the Old testament has some hum dingers and they're great to read and honestly - how do we know they didn't happen that way?  So we read them and I don't qualify them and that's that.   But I'm fairly absolute in my beliefs that I teach Liza, I'm catholic and i'm raising her catholic and she goes to catholic school and she altar serves and everything.  She has a rosary and a bible and she gets religion class every day (heck her teacher is a nun!).  

I know I'm a yankee yadda yadda but ...this is our faith, this is what we beleive and fundamentally I will never ever think of myself as anything but Catholic. This faith comforts me and supports me and I don't really feel that I have to qualify or explain the stories fo the bible to her --

That's a difficult one for small children...because really, there was a price to be paid for all the favoritism Jacob lavished him with.  It created what we would now call quite the "dysfunctional family".  Maybe a four year old could understand that while Jacob didn't mean to play favorites, he did, and it caused  Joseph's brothers not to like him very much?  It hurt the other brothers' feelings and caused them to be very jealous?    At the end of the whole story, when Joseph is in Egypt and invites his family to join him, maybe it could be a lesson about how sometimes good things can come from very bad things?  

Why doesn't God "talk out loud" to us today?  Well, as a Deist, I taught my children that God made people in such a special way that if we just can be very, very quiet, and listen to what goes on in our own heads and our own hearts, we will know what's best for us to do.  

We have not been involved in organized religion, but I did always allow my children to go to stay with their grandmother for a week of Vacation Bible School every summer.  It sort of covered a lot of the bases so they aren't too lacking in understanding of basic Christian belief.  We had a book of Bible stories, too, (compliments of my mother in law, ofcourse!) and we read the stories and to be honest, I just sort of winged my interpretation of their meanings like I did above.

complicated mythologies. I myself am also a practicing Catholic, while hubby is a protestant. DD is being raised Cathic and has expressed a lot of interest in the Bible recently. I was holding off on these more "troubling" stories till I read her "Daughter of the Earth" a retelling of the Prosperpina myth from Roman mythology. (Persephone in Greek)

We talk about whatever the story brings up for her. In fact I just had a convo with MY Mom about how the story of the Prodigal son still upsets me. I am the stereotypical hard-working oldest child and I still feel like the "good" kid gets shafted in that story. Talking it through with my Mom, I realize my reaction is the whole point of the parable. We all think we are the "good kids" who deserve God's love when we need to learn compassion for those who have strayed. At least that was my take-away...

First of all, I just have to say, I LOVE the cover art.  Is Jesus holding a newborn?  

As far as the Bible, I think when they are young, it's best to just teach the stories as they are and teach the ones you're comfortable teaching. And when you run into trouble with some of them, answer it as best as you can.

Catholics aren't fundamentalists in terms of the Bible. We believe it is inspired, but not everything is literal.

I read somewhere, the best lesson to start with, for young children, is to teach them who made them (God). Why?  "Because he loved you and wanted you."  This is really the foundation.  If God made you because he loved you, then he made everyone else because he loved them too, and we are all important and have great worth.  And that is why we should treat each other kindly, as we would like to be treated (like Jesus said).

how my lack of belief will influence my children.  I don't believe in God.  I believe in science.  I do believe in everyone having a choice in what to believe.  My parents made it clear to my brother and I, that even though as a family we went to church, we could attend on our own.  My brother and I were raised with fantastic values through being taught them by my parents.  I hope to do the same for my children.

I think it is good to read parts of the bible to understand what people are talking about in conversation.  Similarly, I think it would be great to read a variety of religious texts, to understand the basis for a variety of religions.

I just don't want to impose my beliefs on my child, and I don't want to hold them back from something they may find a fulfilling influence in their life.  However, I don't want to teach them about things I don't believe in.

My best friend is an athiest, but supports my faith (I'm a plain old Lutheran) and is DS's godmother.  For his baptism, she bought a 70s' print of Noah, surrounded by animals.  What's funny is she says she particularly bought this one because there's only one of some of the animals, not pairs.  She liked it because she is single and she wanted to remind DS that it's OK to not have a partner; there's nothing wrong with that, and you are still a special, valuable person even if you are not attached to someone else.

Maybe it's just me, but I was just tickled that she found that interpretation of the picture and story.  It will be interesting how she explains it to DS when he's older.

but the real answer on the Jacob thing is that he has 2 wives, and Joseph was the only son from the woman he loved.  Eventually she had a second son as well, but all his brothers were from a woman he was tricked into marrying.

Just saying.

I had a friend tell me when I was younger that she thought God still talked to people, but over cell-phones and computers and video games and TV and freeway traffic, he was hard to hear.  So she encouraged me to spend a little bit of quiet time, and see if I at least felt closer to God.  What do you know?  It worked.

A lot of theold testament is really weird (including Elijah sending a bear to eat kids who made fun of him), but once they're older, I think you have to have the "its oral history passed on and then written down by people" talk.

(says the pastor's wife about how she and her husband - the pastor - have tackled spiritual education with their children).

Seriously.  Most days we feel like we're winging it.  Occasionally we manage to be deliberate in what we're doing.

We're probably doing a better job that we think, just due to the sheer force of learning by example.  We do say prayers as a family and living next door to church the kids have a front row seat to what happens.  They occasionally accompany my husband on pastoral visits and know why he visits.  Sister Bear comes along with me to our women's group and participates in most of those activities.  We talk pretty openly about what we believe and where it comes from.  

But the actual theology is what trips us up.  We have some definite catching up to do with Sister Bear, who at 11, does not understand communion, baptism or know the Lord's Prayer.  She is very clearly searching - she is very into church and God, even prior to living with us - and I'm sometimes at a loss for how to direct that.  Brother Bear is young enough that the Sunday School at church meets what he needs right now.  

