A woman explained to a class why she was becoming a Buddist. "I was raised as a Christian," she said with a smile. " But I never learned the religion of my ancestors. Buddhism is my heritage." I felt pity for her. Her Christian upbringing must never have touched her heart.
We are warned in scripture against the dangers of basing beliefs on ancestors. "Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith..." 1 Timothy 1:4).
This does not mean we should not know our personal history, because the Bible itself gives us the genealogy of the Hebrew nation and Jesus' human family line (Mathew 1:1-17; the books of Numbers and Chronicles).
But, we do not believe because our ancestors believed, or because our grandparents or parents believed, though we may learn from watching them (Hebrew 13:7-8). We believe because God has put faith in our hearts and called us to himself (Hebrews 12:1-3; Ephesians 2:8-10; Romans 1:1-6; 1 Corinthians 1:2, 24-25).
