Around a year ago Jemima (now 3.5yrs old) wanted to know where things were made. She pointed at things around the room, and more often than not my answer was "China". She then pointed at her little sister, and wondered if she was made in China too. Now Jemima keeps asking me who made God. Not the easiest question for a Christian to answer. I wonder if it is tough for any monotheistic religion. I generally say "I don't know, God just is." Not the most satisfactory answer, but the best I can do just now in the midst of putting away washing, cleaning and the general busyness of domestic life. Jemima responded by asking if perhaps there was another god, who was in everyone's hearts too. This god might have made the other one. This morning Jemima again asked me if there were two gods. Fascinating questions from a three year old, and interesting that she was still thinking about it a day later.
So who did make God? And how on earth do you explain this to a little girl? The simplest response is that God just always was, is and has been. This argument is presented here. Attempts to answer this question seem to be wrapped up in philosophical understandings about time, logical processes of elimination of less probable answers, and a myriad of other approaches. I am not really sure what to think. At the moment I am probably quite happy to say simply to myself and to Jemima "I don't know." I am ok with a little mystery.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteOh Christina... have you read AA Milne's poem Elizabeth Ann? it is so beautiful and reminds me so much of this...
ReplyDeleteElizabeth Ann
Said to her Nan:
"Please will you tell me how God began?
Somebody must have made Him. So
Who could it be, 'cos I want to know?"
And Nurse said, "Well!"
And Ann said, "Well?
I know you know, and I wish you'd tell."
And Nurse took pins from her mouth, and said,
"Now then, darling, it's time for bed."
Elizabeth Ann
Had a wonderful plan:
She would run round the world till she found a man
Who knew exactly how God began.
She got up early, she dressed, and ran
Trying to find an Important Man.
She ran to London and knocked at the door
Of the Lord High Doodledum's coach-and-four.
"Please sir (if there's anyone in),
However-and-ever did God begin?"
The Lord High Doodledum lay in bed,
But out of the window, large and red,
Came the Lord High Coachman's face instead.
And the Lord High Coachman laughed and said:
"Well, what put that in your quaint little head?"
Elizabeth Ann went home again
And took from the ottoman Jennifer Jane.
"Jenniferjane," said Elizabeth Ann,
"Tell me at once how God began."
And Jane, who didn't much care for speaking,
Replied in her usual way by squeaking.
What did it mean? Well, to be quite candid,
I don't know, but Elizabeth Ann did.
Elizabeth Ann said softly, "Oh!
Thank you, Jennifer. Now I know."
thanks Scott - made me smile. When Jemima gets bigger I shall read it to her!!!
ReplyDelete