It really does not help that we are in a very small church, with a small Christian Education program (only 1-2 other kids Sister Bear's age but a handful the age of Brother Bear).  Now, we can't rely on the church to do our job but at the same time I realize how much my own Catholic education shaped my beliefs and who I am.  

I commend you for just having the conversation at this point.  

Well, I'm not going near the Bible until he has a decent grounding in what I actually believe, plus a lot of good stories from the UU church.  And I don't see a reason to simplify stories down to a moral.  I don't think that works with the Bible, and it's certainly not going to work with the Eddas!  When you read other stories, or fairy tales, do you feel the need to make everything good or sensible?

I think it's a heck of a lot easier to explain the practice of religion than it is to talk to kids about theology.  Although when I think of storytelling rituals that bridge the gap, Pesach and Purim come to mind.  And maybe Christmas, too, a little.  But really, it's more about observance/celebration than teaching.  The meaning and the mystery is there, and I think kids will come to know it as long as it is a part of their lives.

Ari?

I brought my two children up in this denomination.  My grandparents were from England so I always taught my kids they were genetic Anglicans.  As children, I took them to services at York Minster and Canterbury Cathedral in our travels--as a kind of pilgrimage.

We are open-minded, not Bible literalists, and questions and doubts are accepted.  My kids now in their 20's may not continue with this faith but since it is important to me, I did my best to share it with them.

Oh and a good children's Bible that was helpful and reads like stories with lots of pictures (even when my kids were in high school and needed the stories for literature classes) is:

The Children's Bible in 365 stories
by Mary Batchelor Illus. by John Haysom

how much the topics on this site mirror what I'm discussing with DH or just thinking about on my own. Last night I told DH that I was concerned about the lack of formal religious education DS is getting at our (very small) church school. He's six and while he definitely gets a lot of the ritual - understands what Communion is, knows the Lord's Prayer, says grace before meals and prayers before bed - I don't think he gets much of the context and I'm not sure I'm qualified to provide it.

I was raised by a lapsed Catholic mother (and a very Catholic grandmother) and a lapsed Methodist father who is a vocal atheist. My stepmother is a non-practicing, atheist Jew. If you want to talk about a random hodgepodge of religious "education," my childhood would exemplify it. I mean, I was like ten years old before I figured out that Jesus wasn't actually born at Christmas and fully grown by Easter.

As an adult I've joined the Episcopal church and I was baptized before I had kids. DH was raised Lutheran and has been received into our church too. We attend very regularly.

I bought Tomie DePaola's bible stories (which I believe uses the RSV for text) for the kids for Easter but they haven't really looked at it all. I chose that one because I liked the selection of stories and his other books are favorites in our house. So far, we talk a lot about Jesus but haven't really touched on the Old Testament much beyond Noah.

Thank you all for sharing your insights! It's really helpful to know that everyone else struggles a bit with this too. Oh, and to all of you, I recommend the podcast of Speaking of Faith. Two weeks ago, they focused on the experience of being Catholic; listening to that show and the convictions and sense of identity the people who spoke had are what made me start to question how well I'm doing with the kids.

I'm down with Katie's statement about being pretty straightforward. I also often acknowledge to DS that I don't know myself. Of course this is a child who asked me how big the universe is at three years old.

Happy Birthday Liza!

I always become a little uncomfortable when people discuss science as though it were an alternative to religion - it most emphatically is not.  There is no incompatability between science and religion, though there are certainly doctrines in specific religions that clash.  However at least in the US, most scientists are people of faith.

I do remember reading somewhere that the biological sciences have the highest percentage of atheists of any of the sciences.  But I've always wondered which is the cause, and which is the effect.  It may be that young atheists searching for meaning and understanding are drawn to biology.

My 3 year old son, Brady, is very literal as well. When I told him that God is in us and all around us, he began a litany of questions that has lasted for the past 3 weeks and is still going strong. First he asked if God only has part of his body, which parts he has and which parts are in us. Then he asked if God could climb a ladder if he only has part of his body (I am in a wheelchair and I think he wonders if God is similarly different).

I told him that God was in our hearts and is how we love each other and the people around us. We haven't gotten into Bible stories because at this age I don't think many are appropriate for him. I also don't really believe in a literal interpretation of the Bible.

I am still not sure how we are going to raise him as my husband is a lapsed Catholic and I'm a Catholic-Protestant-Jew. I ascribe more to Eastern Philosophy and One God that people see in different ways. I also believe God is simply the "is" or the "way" of Taoism.

We only started including religion in our talks when he saw a picture of Jesus and asked if it was Captain Planet. I know I want him to have a belief in God, but I refuse to indoctrinate him with the sexist, anti-gay, this is the only way to get to heaven type of religion. We're just taking it one day and one question at a time.

and how did I miss this whole discussion?

Everything's been said, pretty much, but I have to chime in anyway. Our kids are 11 and obviously what we say to them is different from when they were younger. But a couple of weeks ago at lunch after church, we were talking about Old Testament stories and my daughter told us she doesn't think that they are all true. My husband quoted someone, who said something to the effect of, "the Bible is true, and some of it actually happened." He went on to explain to her that what this means is that even if the story didn't happen, there is a truth to be learned from it.

DS is much more likely to say, "even if it doesn't make sense that a fish could swallow a man, God could do it." DD just thinks, "that couldn't happen."

But they seem to be able to believe the New Testament stuff more easily. I don't know if it's because Jesus is more appealing, or what.

he told me he'd seen God.  I asked for a bit more detail, seeing as how I wasn't completely clear on what he meant by "seen" and "God."  You know- he was 4.  He told me that he'd seen God and that God looked like everyone in the whole world and that there was a piece of God in all of us and that was where the love comes from.

That's when I sort of relaxed about his long-term spirituality- my recent (panicked) diary to the contrary...