Many people state that the reason that they are members of their religious group is due to the fact that their parents were members of that group.  While we should definitely follow our parents’ example if it is in accordance with the will of God, should we do so if our parents belong or have belonged to a particular religious group that practices unscriptural worship?  Let us consider the biblical examples of Noah, Abraham, and Ruth in the contemplation of this question. 

           
            First, Noah did not follow his parents’ religious example, for if he had, he would have ended up dying in the flood.  In Genesis 6, we are told the state of man on the earth at the time of Noah and how that “it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart” (v.6).  We know from Genesis 5:30 that Lamech, Noah’s father, lived five hundred ninety-five more years after Noah was born, and Noah was six hundred years old when the flood waters came upon the earth (Genesis 7:6), so we can deduct that Lamech died five years before the flood happened.  In Genesis 6:8, the Scripture states that “Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord;” therefore, we can reason that although Lamech was upon the earth at this time, God did not have the same grace for him as he did for Noah. 

            Second, let’s take a look at Abraham.  In Genesis 12:1, we are told that the Lord told Abram (later known as Abraham)  “…Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:”  Archaeological excavations of Abraham’s hometown, Ur, confirm that the inhabitants of that city were idol worshippers and were not followers of the one true God. According to the Mishneh Abraham’s father Terah was not only a worshipper of idols; he was also an idol maker.  One of the idols he would have served was an idol to the god Marduk (as is seen here in the picture).  If Abraham had followed his family’s example in religion, neither he nor his descendants would have been blessed by God as they were, and he would have been going against God’s will.  When we are contemplating whether or not to follow our family’s religious example, we need to consider seriously if we are following God’s will first and for most.

            Lastly, what about Ruth, the Moabitess who left her homeland in order to go with her mother-in-law Naomi back to Bethlehem?  In Ruth 1:16, Ruth told Naomi that “…thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:”  Ruth was willing to leave the religion of her family, the worship of Chemosh and other such false gods, in order to follow the one true God that Naomi worshipped.  Ruth was even willing to endure possible mistreatment by the Jews in order to take care of her beloved mother-in-law and to do what was right in regard to religion.

            In conclusion, let us consider these biblical examples when we are considering whether or not we should follow our family’s religious ideas.  The most important question that we should ask ourselves is are we doing the will of God in what we do?  If we keep that question foremost in our minds and look to the Scriptures to assess whether or not we are doing what God would have us to do, then, we cannot go wrong.