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My son know it very early as we go to church for daily mass. He like and he start pray when he was by 3 years for his need.
When he got what he prayed he was excited and tell his grand parents that Jesus help me to get it. Now he know that God will give him what ever he wish and not all his prayers if its not good for him (which is what our belief too).
So it all depends on how your children grow up. If he is going to church or Sunday class regulatory then he will ask question the question very early and he will not ask you after he is 5 or 6 years old because he already know about it.
Hope this will answer your questions.
This is my own humble opinion
He/She is an imaginary friend for people who aren't able to deal with the problems in their life, and to help them make sense of those things they don't understand.
My son know it very early as we go to church for daily mass. He like and he start pray when he was by 3 years for his need.
When he got what he prayed he was excited and tell his grand parents that Jesus help me to get it. Now he know that God will give him what ever he wish and not all his prayers if its not good for him (which is what our belief too).
So it all depends on how your children grow up. If he is going to church or Sunday class regulatory then he will ask question the question very early and he will not ask you after he is 5 or 6 years old because he already know about it.
Hope this will answer your questions.
This is my own humble opinion
Jo
Thanks for the feedback.
what a terrible to teach kids though.......instead of hard work, just ask for it....
1. if you receive it, he gave it to you
2. if you don't receive it, it wasn't meant to be. it wasn't part of his plan.
you don't see that as a bit skewed?
If there's a divine plan as you implied, then praying or not praying (even if you're a believer) is not going to have an impact on the outcome as it is already decided....hence the 'divinity' of the plan!
I'd rather have kids learn that getting things requires hard work and dedication and compromise....That they need to 'figure out' how to get what they want, instead of always being able to to rely on things being handed to them, simply because they asked for it.
My children have asked about the Christian God, the Muslim God, and Hinduism. I don't tell them "That's wrong/imaginary/whatever." (I think that is pretty offensive.)
For small kids (mine are under 7), I tell them "Different people believe in different things. A lot of people believe there is a really powerful "person" who lives above the clouds and watches over them. They don't always agree on what rules that "person", called God, thinks we should follow to be good people, but they try to follow the rules they believe in. Other people believe that there are lots of special, powerful people that help out in one piece of your life or another. And some people believe that there aren't any special powerful people like that at all. I believe ______."
I pretty much have told our children this. My husband on the other hand is an atheist (I don't know what I am) and he has told them the whole myth, imaginary stuff.
We live in a very diverse community and I want my children to know that different people believe different things and not one way to believe is better than the other.
I've also told them I will teach them what I was taught and what their older brother and sister wer tsught and let them decide for themselves. They don't seem too interested in knowing.
To take this a bit further I have told them that Jesus was a very kind and smart man who lived many many years ago and some people think he was the son of god but we believe we are all special in our own way and we can learn how to live a good life by studying the teachings of many good smart men AND WOMEN who have lived before us.
I pretty much have told our children this. My husband on the other hand is an atheist (I don't know what I am) and he has told them the whole myth, imaginary stuff.
We live in a very diverse community and I want my children to know that different people believe different things and not one way to believe is better than the other.
I've also told them I will teach them what I was taught and what their older brother and sister wer tsught and let them decide for themselves. They don't seem too interested in knowing.
Thanks.
although i can appreciate teaching them about different beliefs that people have, i have a question about the bold area above:
Why isn't one way better than another? Why shouldn't children be taught that believing things based on 'evidence' and 'facts' is better than believing things without evidence?
I think one key thing is that faith involves believing in something you can't prove. If you can prove it, then you don't have faith, you are just being logical.
I highly agree that all children should be taught to evaluate evidence and facts, to weigh different types of sources, to THINK. I also think they should understand the difference between things that require evidence (science) versus things that don't (faith). For example, it does no good to have faith that the sky is green when evidence clearly proves that is not true.
I think that at age 3 or 5 (when a child will likely begin asking questions about God), they aren't old enough to understand those distinctions. I'm starting to teach D7 about evidence vs faith, but it will take time to be fully there. I will also teach all my kids about the basics of all the world religions, and, like no kudzu, let them decide as they are older what they want to believe.
I also think it is critical to teach children to be tolerant of the beliefs of others. It is one thing to argue facts, it is quite another to dismiss someone's beliefs. That is why I thought your initial way of putting it was offensive, as the tone appears to be passing judgment on someone else's beliefs.
