Out of the Mouths of Babes

I wrote a few weeks ago about Richard Dawkins' Faith Schools Menace? TV programme. I have my doubts about his concerns that it is possible to make children believe in God against their better judgement. With our children, at least with the oldest boy, I have never tried to push him one way or another. If he has asked about God and religious matters I have always responded in terms of this being what some people believe and trying to point out how various beliefs and rituals are a normal part of people's daily lives. In short, I have tried to leave him to make up his own mind whilst hoping that he will become a tolerant and thoughtful individual. At school, they tend to present various religious beliefs in a matter-of-fact way and he has been to religious services on odd occasions as well. None of this is forced but he does get the opportunity to learn about religion.

During the week I was watching an old Horizon documentary about astronomy and the origin of the universe. Out of the blue he came out with the statement: "I don't think God exists". I was a little intrigued by this and so I asked him why he thought that. "It's because if God was out in space he wouldn't be able to breathe," was the reply. Now, I do think that this is rather a naïve interpretation of the concept of God but I really can't fault his logic. If God really was a person floating about the heavens, He really would be knackered on the oxygen front.

However, I think this does confirm what I suspected. Children are not that gullible. If they believe something it's because it makes sense to them. Their logic may not be perfect as, being children, they don't have as much experience as adults; but you can't make someone believe something they don't want to. After all, insincere belief is no belief at all.