the Bible: Eze 20:17-18, 21 NLT >**17** Nevertheless, I took pity on them and held back from destroying them in the wilderness. **18** "Then I warned their children not to follow in their parents' footsteps, defiling themselves with their idols. > >**21** "**But their children, too, rebelled against me**. They refused to keep my decrees and follow my regulations, even though obedience would have given them life. And they also violated my Sabbath days. So again I threatened to pour out my fury on them in the wilderness.* Are godly parents really expected to experience this promise from Proverbs with their own children, when God couldn't even keep his own children on the straight and narrow? And if you are one of those who simply write it off as a "general" rule, not to be applied to all godly parents, yet, wouldn't it—at the very least—be applied to GOD himself as the ultimate Parent? I am looking for those with adept scriptural perception as to *how and why* a godly parent—one who pleases God— would not receive this promise of seeing their children endure to the end in faith. Thank you. *I was expecting more people to use actual scripture passages about rearing children correctly or parent/child relationships with logical interpretations to answer this. Instead, I seem to be getting criticism for taking Biblical promises too seriously.*

The so-called "right to privacy" is a hot-button issue in many modern societies, and within that discussion, the question of a *child's* right to privacy is often raised. Christians take positions in the debate, and at least sometimes point to the Bible to make their case. Evangelical author Edward T. Welch writes: > Scripture seems to lean in the direction of rejecting the concept of privacy in the parent-child relationship. ([*Addictions*](https://books.google.com/books?id=racGAAAACAAJ) , 95) Welch doesn't provide any explicit biblical support for this claim, so my question is: **what is the biblical basis against the idea of a child's right to privacy in relation to their parents?** Here I am talking about children who are legal minors living with their parents, and I'm specifically asking about their privacy within the parent-child relationship. The question of a child's privacy within the church or society at large is a separate issue. I'm also focusing on the question of a *right* to privacy, not whether it is biblical for parents to *give* their child privacy in certain situations.

I was just reading [this answer](https://christianity.stackexchange.com/a/53866/35508) which stated that a person could be Catholic without having gone through confirmation: Catholics recommend that this is done to infants. 1 If that is the case, that a Catholic baptism alone makes a person a Catholic, and if they are generally baptized as such as infants, it would stand to reason that there would be many people who may be technically considered Catholic by no choice or even memory of their own. Is that actually the case? So, if a person were baptized Catholic as an infant, for instance, perhaps lost his parents or was adopted, and then later grew up not knowing this, if this fact were somehow brought to his attention and those of the Catholic assembly, would they be considered Catholic, up to such point that the person intentionally renounced this? As a follow up question, if this is actually the case, are there some people who the Catholic Church believes to somehow have a better standing with God, from childhood, through no thought or action of their own? If it's not up to the child, and if it does bestow some favor, then would there be any reason not to try to force every child into this if the opportunity arises? If not, is it withheld to punish the child for the sake of the parents' choices? **Citation:** 1. http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/1250.htm

There's this article about narcissists, written from a Christian perspective, ending with claims about how ACONS can honor their nparents . One is: > We honor them by insisting that they get the professional help that they need, before they have anymore contact with us & our family members. **Question: Would the Catholic Church agree with that?** What I tried: Google shows a lot of articles about Catholicism/Christianity and narcissism, but I don't know which ones are (Catholic and) official/officially endorsed. Note: This may extends to abusive parents in general, whether or not they are narcissists. I think it would be a good partial answer to answer in the general case. Maybe it's not really different from the specific case of narcissists, hehe. --- **ETA 1**: Based on the now deleted Mormon answer provided (by JBH, iirc), it seems the answer is likely. (**Update**: See the Mormon answer .) > In general, yes, but the precise actions to be taken during estrangement or steps to be taken to become estranged or, in the first place, whether or not to become estranged must be decided with advice from a religious or mental health professional/s such as priests, psychologists, psychiatrists, etc. Or simply > Probably yes, but definitely seek professional advice. My guess then is that this question instead falls under a broader range of questions to which the answer is either of the above. What range of questions could this be? I'm thinking now of some church document or section entitled 'On matters pertaining to mental health, etc' --- **ETA 2**: Guess we're not ready for Catholicism SE (unlike how we've been ready for statistics SE and how we might be ready for operations research SE ) > I'm disappointed that none of our Catholic participants have been able to contribute an answer. Even a link to a Catholic social services organization would have helped.

