When I was on Pastoral staff at my church, our Children's Pastor had the kids submit some of their questions about God to me. The idea was that I would then come one night and answer the questions at one of their Sunday night gatherings. For a number of reasons this project got delayed, and eventually I stepped down from staff in order to pursue where I felt God was leading me (teaching, speaking, writing and eventually Ph.D study). As a result, I never got a chance to answer the questions the kids submitted...but I still have the questions that the kids wrote down for me (awesome elementary school handwriting and all!). I thought they would make for great examiner article topics, as kids' questions are usually the same ones adults have but are too embarrassed to vocalize for fear of sounding 'dumb' or 'unspiritual.'
The following are all the questions I received. I would love to hear reader-feedback on which ones to tackle in future articles!
Questions from kids (unaltered, unedited):
"Why does god love people, but they have to die?" - Elise, Grade 5
"How will we know when Jesus will come again? What will happen when he comes?" - Rachel, Grade 5
"Why did god make friends?" - Caroline, Grade 4
"Why did god die on the cross other than sin." - Shay'a, Grade 4
"What signs will God do when we are reserected?" Rachel, Grade 5
"Is there a story of someone who doesn't like god or jesus?" - Mariana, Grade 4
"When was the first Bible written?" - Alayna, Grade 5
"Would we still sin if Adam and Eve hadn't?" - Alayna, Grade 5
"How do you speak in tounges?" - Caroline, Grade 4
"Who is Jesus's sibllings?" - Emma, Grade 4
"What were the names of the people who killed Jesus?" - Jeremiah, Grade 4
"How old was Hannah when she gave birth to samule?" - Jeremiah, Grade 4
These questions reflect some surprisingly deep theological issues that many people assume children either can't understand, or aren't interested in. However, as is often the case, kids' minds are hungry for knowledge and understanding, particularly when it comes to questions grown-ups feel are "over their heads."
So what do you think? Which one would you most like to see answered in a Methodist Examiner article?
Comments
Wow, what amazing questions! I like Elise's question: Why does god love people, but they have to die? The real challenge, of course, is communicating this in a way that makes sense to 4th and 5th graders. But as these questions indicate, they're a lot smarter than we give them credit for.
I like Alayna's question on if there would still be sin.... Very good and thoughtful questions!
JM:
This is really the first time I ever thought about would we still have sin if Adam and Eve had not? What a deep question from a child.
Here's a few more kid's questions from Holy Spirit Interactive:
Did Eve have a belly button?
If God made spiders, why do people squish them?
Is there a McDonald's in heaven?
If we are running out of trees, why doesn't God make more?
My daughter (12) wanted to know if god really stopped the sun so that Joshua could continue to kill the women and children of his enemies. I, of course, replied, no. Good, she said, 'cause the sun does not move anyway.
Kids are amazing! They give proof to the fact that we are first, and foremost, spiritual beings with their natural hunger for information pertaining to God! THE QUESTION I THINK WOULD BE GOOD FOR YOU TO WRITE ABOUT IS THE ONE...IF ADAM AND EVE HAD NOT SINNED, WOULD WE HAVE SIN TODAY? (Personally, I'd love to see how you handle this one...or how anyone would handle answering it!)
My favorite one is Jeremiah's first question. He's taking names...and getting ready to kick some...
well, you know.
I like Alayna's sin question aswell as Caroline mechanism for tongues.
I would like to see your answer to the question, would we be still sin if Adam and Eve hadn't. CS Lewis tackled that one in 'Perelandra'. Please give us your ideas.
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