Well... no.... Jesus wasn't adopted... but...

<snort>

klueless on the floor in Kansas...



hugs to Mo

I think Mo's interpretation of scripture is as valid as any other interpretation I've heard. I don't think you need to explain anything further.

Lol!!!!

I'd just be as straight as you can be...eg:

It's not that the god-believing people think god couldn't be a good dad, it's just that they believe gods don't generally hang around on earth bringing up the kids, they are kind of pure spirit and such (and likely not male or anything) ...and Jesus needed to be really, fully human, the god people think, to do his job.

Bimey.

Tell your child that Mary had a torrid affair with John the Baptist and she had to make up that whole 'virgin birth' story to explain to Joseph how she got pregnant. Joseph fell for it.

I would actually accept little mo's explanation 100%

its easier then explaining a so called virgin birth eh??

But, in a sense, he is absolutely right. As da bunny said, gods are not humans, so god did need to have someone else take care of his son. open adoption if you will..


huh..
i think I am going to take his explanation and arm myself with it for when Jillian starts asking questions. mos quite the sharp one.

Love it.

I get what you mean about doors open though. We deal with this often (especially recently, sozlet's been very interested in learning more about religion -- not in the sense of becoming religious, but she's annoyed that there is basic stuff she doesn't know, so I've been filling her in best I can). The whole thing of explaining what some people believe, even though we don't believe it, but we respect that other people believe it.

That might be a way to phrase it -- ya know, "Hey, that makes a lot of sense actually. I like your thinking. What people who believe in god think though is more like god put his only son on earth as a gift to us." (You can go into that as much or as little as you'd like.) Still puts a positive spin on the bio-dad/ adoptive dad scenario.

Tell him the truth -- the truth as far as you know it -- and tell him what you
believe. You'll never make a good case or provide a satisfactory explanation
for what you yourself don't believe, so don't try.

Mo will come into contact with a lot of folks who have a big emotional
investment in this story, so I'd advise against treating it with ridicule, even
though you may think it is ridiculous.

I'm not sure the goal is to make a good case per se, though...?

I get what boomerang means about "leaving the door open." We DON'T believe these things, and certainly, as non-believers, don't expect to make our kids believers. But we know that later in life they may make their own decisions. So the trick is to accurately convey what we personally think without unduly insulting religion. Both in terms of what our kids may end up learning and believing (from sources other than us) and in terms of dealing respectfully with people who do believe these things.

In my experience with my daughter, she really wants to know what other people believe, even if we don't personally believe it. Leaving it to "someone else will explain sometime" isn't satisfactory for her.

I missed this before... it's good.

I never make fun of any religion, I just thought Mo's twist on it was funny. One of the reasons I ask so many questions about kids and religion is because I do want to keep those doors open to him and this is a great place to hear from people with a variety of beliefs. I'm not trying to make a case for or against Christianity or any other faith.

Mo's questioning is very similar to Sozlet's, I think. He wants to know what other people are talking about. I was kind of the same way about religion but I was older and able to venture out to different churches/temples/mosques/whatever. Despite that, I never found a satisfactory answer.

I like that explaination a lot, Dlowan. Thank you. It really fits well with things I said to him before about how we are all God's children.

I'd be picking myself up off the floor, like Rockhead, and putting it together as others have suggested. Only difference might be that I would likely say "Some people believe... I believe... There are others that believe... But, basically you are correct ...then add what dlowan said." I would avoid the "We believe..." just so he doesn't feel included in the "we" and like he doesn't have a choice.

I'd probably also ask questions to see what he believes at this time and leave the door wide open. If at some point he chooses to believe as Christians, Muslims, or Orthodox Jews, he won't want to feel he is betraying you or that you will be critical or disapproving.

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I think it's a great idea to do what you're doing -- explain what others believe
while pointing out that you don't believe it yourself. And at the same time you
aren't demeaning others beliefs. I hope Mo picks up your open-mindedness and
questing spirit. Good luck.

Just my opinion. But, what matters was that Jesus, Mary and Joseph stayed together as a family!