This is the first part of a dialog between myself (Paul) and my brother David. We disagree on the topic of if we should teach our children about God.
David: Why should you teach fish about water?
Young kids live in a unitive consciousness already. Anything you say can only serve to activate the thinking (discriminatory) mind, which creates the feeling of separateness. My biggest problem with religious lessons for kids is that it strives to create the illusion that we are separate from God. Its embedded in the language we use by labeling parts of their universe as “God” and “Not God.” This growing alienation from “God” is conveniently to be healed later, by means of the church’s prescription for reconciliation with God, which is only a partial healing. It isn’t a true merging with the Divine, but sets up God as an object to be worshiped. This provides a measure of healing, but the worshipped and the worshipper stay forever separate. Perceived distance from God will be experienced as pain. Why set our kids up for that? I say let them not even think about God, but just encourage them to swim inside His warm flowing River.
Paul: Understanding brings us closer
We have all been created by God with a free will. God wants us to freely love Him, or freely reject Him rather than command respect and worship from on high. If we are never separated from God, then how can we really have free will? If I choose to do as much harm to others as I can, how can I still be united with God?
As you know from your travels, it is nearly impossible to appreciate something or somewhere fully until you lose it. Being separate from God (at times) allows us to see what ‘Not God’ is like, and therefore makes our joy at knowing God all the richer.
About the “warm flowing river”, I like the analogy, but couldn’t the same be said of music? Children love to sing and hum, but if you only encourage them vaguely and hold back from them the storehouses of knowledge and training, they will never know the full joy of being a master musician. I am not talking about pounding in training, and sucking the life and joy out of a thing, but rather that any relationship (with music, friends, or God) grows deeper when there is more knowledge and understanding of the Other.
David:
TBD
Paul: What are parents for?
As parents, it is our responsibility to prepare our children to take on the challenges and responsibilities of being an adult. We don’t want them to be an adult and not be able to make mac-n-cheese or clean their room. On a higher level, we should also teach them about the world we all live in, and if your world includes God, then naturally, that would be part of the narrative as well.
Of course, teaching children about God is not the same as teaching them how to brush their teeth. As I mentioned earlier, God does not give us 100% certainty about His existence, as that would remove free will. In addition, there are so many groups and books claiming different things about God that it can be overwhelming. However, the same can be said for styles of cooking. We shouldn’t hesitate to give our children a big taste of our understanding and relationship with God, while providing a foundation to explore the one who made them and loves them.
David:
TBD
