A church choir entertains faithful: It helps to have a family business leader have some faith in a supreme being. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
Ongoing talk on godless parenting may have been an issue of concern to some leaders of family business, especially those who have strong religious leanings and whose own children are either supporters or initiators of this movement.
They should find comfort in the fact that free thinking is generally attractive for young, rich and healthy individuals; it rarely stands up to real crisis, dilemmas and life-threatening situations that reveal glaring realities of human frailty.
Then The Lord came and stood and called us at the previous times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel answered, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” The Lord said to Samuel, “Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will ring. On that day I will carry out against Eli everything I have spoken concerning his house (family) from beginning to end.” Samuel 3:10-12
By 2010 the Flat Earth Society had 189 members in total some of whom, according to their website www.theflatearthsociety.org, truly believe that the idea of a spherical earth is a matter of human conjecture, with some asserting that it “goes against the Bible”.
This movement has existed for a long time and survived numerous efforts to disprove their theory going back to Hellenist astronomers in 6 BC and more recently Aristotle who concluded by observing the earth’s shadow on the moon that the earth was indeed spherical.
Those members who cannot, on account of their education and evidence of modern science, support the theory of a flat earth are part of the society so as to join other free thinkers in their quest to view the world in a different novel ways.
Unlike the declining numbers of Flat-Earthers, it cannot be denied that atheism is growing in popularity with a number of prominent individuals such as the Prime Minister of Greece Alexis Tsipras and Kenya’s very own, Dr Richard Leakey, counted among their ranks.
Research shows that the number of atheists in the USA has doubled since 1980 and that those who do not believe outnumber those who do in Norway.
However, just like the Flat Earth movement and other free-thinking initiatives, these beliefs are notoriously difficult to pass on to the next generation. A casual search for second generation atheists reveals two lists with a total of 11 people.
An inquiry by JT Eberhard searching for fellow second generation atheists on www.patheos.com on 14 June 2014 had no responses by September 2016, a clear indicator that such people are relatively rare.
Ongoing talk on godless parenting may have been an issue of concern to some leaders of family business, especially those who have strong religious leanings and whose own children are either supporters or initiators of this movement.
Such leaders may be anxious about the implications this trend may have on their grandchildren and subsequent generations.
They should find comfort in the fact that free thinking is generally attractive for young, rich and healthy individuals; it rarely stands up to real crisis, dilemmas and life-threatening situations that reveal glaring realities of human frailty.
Further, it is difficult to package and pass on to a questioning, younger generation that does not have the same world view as its parents.
Family business, like entrepreneurship in general is by its nature a spiritual undertaking. Even though leaders of family business may not overtly subscribe to any religion or religious group, the dangers, risks and pressures of daily operations in ventures that combine money, power and family relationships compel them to have faith in God.
Those who can, through great effort, convince themselves of the absence of divine power cannot prevent others, especially children, from having spiritual experiences.
It takes a great amount of effort, time and energy to develop plausible arguments against the existence of divine power in the universe.
Because such resources are only available to those who have excess cash, just enough education and also happen to be in good health, this is, in most cases the pursuit of young, impressionable and well-to-do individuals seeking intellectual stimulation.
Even though the typical head of family ventures may be much better resourced, the nature of family business and their hardships drives them to believing in a God who can keep everything in balance, if for no other reason than for them to retain a semblance of sanity.
Those who do have such a foundation imagine that they themselves are the God and, in due course, demand worship.
Some children have specially tuned spiritual ears that can discern divine messages. Parents who understand this capacity, even though they may lack it themselves, guide their children towards paying attention to such communication.
Those who do not, believing that it does not exist, attempt to deafen their children and by doing so, rob themselves of potentially life-saving information.
Mr Mutua is a Humphrey Fellow, leadership development consultant
