Is Atheism a natural instinct? Why do children ask Atheist type of questions?

Question

Most children have asked their parents "who made God"? That's when the parents start the intimidation process. So, what the parents are doing is passing down the fear which can be considered child abuse. Just because YOU'RE afraid of the unknown, you have no right to pass that fear to your child. Agree or disagree?

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Answer 1

If you don't know something you search for an answer. Mat. 7:7

Answer 2

Disagree 100%.

The answer given for who made God is:

God didn't need to be made. He is and always has been and always will be.

Where is the "fear" you mention in the above statement?

Do you have kids? Are you passing your beliefs on to them? IE telling them there is no God(I assume from your statement you are an atheist). Are you not thus "intimidating" them into your belief system. If not how are you answering the question? If you're atheist the first thing you would have to say is there is no God. Or give the agnostic answer: I don't know. And what happens if using their own brain the child makes a decision that there is a God and he requires faith? Do you support him, or do you try to "intimidate" him to renouncing those ideas as backwards and stupid(as most atheists claim Christians to be)?

Chritian parents generally do not tell their children about Hell and the punishment aspect of our religion, until the children start asking what happens to people who don't believe? Then it is time to explain to them at least in a general way about Good and Evil and the consequences for choosing evil. Before this, we instill the concept of Jesus' love for man in them. How he holds each and every person dear to his heart. Children are not told of Hell until they are mature enough to understand that they are responsible for their own actions.

Answer 3

I believe in God, but it's by my own decision. I repsect those that don't believe (out of their own choice) more than those that 'believe' based on what they think shey SHOULD believe, or what someone else tells them to believe.

That being said, kids aren't exactly capable of abstract thought, so it's up to us to give them what information relevant, and once they're old enough to make up their own mind, we must accept that. And not all belief stems out of a fear of the unknown. We can't tell a child "There might be a God. Then again, there might not be." Because that'll just confuse them. Each parent is responsible for bringing up a child in the best way they know how. As long as the environment they are brought up in is positive and supports free thought, then it shoudln't matter what the parents believed, because the child would be allowed to make up their own minds in the end.

I believe that whatever has a beginning and end needs a creator, and that which does not doesn't need one. God, being infinite and above time, does not need a creator. A kid is not gonna think that far.

Oh yeah, and I believe in religious tolerance.

Answer 4

I agree wholeheartedly... including that religious indoctrination is a form of child abuse. But I think there's a little more to it than that.

I think that the basis for all religious belief lies in the general trait of humanity which makes it intolerable not to have an explanation for everything… i.e., if you can’t find an answer in nature, make up a supernatural explanation and accept it as a matter of faith. Then you’re happy… another hole in your personal reality has been plugged!

For a long time, the human race had many questions that were unanswered, so they needed a lot of gods to provide the explanations. It is easy to picture the following prehistoric scene, soon after the dawn of human (or prehuman) interpersonal communication: Oog (age 7) asks his father, Moog, the age-old question, “Daddy, what holds the sky up?” Well, daddy doesn’t know, but he hates being pestered, so he says “Fred holds the sky up”. “Daddy, what makes the grass grow?” “Betsy makes the grass grow”. Pretty soon, Oog is telling his playmates, “I know what holds the sky up”. So, these kids grow up believing this stuff. Then comes the drought, and the grass dies, so they figure Betsy must be mad at them. Better do something nice for Betsy… sacrifice a goat or something. Before you know it, there’s a whole plethora of gods and goddesses… Thor makes thunder, Fred holds the sky up, Betsy makes the grass grow, Eros makes love and babies happen, etc., and the folks are trying to keep them all happy. It must have been dreadfully hard to keep track of… every time somebody came up with a sticky question, they’d have to think up a new god or goddess to handle the matter, build a temple or a monument, sacrifice a few virgins, etcetera… very tedious stuff, you know.

Time passed, and the problem of all the gods and goddesses became much too tiresome to manage. Then, one day, somebody got the extraordinary notion that they could have one god handle everything, so they could cut down on the sacrifice schedule. Plus, you didn’t have to worry about aggravating a particular goddess by forgetting her holiday or something. Come to think of it, there may even have been some one-upmanship involved. You know, like a Messopotamian, a Hittite and a Pollack get together and start talking about their respective gods. One says “We’ve got 436 gods”, another one says “Oh, yeah? Well, we’ve got 842 gods”. The last guy says, “Well we’ve got only one god, and he handles all that stuff by himself, so he’s more powerful than all your gods put together.” “Nyah, nyah, my god’s better than your god”. Then they’d get in a fight about it.

