My Kid Stumped Me with a Theological Question ! NOW WHAT ?
BY ALEXA CRAMER
I n our house , bedtime is normally dad ’ s job . I homeschool my kids
( we do the hybrid thing ), so most days by the end of the night I have been momming for a solid 14 + hours . I ’ ve got … like … less than nothing left in the tank . Of course , there is the occasional night where dad is unavailable and bedtime duty belongs to the momster ( that ’ s my burnt out overstimulated alter ego — she ’ s kinda scary ). Don ’ t worry , by the time I ’ m tucking each kiddo in , looking into their sweet sleepy faces , and starting our prayer and song routine , I am always reminded of how preciously limited these moments are and “ momster ” flees the room . Inevitably , this is when it happens : My kid drops the tough theological question bomb !
I distinctly remember this one from my daughter : “ If God let Adam and Eve ’ s kids marry each other , how can it be bad for brothers and sisters to marry each other today ?” After asking some clarifying questions to make sure I understood what she was getting at , I realized she was essentially asking how God can call something good at one time in history and then declare it sin at another . My response as I ’ m slowly backing away out the door : “ Good question . So proud . Ask your dad tomorrow ! Goodnight !” Kidding ! I did not respond that way . But that ’ s an example of a question that ’ s not easy to answer for an adult , let alone a child — and especially without keeping my kid up way past bedtime . Before we get into what to do when your pint-sized philosophical prodigy has challenged you with a mind-boggling theological question , let ’ s talk about why dismissing it entirely is a really super bad idea .
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE PERSISTENTLY DISMISS OUR KIDS ’ QUESTIONS ? If you are a parent ( or work with kids in any capacity ), then you already know that kids ask a lot of questions . I wanted to know how many on average so I did some research . I found one study that suggests an average of 73 questions per day . I ’ ve also seen articles that report on studies which suggest over 300 questions per day peaking around the age of 4 , and as the quantity gradually decreases , the level of difficulty tends to increase . ( So sorry … things probably won ’ t get easier !) And if you are the primary caregiver in your home , you are likely the one fielding the vast majority of those inquiries .
It ’ s easy to imagine what is likely to happen if your kiddo ’ s questions are constantly dismissed or ignored — they ’ ll stop asking you . Either they will assume there are no good answers , or they ’ ll look for answers elsewhere . ( Equally detrimental is spoon-feeding bad answers .)
24 THE RENEWANATION REVIEW