My five year old son wants to know...

[ironwasp]

We have recently become friends with a family who moved into our village. The father, Miles, is a non-practicing, not especially reliogious Jew. We are largely non practicing, not especially religious Christians.

After extensive questioning about various belief systems - "so Miles doesn't believe in Jesus, and we do..." - he says: "What if he's right and we're wrong?"

Anyone got an answer for that that will satisfy the world's most inquisitorial kid?

 

[gomezcat]

You could tell him that you both believe in the same God who rewards children who are well-behaved. I'll see if Her Highness has an answer to the other bit; she is half-Jewish and half-"Anglican" so she probably asked her parents these questions when growing up.

 

[Mike the Brit]

We have recently become friends with a family who moved into our village. The father, Miles, is a non-practicing, not especially reliogious Jew. We are largely non practicing, not especially religious Christians.

After extensive questioning about various belief systems - "so Miles doesn't believe in Jesus, and we do..." - he says: "What if he's right and we're wrong?"

Anyone got an answer for that that will satisfy the world's most inquisitorial kid?

We're none of us right about everything all the time -- not even your father!

What really matters is to try our best to get things right and to be honest about our mistakes. If God is really kind and loving, as we think he is, then he surely won't be angry with us if Miles is right or angry with Miles if we are right -- just so long as we have been honest with ourselves and open-minded in what we believe.

 

[ironwasp]

We're none of us right about everything all the time -- not even your father!

What really matters is to try our best to get things right and to be honest about our mistakes. If God is really kind and loving, as we think he is, then he surely won't be angry with us if Miles is right or angry with Miles if we are right -- just so long as we have been honest with ourselves and open-minded in what we believe.

That's a good answer. Whether it satisfies Paddy or not, I don't know, I doubt it, but it makes a lot of sense to me. I think the trick is, the next time he asks about this stuff, I offer to play cricket with him. Or buy him a packet of fruit pastilles. Take his mind off it.

 

[Mike the Brit]

That's a good answer. Whether it satisfies Paddy or not, I don't know, I doubt it, but it makes a lot of sense to me. I think the trick is, the next time he asks about this stuff, I offer to play cricket with him. Or buy him a packet of fruit pastilles. Take his mind off it.

You could always tell him that he'd better pray that Miles isn't right because in that case he'd have to have a bit of his willy cut off ...

 

[PatsFanInVa]

You could always tell him that he'd better pray that Miles isn't right because in that case he'd have to have a bit of his willy cut off ...

You know we only do that to level the playing field a bit, right?

I would sit him down, and tell him in a very reasonable tone of voice,

"Son, Miles is right."

Okay maybe not the advice you were looking for... in all seriousness, I like the "what kind of half-ass God gets mad if you follow the wrong doctrine" answer.

You do realize though, if he goes to church or sunday school, you may have to deal w/an "official" statement that's in conflict with your own. We do deny Christ, after all.

Eh well. Forewarned is foreskinned, or however the expression goes.

PFnV

 

[Mike the Brit]

You do realize though, if he goes to church or sunday school, you may have to deal w/an "official" statement that's in conflict with your own. We do deny Christ, after all.

PFnV

No, this is the Church of England we're talking about.

I recently visited York Minster (wonderful place, wonderful town, by the way) and, in the exhibition in the Treasury, they included objects from the Remonstrant community (that is, the Catholics, like the famous York boy, Guy Fawkes, who conspired for the overthrow of the monarchy and the restoration of Catholicism).

The C of E has its evangelical homophobes (and a few thurible-swinging Anglo-Catholics) but, for the most part, it is the most inclusive religious organization you could hope to find (I don't think any of them sit shiva when someone "marries out").

 

[nukin]

You know we only do that to level the playing field a bit, right?
...

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhahahaha.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

No, this is the Church of England we're talking about.

I recently visited York Minster (wonderful place, wonderful town, by the way) and, in the exhibition in the Treasury, they included objects from the Remonstrant community (that is, the Catholics, like the famous York boy, Guy Fawkes, who conspired for the overthrow of the monarchy and the restoration of Catholicism).

The C of E has its evangelical homophobes (and a few thurible-swinging Anglo-Catholics) but, for the most part, it is the most inclusive religious organization you could hope to find (I don't think any of them sit shiva when someone "marries out").

Remember, remember, the fifth of November...

Right on then, if C of E is broad minded on the subject, the only trick is to make sure you back him up when faced with the "local" loonies (just as a good yiddishe boy has to be reminded, that tearing the sleeve and declaring premature death is a little dated, regardless of how many good movie scenes come of it.)

PFnV

 

[Harry Boy]

Tell your child to go out into the yard on a starlit evening and "Look Up" then you quietly say to him "Somebody or something made all this but I don't know what It's name or his name or her name is, it Could be Jesus, God or even Harry.
:bricks:

 

[Miss Gomezcat]

Seeing as my mother is an anglican and my father jewish, Mr G Cat asked me if I had asked a similar question as a child. I couldn't remember. We went for lunch to my parents on Saturday and he asked the same question to my mother. "Oh, I don't think they asked anything so profound" came the reply. Ho hum. And I thought I was a genius child .

I do remember that at about six years old, my solution to the pick your own religion instruction was that I would be a Christian as that way I would believe in God like my Dad and also in Jesus like my Mum and therefore keep both of them happy. I'm not sure what this says about me as neither of them was hyper-critical or given to emotional blackmail.

In the end I'm an agnostic as I have yet to find proof that, as I suspect, God simply isn't.

 

[Real World]

You know we only do that to level the playing field a bit, right?

I would sit him down, and tell him in a very reasonable tone of voice,

"Son, Miles is right."

Okay maybe not the advice you were looking for... in all seriousness, I like the "what kind of half-ass God gets mad if you follow the wrong doctrine" answer.

You do realize though, if he goes to church or sunday school, you may have to deal w/an "official" statement that's in conflict with your own. We do deny Christ, after all.

Eh well. Forewarned is foreskinned, or however the expression goes.

PFnV

We call it the sleeve. Some people have wear long sleeves, some go sleeveless.

 

[ironwasp]

Some good advice here. Mercifully it hasn't come up again, but it's only a matter of time.

I like the idea of telling him that a kind and loving God will not matter too much either way. I like Harry's idea too, which is rare, and therefore a little worrying.

Part of me likes the idea of bringing him up within a religious tradition and leaning on the ethical system it provides, but in reality this is unlikely. We just try to help them see the difference between right and wrong and bring them up to be good people.

 

[jct]

We have recently become friends with a family who moved into our village. The father, Miles, is a non-practicing, not especially reliogious Jew. We are largely non practicing, not especially religious Christians.

After extensive questioning about various belief systems - "so Miles doesn't believe in Jesus, and we do..." - he says: "What if he's right and we're wrong?"

Anyone got an answer for that that will satisfy the world's most inquisitorial kid?

Jesus was a Jew.
He came to save the jewish people.
He prayed to;"our father who art in heaven..."
Descartes said believing in God is a Zero sum bet...
If your wrong you loose nothing.
If your right you get salvation.
There are no athiests in Foxholes.
God is beyond our comprehension and imagination,
what is important is that we live moral and creative lives.

Pick and choose what you like and/or agree with...