At the end of last year we asked to parents to note the questions their children asked about God and religion. Earlier in May we discussed these questions at the Mother and Toddler group. These are some of the responses we came up with. Please let us know how you feel these answers work- if they’re tried and tested so much the better!
If God is inside everybody he must be broken up into lots of little pieces! (Toto, aged 5)
When we say God is inside everybody we don’t mean God- who is perfect and complete- is broken up and shared out between people.
We believe, as Christians, that when we love one another this love comes from God. So when we say God lives in us we mean that God loves in us. It’s a bit like plugging in a hairdryer and drawing power from the National Grid: by loving (plugging in the hairdryer), we tap into God’s love (the National Grid). Just as a hairdryer needs electricity to make it work we need God’s love inside us to love one another.
Is Jesus for all religions? (Alexander, 7)
Other religions believe, like Christians, that Jesus Christ lived on earth. In Judaism and Islam Jesus is seen as a prophet- someone who had a close relationship with God and who could speak on His behalf. But Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that God gave us Jesus to shows us what He is like. So Christians understand Jesus differently to other world religions. He is crucially important to Christians- so much so that our name comes from the word Christ’.
What was Mary’s surname?
2000 years ago, when Mary was alive, surnames were not used in the same way as they are today. People were more often known by where they came from (e.g. Simon of Cyrene who carried the cross for Jesus) or by their relationship to one another (e.g. James, the son of Zebedee). So Mary was known as Mary, the mother of Jesus’. Try reading Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and finding the names of all the disciples and where they come from or to whom they were related.
There will be more questions and answers in next month’s magazine. Mother Sarah
Big Questions from Little People
Sarah Eynstone