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Brennan · 07-27-2010, 08:54 AM

Idyllic,

I know your question for directed at someone other than me, but I thought I would share my own parental experiences regarding these topics.

My daughter is very interested in religion. Not just religion itself, but how religion ties into issues of identity. She and I talk a lot about different ideas of faith, philosophy and metaphysics. When asked what I believe, I tell her I do not know what happens to a person's mind/psyche/spirit when they die.
We have friends of many different faiths and creeds here and I encourage her to discuss such things with them. She prefers to talk with our adult friends rather than her peers because she finds that most 2nd-3rd graders simply parrot back what they hear in church, or at home.

I tell her that I very much like the idea of a heaven/afterlife; that I find the idea of some day seeing all my deceased friends and relatives again very appealing. That said, like the debate between monism vs dualism, while I find the topic interesting and worthy of debate (best conducted over a pint or 2 of IPA for those so inclined and of age) I have no impulse to tie myself to any church's particular brand of afterlife prep.

I disagree with the sentiment that death without afterlife renders life meaningless. In fact I feel that life's ephemeral nature is one of the things that makes it so precious. We do what we can, what good we can with our time.

That is what I believe and what I try to impart to my daughter. Hopefully it will serve her whether she chooses to be a Christian, a Secular Humanist, a Shintoist, or what have you.

In closing, when talking about death with children, I'm always reminded of "The 10th Good Thing about Barney" by Judith Viorst: "Barney is in the ground and he's helping to grow flowers...that's a pretty nice job for a cat"

Honestly, I think it's a pretty nice job for any of us.

Sorry for the novella.
Just my 2 cents.
B.

---------- Post added at 09:54 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:43 AM ----------

I just had another thought...

Godblocking, would we use that word like cockblocking?

"The crazed preacher/WBC protester advanced on my friend but I godblocked him, stepping forward and asking if he could recommend a good reprogramming camp for my French bulldog, whom I suspected to harbor gay tendencies."

What do you think?
Should we get it added to the urban slang dictionary?
;-)

B.

07-27-2010, 08:54 AM	#41 (permalink)
Brennan Upright Location: San Antonio, TX	Idyllic, I know your question for directed at someone other than me, but I thought I would share my own parental experiences regarding these topics. My daughter is very interested in religion. Not just religion itself, but how religion ties into issues of identity. She and I talk a lot about different ideas of faith, philosophy and metaphysics. When asked what I believe, I tell her I do not know what happens to a person's mind/psyche/spirit when they die. We have friends of many different faiths and creeds here and I encourage her to discuss such things with them. She prefers to talk with our adult friends rather than her peers because she finds that most 2nd-3rd graders simply parrot back what they hear in church, or at home. I tell her that I very much like the idea of a heaven/afterlife; that I find the idea of some day seeing all my deceased friends and relatives again very appealing. That said, like the debate between monism vs dualism, while I find the topic interesting and worthy of debate (best conducted over a pint or 2 of IPA for those so inclined and of age) I have no impulse to tie myself to any church's particular brand of afterlife prep. I disagree with the sentiment that death without afterlife renders life meaningless. In fact I feel that life's ephemeral nature is one of the things that makes it so precious. We do what we can, what good we can with our time. That is what I believe and what I try to impart to my daughter. Hopefully it will serve her whether she chooses to be a Christian, a Secular Humanist, a Shintoist, or what have you. In closing, when talking about death with children, I'm always reminded of "The 10th Good Thing about Barney" by Judith Viorst: "Barney is in the ground and he's helping to grow flowers...that's a pretty nice job for a cat" Honestly, I think it's a pretty nice job for any of us. Sorry for the novella. Just my 2 cents. B. ---------- Post added at 09:54 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:43 AM ---------- I just had another thought... Godblocking, would we use that word like cockblocking? "The crazed preacher/WBC protester advanced on my friend but I godblocked him, stepping forward and asking if he could recommend a good reprogramming camp for my French bulldog, whom I suspected to harbor gay tendencies." What do you think? Should we get it added to the urban slang dictionary? ;-) B. __________________ "Apparently, the image of our president is as offensive to MTV as it is to me." - Trent Reznor(Nine Inch Nails)