With a woman to look at culture from a Christian worldview, I'm John Stone's tree with a point.

Several years ago, a New York Times headline read,

"'Is your child lying to you? That's good.'

Parents said the author shouldn't be upset about their young fibres because studies show

that kids who lie are more intelligent and more socially adept than those who don't.

For children who aren't quite so good at lying, parents can actually speed up the process

through training. If, as the author claims, lying's good for your brain, and the sooner the

kids start, the better. Okay, I wish I were making that up, but I'm not. The author's arguments

fully consistent with a worldview that sees cognitive ability as the highest quality we should

value and cultivate in kids, but cognitive intelligence isn't the only kind. There's also

moral intelligence, knowing what's right and what's wrong, and existing in a morally charged

universe. And there's also a relational intelligence, knowing how best to live in relationship with

others, and to do so for their good and not just our own."

But never forget, studies and research are never neutral. They're loaded with worldview.

The Colson Center on John Stomstree.