Talking about God

I don't believe in God. It's not that I don't believe in anything. I just don't think there's some supernatural being who created everything, or is in charge of everything, or is watching over you to make sure you're being good. And I certainly don't believe that you need a book or a God to teach you right from wrong.

Before we got married, I agreed that we could raise our kids in the Catholic church because JW felt strongly about it and I didn't. My one requirement, which JW agreed with, was that I wanted them to learn about different religions and learn to respect everyone's beliefs. (Which is a little un-Catholic -- I still remember a mass I went to where every few sentences, the priest intoned, "This is The Truth.")

K was baptized but has rarely been to church since. I tried taking him to the local Unitarian Universalist church a few times, but he made such a fuss each time that I gave up. Maybe when he's older.

K has this book called In Every Tiny Grain of Sand: A Child's Book of Prayers and Praise. It was a very appropriate gift from his godmother, and it has lovely illustrations and prayers and poetry from all sorts of different traditions. I just can't bring myself to read it to him. When he was a baby we used to just look at the pictures and talk about them, but now he points to the words and says, "Read that." And reading out loud to him, "Praise to thee, O Lord," or "We open our hearts to Brahma" just feels weird.

A friend recently told me that her husband talks to their kids about God the same way he talks about Santa: "Some people believe in him." I guess I'll end up using the same approach.