Supernatural Answers

                As a parent, I often ask myself if I’m doing things right. Sure, children don’t come with handbooks (wouldn’t it be nice if they did?) but any attentive parent wants to be sure they are walking the middle path when we are tasked to instill values in our children. So what about religious belief? What do you say when confronted with a situation that demands you answer that tiny little voice on question about the afterlife, how the universe works, and as my son once asked, “Who made the Earth?”

                Of course your answers should depend largely upon the age of the child and his or her ability to understand what you are trying to say. My approach is to start off with the more complex answer and work my way down to the simplest until I see my child understands at least part of what I’m getting at. For instance, when my son wanted to know who made the Earth, I told him no one made it like you or I would make a cake or batch of cookies. I then went on to explain the theory of accretion using Play-Doh as a visual example. Then I sort of made it a word of the day by playfully quizzing him: “What’s that word again? I forgot.” 

                Sometimes, rather than cartoons, I like to put on nature shows for the kids in the evening during quiet time. Sure, the three year old just giggles at the silly kitty but the older ones get sucked into the drama that’s found in nature. It can be a really mind-blowing experience to learn how far away a lioness can smell her prey or just how many bugs can get into your house.

                Older children may benefit from two, possibly conflicting ideas. Then you can prompt them with critical thinking questions. “Which do you think is the right answer?” “Why or why not?” “Do we have any evidence that this is true?” Again, the level of thought depends largely on the age of the child. In the process, try not to sell your child’s intelligence short. Children are very perceptive and might surprise you with their answers. If you can keep their attention long enough, you might get lucky enough to explain what constitutes good evidence.

                Finally, and I can’t stress this one enough: don’t be afraid to say ‘I don’t know.’ There’s nothing wrong with not knowing an answer to a question anyone asks you. The difference between intelligence and ignorance is the willingness to find the answers to the questions you currently don’t have answers to. I often tell my kids “I don’t know but let’s find out.” Then proceed to the computer and do my very best to get some point of reference. It’s okay to not know something; however, I find it in poor taste to just make something up for the sole purpose of responding to your child for the moment. In other words, I’m saying “God did it” is intellectually dishonest and is a complete disservice to your child and his or her understanding of reality. 

Theism in Socio Political Belief

So I've been pondering religion a bit, as I tend to do when reading things about our social policy and the views of presidential candidates, and I find myself both puzzled and appalled at some of the things I hear and read. Part of what gets under my skin is how religion seems to be the dominant force when it comes to policy making. Concepts like Dominionism and Prosperity Theology frighten me because those engaged in our political and social discourse take them seriously, or at least seem to by paying them lip service.

                I’m not going to delve into the nuances and ramblings of political candidates as one can find information like that by doing a simple Google search. What I want to know is how the average American values such a position when it comes to policy and presidential candidacy.

                My first question would go something like: “If God spoke to you and told you to kill your children very much like the story of Abraham, would you do it?” If yes, would you do it with the hopes that god would send an angel down to stop you just before the death blow? If no, do you feel that simply hearing voices raises a red flag and therefore call into question how you would interpret divine communication?

                My second question is if you would put the entire bible ahead of the Constitution in terms of political and moral value. Do you think that your religious views trump a secular document? If yes, do you feel that religiosity is a prerequisite to true patriotism? If no, where do you draw the line in the distinction?

                The third and final question would be whether or not you feel a candidate’s religious stance has anything to do with how he or she will govern. Do you think that religion is a necessary condition for morality? If yes, how do you explain clergy of various ranks committing child molestation, homosexual acts, drugs, kid-napping, and so on, if their holy books condemn them? If no, how do you feel about those who insist the opposite and seemingly vote according to religious preference above all else?

                These things interest me because when it comes to generalizing the religious perspectives of American culture, I find there exists a sort of sliding scale. At one end of the scale there are those who, for whatever reason, value religion above all else and wish to assert that view on the rest of society. At the other end are those who I would refer to as religious moderates who cherry pick what religious and biblical concepts to place value on, and which to discard but more or less keep to themselves.

                As an atheist myself, I find the process horrifying and fascinating. I want to know how these choices are made, how it can be that some people stand behind claims by candidates that are obviously inaccurate, and why any religious claim has value in our allegedly secular democracy.

                In future posts, I’ll delve into the Christian doctrine and share my views on the matter. It’s my hope, for now, to get the reader into an inquisitive mindset so that we can approach these questions.