What would you say?

Question

What would you say if a six year-old asked you what God was?

What would you say if a fifteen year-old asked you what your religious beliefs were, and why?

Answer 1

If a six year old asked, I would just them them that god is someone some people pray to for help or comfort, and that many people believe in many different gods and that some people don't believe in any. I would try to be as neutral as possible... I fully believe everyone should decide for themselves what religion they believe in, if any at all.

Now, if a fifteen year old asked, I would explain everything I believed in but still emphasis that they should make their own choices and explore various beliefs. I wouldn't worry about biasing a fifteen year old as much as I'd worry about biasing a six year old.

EDIT:

I would NOT tell them "Gods are imaginary" or "gods don't exist." We can't prove they do, and we can't prove they don't. It's a PERSONAL OPINION, and saying "Oh child, it's all a lie" is JUST AS BAD as saying, "Oh child, there's only one true god and everyone else is wrong."

Let the kids decide from themselves.

Answer 2

God is a being who is so far beyond what man can think that we just have to accept that He is.... We will never know all about God as long as we live in this mortal world... but... he is The One who made every thing that makes up this whole universe... every thing you can see when you look up in the night sky... and even more than that... all of the "stuff" that you are built with was made by God... and he figgured out how to make all that stuff come togeather and make people... so He is a really, really, really, big and powerful being... ...... and if there was further interest I would go into the part about God's Love and all that... but a six year old would probably not have that attention span....not at one sitting

for the 15 yr old... I would answer the questions with compleat honesty... if I did not have a clear answer I would say so... I would give the facts.... and I would give the doubts... I would tell The Truth.... to what ever degree of detail the conversation took...absolute honesty is absolutly necessary when dealing with teenagers on this subject... they will spot BS in a second

Answer 3

For the six yr old I would say "God is who some ppl believe created humans and the world" and kinda go from there with maybe a brief simple description of heaven, hell, and Jesus.

For the 15 yr old, I'd be straightforward in what you believe in and why. I cant tell you exactly what to say b/c I don't know what they are. I would say (my opinion) that the 15 should be knowledgable about different religion and make it his own responsibility to figure out what they want to believe and why.

Answer 4

I've been asked this by my own son.
And I told him the following (using the internet to illustrate my story with pictures of other gods) "son" I said, "there have been thousands of gods worshiped over the years. Some beautiful, some ugly. Some with wings on their feet, and some who can turn water into wine. But the people that worship them all say the same thing; that they are the ONLY ones that know the truth. Does that seem plausible to you?"
He said "no dad it's sounds like some of my friends at school who say that THEIR Pokemon card is the best one and they can prove it."
Holy crap, the kid is a friggen genius!

Answer 5

For the 6 year old, I'd start with the Children's Catechesm:

Q- What is God?
A- God is a Spirit and does not have a body as I do


The 15 year old needs more obviously. I would tell them what God is and how I know what God is. I would point to the proofs avalible to us in the historical record (both Christian and non-Christian), scientific evidences, logic, eye witness testimony, and so on.

Answer 6

6 year old- i would say god is believed by many to have created the universe, and everything in it. i'd explain how different people give him different names, depending on where they live and their beliefs there.

15 year old- i would explain that i believe in the universe, and not really in god. i believe that through thought patterns and the laws of attraction we have to power to bring into our lives what we want, and even what we don't want. i would also explain the pagan '3-fold' rule which i stronglyt believe in- that what you do will come back to you 3 times.

Answer 7

I would tell the six-year-old that many people believe in many different Gods, and explain the different theories.

I would tell the fifteen-year-old that I have none.

Why? Because they asked.

Answer 8

Start simple and let him ask questions. Keep it simple. He'll stop when he's satisfied with the answers. My daughter asked me what a goddess is. I kept it simple and I build on it. She'll beleive what ever she wants to. She is also now versed in Thor since our latest round of questions was on my necklace. LOL
Same with the 15 year old. Open forum questions. Ask and I'll answer.

Answer 9

I would tell a six-year-old, God is the one who made everything, He is everything that is good and He is your best friend .

I would tell the fifteen year old I believe that God is the one who made everything, He is everything that is good and He is my best friend and that I believe He loves us so much he was willing to give everything he held most dear, his son.

Answer 10

I'd tell them the truth. God is the one who created us and loves us. He made us each to have a relationship with Him and wants us to love Him too. I'd tell the fifteen year old that I am a Christian, because God has proved Himself time and again and has covered my many sins with the death of His son so that I can be forgiven and have a relationship with HIm.