It was like any other Sunday in the South. Traffic picked up at 8, cleared out by 9, and by 10 there was more traffic. People were either leaving their homes to go to church, church to go home, to the local restaurant, or out to Wal-Mart.

Yes, Wal-Mart—every recession-affected person has been there at least once this week, I guarantee you, and we, as a family, are no exception. We were there for, I think, ice cream and diapers, and ended up with a cartful of items that gave us a receipt of $180.00 and looks of bewilderment. Where the hell did all that money go?

In this bewildered state, we didn’t notice the woman barreling toward us, a look of ecstasy on her face, a lightness in her step. She stopped right in front of us, making us stop, and we were in shock at what happened next.

» Continue reading “All I Wanted Was Ice Cream”

Updated to add: This wasn’t clear enough in the original post, below, but we did know he would get religious content at the Lutheran preschool we chose.  (We’ve been listening to the bible verses he has been memorizing all year long.)  The main issue in this case comes not from the mere existence of the religious content, but my concern that  the teacher had gone too far by directly contradicting me in something I taught him, and my surprise to discover that this particular church believes in YEC. Rest assured, LSB is loved and cared for at his school, is being taught his letters and shapes, and other than this incident we have been absolutely happy with the teacher and the school, and with the exposure he has gotten to Christianity.

Here’s some background for you: Little Skeptic Boy is five, has four wiggly teeth, and wants Hulk Smash Hands for Christmas. He loves science, as do I, so the other day we had a detailed discussion about the big bang. Next year he starts public school kindergarten, but for now he attends one of the highest-rated preschools in the area, that just happens to be at a Lutheran church in the bible belt. Then today we had this conversation:

Little Skeptic Boy: My teacher said it, but she’s wrong!! » Continue reading “To change preschools or not to change preschools, that’s, well you know…”

Yep, we’ve been listening to tons of Christmas carols around here, especially of the Sufjan Stevens variety. Man, the guy can sing some pretty songs. And of course, they are super religious.

I feel better about the carols than I do about Santa, actually. Unlike a lot of atheists, I didn’t have to reject religion or ever come to terms with the idea that Jesus might not be an actual historical figure. My dad is a staunch atheist, and so was his dad. » Continue reading “The Christmas Carol Thing”

It’s true that kids are born atheists. In my experience so far, there’s no point when religion naturally comes up (in a child’s development) unless the parents or the community force the issue.

There’s a certain bliss in allowing my kids to remain ignorant of the existence of religion, but they’re going to hear about it from their friends eventually. And I’ve read lots of personal accounts of people whose parents just never really taught them anything about religion either way. Some of these folks — when they finally encounter religion — are astonished to discover that people can really believe such stories are true and real. Others are enchanted by religion (or other woo ) when they first encounter it as teen or adult. So, ultimately, I feel like it’s something I should talk to my kids about in the home.

So far I haven’t fared so well. We taught them a little about their Catholic heritage while visiting their great aunt, a nun, in Lourdes, but (as you’ll see if you read that story ), I balked when faced with trying to explain Jesus to them. More recently, I expected the subject would come up while visiting my own Mormon and Christian family this past summer, but it didn’t. On some level, our situation seems more ideal than Laurie T.’s (where religion comes up in school ), but, on the other hand, it sounds nice to have some natural context (like in Laurie T and LSG’s case ) for the child to bring the subject up.

Anyway, all of that is just background to explain how the subject of Jesus finally came up in our house! » Continue reading “I’ve finally introduced my kids to Jesus!!”

LSG: “That’s pretty music!”

Me: “Yes, it’s from the bells in that church.”

LSG: “Mommy, do we not go to church because there are no churches around here that teach what we believe, or do we not go to church because there are no churches that teach what we believe?”

Me: “I guess the answer to that is that no church teaches what Daddy and I believe. There are many, many different kinds of churches in the world, and they all teach different things. My question is, which is right? And who am I to say which is right? The one thing most of them have in common is they teach that there is a supernatural being who has power over this world and the people in it. I decided a long time ago that I don’t believe there is a supernatural being who has power over the world. I believe the world is explained by science, and I don’t need to explain what I don’t understand by claiming it is because of a supernatural being. But Daddy and I want you to learn as much as you can and decide for yourself when you get older what it is you believe.”

LSG: “Yeah, because I remember learning in preschool that God used to talk to Moses and Noah all the time, but now you can only talk to God through prayer, and He never answers you out loud. And I thought, that doesn’t make any sense!”