We can't prove or disprove God or a god. It's all based on our beliefs that one (or more) exist or don't. Tell your kids what you think, but do it in a way that encourages tolerance. You will be amazed at how judgmental a small child can be of someone who is different or thinks differently.
it's a little early to be thinking about this as ours are only 1 (tomorrow! ) but i was wondering the other day......i'm sure they'll come home one day and say 'daddy, what is god? i heard someone say 'oh my god...etc."
the proper answer i think would be to say "god is just an imaginary friend for grown ups. they're scared of dying, so they created an imaginary friend to protect them" but I'm wondering how the society/friends/teachers would treat them if they were to repeat that to others.
I would think it won't be for another 5 or 6 years before this question comes up....but i was wondering if you all can share your experience with your little ones and how you went about it.
thanks
I've thought about this question a lot since my mother is religious and intends to proseltyze to my daughter, so I'm not there yet either. I think I will tell her that the concept of God is the embodiment of love. That love is the source of all things good and various groups of people have different ways of honoring and celebrating love. Some assign human attributes in this space for a more intimate and personal understanding. And some don't, like us. Any discussion of negatives I'll try to deal with as they come! Or something.
I think one key thing is that faith involves believing in something you can't prove. If you can prove it, then you don't have faith, you are just being logical.
I highly agree that all children should be taught to evaluate evidence and facts, to weigh different types of sources, to THINK. I also think they should understand the difference between things that require evidence (science) versus things that don't (faith). For example, it does no good to have faith that the sky is green when evidence clearly proves that is not true.
I think that at age 3 or 5 (when a child will likely begin asking questions about God), they aren't old enough to understand those distinctions. I'm starting to teach D7 about evidence vs faith, but it will take time to be fully there. I will also teach all my kids about the basics of all the world religions, and, like no kudzu, let them decide as they are older what they want to believe.
I also think it is critical to teach children to be tolerant of the beliefs of others. It is one thing to argue facts, it is quite another to dismiss someone's beliefs. That is why I thought your initial way of putting it was offensive, as the tone appears to be passing judgment on someone else's beliefs.
We can't prove or disprove God or a god. It's all based on our beliefs that one (or more) exist or don't. Tell your kids what you think, but do it in a way that encourages tolerance. You will be amazed at how judgmental a small child can be of someone who is different or thinks differently.
I think your first sentence sums it up pretty well.
Thanks.
although i can appreciate teaching them about different beliefs that people have, i have a question about the bold area above:
Why isn't one way better than another? Why shouldn't children be taught that believing things based on 'evidence' and 'facts' is better than believing things without evidence?
I suspect you are being intentionally provocative and obtuse, but here goes. I am an atheist, my DH agnostic. We live in the Bible Belt, so this issue comes up a lot with our children. Each person's spiritual exploration is very personal. As parents we believe strongly in respecting other's beliefs, and we also believe strongly in education. We have frequent discussion about religions, how belief impacts peoples lives. Our children choose to attend church, which is quite fine with me. In our circle we have friends of many differing faiths. I suspect what you are referring to is the faith vs. science argument? I personally don't think they are mutually exclusive, and there is certainly no place for derision and mockery in that discussion.
Bottom line for me is about respect. If I want to raise children who respect others beliefs, and want others to respect their own beliefs, then it's our job as parents to educate them about religion in a way that reinforces that.
it's a little early to be thinking about this as ours are only 1 (tomorrow! ) but i was wondering the other day......i'm sure they'll come home one day and say 'daddy, what is god? i heard someone say 'oh my god...etc."
the proper answer i think would be to say "god is just an imaginary friend for grown ups. they're scared of dying, so they created an imaginary friend to protect them" but I'm wondering how the society/friends/teachers would treat them if they were to repeat that to others.
I would think it won't be for another 5 or 6 years before this question comes up....but i was wondering if you all can share your experience with your little ones and how you went about it.
thanks
Just be honest.
"There is no god. We are merely chemical reactions. Do whatever it takes to make your chemical reaction longer and stronger. Don't worry about other chemical reactions. Treat them as you would as you would a fire. Sometimes fires are useful to you, other times, they are not. If a chemical reaction doesn't have the right chemistry to continue, let it end. Don't feed the hungry, for it's a waste of your resources and is irrelevant. It doesn't matter what pollution or labor laws exist in other countries, as long as it servers your chemical reaction, that's all that matters. Morality is just a trick that allows others to take resources that you need for your reaction. Feeling good is a chemical reaction. Since no chemical reactions are bad, how can one be, you do what feels good according to your chemistry. If your chemistry says yes, it's yes, not no. Don't let another chemical reaction shut down your good chemical reaction with a no. No can be ignored if it interferes."
That should do it.
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) but i was wondering the other day......i'm sure they'll come home one day and say 'daddy, what is god? i heard someone say 'oh my god...etc."
