“But, the big question is ‘Who made God?’ and ‘Where did God get the power to make everything?’ Maybe the universe made God.”
I had just introduced the Bible lesson for the day—Genesis 1—to a group of 2nd-4th graders and told them that we were going to use science and the Bible to explore God’s creation. I was only about ten seconds in when—let’s call him Jacob—interjected with his questions. Jacob just started second grade.
Did I mention Jacob just started second grade?
I often hear these kinds of questions from even the youngest children when the topic of creation comes up.
Jacob was being curious and also, possibly, reflecting the skepticism of this age. And, it turns out, how we answer Jacob’s questions can have dramatic impacts on his faith formation.1,2 So, how can we try to navigate faith, skepticism, science and wonder as we engage Jacob’s questions in the process of learning and faith formation? While there is no one “right” way to do this, my approach was to try to affirm Jacob’s questioning and allow everyone in the group to think about their answers to the questions he posed.
First, I comfortably embraced any perceived skepticism and doubts. For a person of long-established faith it can be tempting to dismiss or to give an answer that “explains away”. But, we know that doing so may actually impair faith formation and lead to the rejection of faith in the long run.
My first response to Jacob was, “Those are great questions!” People of faith wrestle with hard questions, not avoid them.
Next, I gave all the learners in the group an opportunity to explore the questions for themselves. “Jacob asked some great questions about God? What do you think? “
Lastly, I allowed myself to have an answer and spoke from an “I” perspective. “Thanks for sharing all those good thoughts. I think the biggest thing and the one that came before everything is what we call ‘God.’ The Bible tells us that ‘God is love’. I think love is God’s power and God uses love to create.”
How did the lesson end? Our final reflection for the morning was “What did you learn about God’s world this morning that you can share with someone else?” Jacob had the last word, “That it just fills us with so much happiness!” Indeed and amen.