Same question as [here](https://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/46565) but Mormon instead of Catholic. --- **Edit**: Okay fine I'll try to make this self-contained. There's this article about narcissists, written from a Christian perspective, ending with claims about how ACONS can honor their nparents . One is: > We honor them by insisting that they get the professional help that they need, before they have anymore contact with us & our family members. Would the LDS/Mormon Church agree with that? Google (probably) shows a lot of articles about LDS/Mormon Church and narcissism, but I didn't bother to check because I already checked for Catholicism and narcissism, and someone in the other question has an answer for the LDS/Mormon Church. More context: Based on the deleted Mormon answer provided (by JBH, iirc) [in the other post](https://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/46565) , it seems the answer is likely > In general, yes, but the precise actions to be taken during estrangement (**EDIT**: the estrangement is not necessarily permanently/forever) or steps to be taken to become estranged or, in the first place, whether or not to become estranged must be decided with advice from a religious or mental health professional/s such as priests, psychologists, psychiatrists, etc. Or simply > Probably yes, but definitely seek professional advice. My guess then is that this question instead falls under a broader range of questions to which the answer is either of the above. What range of questions could this be? I'm thinking now of some church document or section entitled 'On matters pertaining to mental health, etc'

Recently I shared [Francis's tips for being a good father](https://aleteia.org/2015/03/20/pope-franciss-7-tips-for-being-a-good-father/) , but my atheist friends do not consider Pope as authority as I do and are asking what is pope's expertise with parenthood? By expertise I mean education or work with children, child psychologists, psychiatrists. I read [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Francis) but found nothing relevant. I also know about [Our Father](http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2018/03/10/our-father-reflections-on-lords-prayer-by-pope-francis.html) book but it will not be strong evidence for Pope's experience by my friends. What I did for now was to explain that author is irrelevant and one should reason about content, not about author.

Every so often, I read about Christian parents choosing faith healing over conventional medicine for their sick children, in some cases with lethal results. This usually results in the parents being convicted of either severe neglect or manslaughter. (Rightfully so, in my opinion) I know there are several accounts of miraculous healing mentioned in the Bible, and I don't see a problem with prayer _in addition_ to medicine, but **what is the justification for opting to rely on prayer alone?** Is the answer different when it's an adult making the choice for themselves rather than for their child?

Catholics in India, for the last few generations, have been following a unique practice of naming their children. The children are invariably given the baptismal name after a saint; but once they enter school, many children are given Indian names which hardly have any resemblance to the baptismal name, and which eventually become their official name. Many of such official names owe their origin to names of natural forces like sun, light, wind etc. and of objects like precious stones , flowers etc. I would like to know whether Catholic Church has issued instructions, at any point of time, on how Catholic couples should name their children on baptism and thereafter.

I'm wondering about the sinfulness of women, particularly mothers, working outside the home. Perhaps 1 Timothy 5:8 could be understood to mean that only the husband is to provide for the family: > Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. > > [1 Timothy 5:8 NIV](http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Timothy%205:8&version=NIV) What is the biblical basis for a woman, particularly a mother, working outside the home?

Some people might claim that a wife must do what her husband says in every situation and they will site the Bible as it being the Divine order of things. It does seem that the Bible gives authority to fathers over their wives and children but to what extent? What does the Bible say about the father's authority over the wife and the children?

Reading 1 Samuel 2:12 et seq, one could say that Eli is treated the same way as his wicked sons, although he tried to dissuade them from doing their sins. Generally speaking, are parents today responsible/accountable for the sins of their (adult, if it makes a difference) children? More than they are in common for their surrounding to tell the gospel?

Is there any instance in the Bible in which: 1. Parents lied to children, and 2. God approved of it? There is an instance in 1 Kings 22:22 in which the Lord is said to put a lying spirit in the mouths of the prophets, but that appears to be God -> spirit -> deceive a king, which seems different from parent/child relationships.

Specifically when it comes to a parent disciplining their children or husband disciplining his wife - it seems there has been a lot of talk about both and I'm curious what different denominations and the Bible has to say on the topic. - Is corporal punishment/discipline ever OK? - Is corporal punishment/discipline from a parent to a child OK? - Is corporal punishment/discipline between a husband and his wife OK?

In https://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/774/what-does-the-bible-say-about-bad-words a comment was made that "I cuss in all the (two) languages I speak fluently. It's just my upbringing, and we should honor our parents, right?" > **[Exodus 20:12 NIV](http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+20%3A12&version=NIV)**
> 12 "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in > the land the LORD your God is giving you." Ephesians 6:4 tells us parents to not lead our children into sin, but to train and instruct them in the way of the Lord. > **[Ephesians 6:4 NIV](http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+6%3A4&version=NIV)** > 4 Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in > the training and instruction of the Lord. If we disobey our parents and do not sin as they have taught us, are we sinning by disobeying them?

Proverbs 13:24 (NIV) teaches us that: > 24 Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them. I realize child abuse is a serious matter, and spanking is in some areas considered child abuse. In US society and maybe others, it seems to be a real fear that if you spank your children, you could lose them to social services. So how do Christians discipline their children as the Bible instructs in today's society?