Seeking Christian, Biblical Perspective on "The 39 Clues"

Hi T. - you might consider doing a web search on the books looking for different Christian media reviews of the series. Focus on the Family does book reviews on their website. Read one of the books first yourself to get a comfort level - it doesnt sound like they take long to read. You could also discuss with her teacher about alternatives if you dont allow her to participate and if she will be the only child on a different course.

If you allow her to participate, perhaps consider reading the books along with her so that you can discuss areas that concern you or set up a teachable moment.

There are a lot of great books out there that are written by people who are atheists or that have themes contrary to a Christian worldview. It doesnt mean that they shouldnt be read. Voltaire, Camut, Sartre and Rand are prime examples. The important thing is to discuss with your child what she is reading and help her to build the skills she needs to analyze and compare what she is reading to her belief system. The Bible itself is full of stories of people whose ultimate quest was for power.

Taking her out of the program is a ridiculous idea in my opinion especially since she can opt out of this particular material.

I would go in and ask the teacher. Have questions prepared and see if there are teacher materials that go with the game that you can review. But please keep in mind that even a game about the "ultimate quest for power" can be a strong teaching moment if while at home you discuss the nature of true power and the issue of seeking earthly power within a religious worldview. Because your daughter is gifted I'm sure she will appreciate discussions such as these (as long as you are not simply lecturing to her) and it may even enhance her learning experience in ways you don't expect.

Do you trust the school and the teacher's judgment? I went to a Catholic school and was excited, when at that age, we did reports on other religions. It let me see other points of view and ask questions. I later found out that the information we got on those religions was minimal, and it made me feel like things were being hidden from me.
It doesn't sound like this program is against any religious beliefs. I always think that it is a good idea for children to be allowed to explore and question any beliefs. You should be able to be open and honest in your discussions with them, and it might even create some great conversations.

T.,

I am not familiar with this program but just checked out an extensive description of it on Wikipedia. Here is the link. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_39_Clues You might want to investigate this link.

From my cursory observation, I would be very, very concerned about allowing a ten-year-old to participate in this. Although I think it is useful for children to learn various perspectives, this seems to be a world-view changing, experientially based activity that would overwhelm the critial faculties of young people such as your daughter.

I have some knowledge about issues like this - my marriage dissolved as a result of my former husband's occult activities, so I have done some research on these issues. I cannot tell you strongly enough how important it is to keep your young children away from very addictive and very toxic stuff like this.

There are sufficient elements of the occult suggested in just the surface description of the books, cards, video games and audio archives involved, it plus the fact that the entire program is obviously very carefully orchestrated, to make me concerned that it might be a Luciferian mind-programming endeavor. (Not to mention expensive.) And, there are sufficient, apparently very carefully organized multi-media experiential components to suggest that you could be dealing with something very time- and energy-consuming, world-view-changing, and destructive, comparable to Dungeons and Dragons.

If your daughter were my child, I would remove her from the gifted program if she is required to participate in this activity. If this sort of activity is promoted heavily in your school, I would consider pulling her out of the public school and either home schooling or putting her in a private school.

Given the apparent nature of this activity and the youth and impressionability of your daughter, I would be very, very, very hesitant to allow her to participate in this.

Good luck.

Hmm. I read the first book myself (there are 6-7 in the series now) and was excited about the series, thinking my 9-year-old daughter would really enjoy it. I thought that solving the puzzle with the cards and online would be a blast and it will probably be a really fun classroom activity.

I don't recall anything concerning in the book so far as religion goes. The kids are orphaned and their caretaking aunt dies, so they have to deal with that. There is some attempted violence against the kids (the house they are in is set on fire, there is an explosion at another location), but the peril seemed OK in this context. There is a 'chosen ancestral line' in this fictional book, but I didn't find that threatening to religion. No indications in Book 1 as to the source of this ultimate power, so I don't know if that would be a concern to you. But given the events in the book, its hard to believe a balanced child would find it real and adopt it as doctrine. Its a quick read -- probably take you two hours and would be fun. My daughter was thrilled when I actually read a book series she was really excited about; it could be good mother-daughter bonding time.