Christmas Letter: Returned

Yesterday, I received in the mail a returned Christmas letter. It was from the ex-wife of a childhood friend who was writing to let me know that they were no longer married and he therefore no longer lived at the address. She also pulled back the curtains on their relationship...Apparently he had gotten two different women pregnant and also beat her up some before the divorce. I guess what scares me is that this guy grew up in a pastor's home. How do you grow up one way and then end up in a totally different place? It makes me scared for my own kids. How do I raise them in such a way that I transmit my values to them in a way that isn't overbearing? I know for this guy conservative Christianity was jammed down his throat -- maybe that's the problem. But to let a child simply choose their own path seems a bit too simplistic! I have a sneaking suspicion that this parenting thing isn't as easy as I thought it was before I had my own kids!