Answer 5

I wouldn't say atheism is a natural instinct, as much as I would say curiosity is. Atheism is simply a lack of belief in gods, which is how we all came into this world until someone indoctrinated us (most of us anyway). Children ask questions about god/religion because they don't know anything about it until someone teaches them, just like they ask questions about anything new to them.

I'm not sure I agree that it's child abuse to indoctrinate children into the society they will live in, even if what they are being fed is a load of BS. How is instilling patriotism in them any different than instilling religion? Shouldn't that be considered child abuse as well then?

Answer 6

Be thankful children still question and do so out of a curiousity that we as adults seem to forget. They are open minded sponges that absorb much...though they filter what they hear through their own percepitons of the world. The free and open discussion about God (if there is one) and Atheism is just another way for them to learn and grow. Clearly Atheism isn't a natural instinct of course you're attempting to make the contrary arguement that God is instinctive. Neither is the case both are CHOICES and should be made upon getting unbiased information from parents (of course most parents are going to hand their children the same religious or Atheistic crap they grew up with)...none the less it's ultimately up to the KID to synthasize that teaching and make of it what he/she will than CHOOSE/STRUCTURE their beliefs on their own. PEACE!

Answer 7

As a Christian, my answer would be that God has always existed. There is no fear involved for me.

From your perspective, what would your answer be to your child on the origin of the universe? The big bang theory states that the universe emerged from tremendously dense and hot matter about 14 billion years ago. But where did this matter come from?

I am not asking this question to be argumentative, I am genuinely interested in how you would answer that question.

BTW, as a Christian, I do not have a problem with Big Bang theory. I believe that Evolution could be the method God used to create the universe. So, I can answer the question where the big blob of matter came from, but I am still left with the question of where God came from.

Answer 8

1. No
2. If you look at #3 - it's not an atheist question - the child is assuming and knowing of God and is asking a childlike question - where did God come from? The child does not deny God.
3. If a child is intimidated by the parents to believe in God, it is wrong. However, if a parent wishes to share one of the greatest loves they know and their faith - wouldn't it be irresponsible to deny a child this additional love in their life?

4. I don't fear the unknown, because there is no unknown. I know that Jesus will forgive my sins, I know Jesus is merciful and kind beyond anything a human is capable of; therefore, I KNOW that he has prepared a place for Christians.

5. Jesus has even given us the meaning of life - 'to love one another' - it is that simple.

Wouldn't it be cruel and mean to withhold that love, forgiveness, kindness and mercy from a child? Wouldn't it be cruel to withhold the knowledge that there is a God and everlasting life in heaven?

Isn't it cruel to kill hope within a child?

So - I disagree.

God bless you.

Answer 9

It's not the natural instinct of atheism, it's the natural instinct of curiousity. Humans naturally want to know. In my opinion, children should be kept away from religion until an age when they will actually understand it. Then, present to them various religions and religious standpoints. Let them decide.

Although, also IMO, religion was created in times when your life was only a few decades, in hopes of there being something better after death and in the unknown. It's obsolete in the modern world.

Answer 10

I think most people do not understand that to ask man questions is needed in order to grow. Most people become intimidated about those type of questions. Therefore, these adults tend to hurt the child and abuse them.

It must be understood that children must ask questions to man so that man can have a greater understanding of God too.

Remember in the Bible, Jesus stated it would be easier for children to inherit the kingdom of heaven than adults and we are called to be children (innocent and asking all sorts of questions to man). That is a growth period that should be encouraged and not destroyed.

Answer 11

I do not believe Atheism is our natural response to the question of our existence. I also must mention that Religion is not an automatic response by ANY means. The human mind when free to think logically will critically analyze it's existence and origins of life. The results of this analysis are going to be commensurate with the intelligence of the individual. That said, religious beliefs are contrived by our "hierarchical" society which attempts to sooth the masses about their fate after their life ends on Earth.