After hearing this story on Sunday, I thought I'd open up a guest spot to my sister (who got an A1 in English, you know). She has a blog of her own (that you can check out here), which is all about her three little boys, and which, sadly from my point of view, can be much more theologically profound than this one. Perhaps that explains the following...
Luke. Our middle child. The second born. Our thinker. His wheels are constantly turning. Always processing something. It's one of those things I don't remember doing as a child. I don't have all these snapshot memories of times when I was thinking. Yet it is one of the things that I probably did most. All inside my little skull. Assimilating my life as it came to me. Imagine watching life from 3 feet. No cynical cloud or pre-disposed dislike. No wound or emotional scar to form your opinion. It must be very freeing.
So here's the brown-eyed boy. Lying in his bed telling his Daddy how much he loves him and how great he is! (He's great for the feel good stuff....) He then muses.....'There are two Gods, aren't there?....Jesus and God the Father' and Ryan explains....'Am...well, no...there is one God.... Jesus is God...and God the Father is God...they are just the same God and...am'....ahh....the awkwardness when you feel stumped and are trying not to show it. Nervous cough and well....Luke is always right. This is one of his many lovely traits! So he insisted in no uncertain terms....'NO...there ARE two Gods'.....Ryan explained again, said the I love yous and goodnight.....
Next day. Beautiful day and we are enjoying it outside on our blanket. Luke is sprawled with his hands behind his head watching the clouds roll by. 'Mammy, you know what.....'....'What Luke?'.....expecting to be told about how fast Opel cars are...but instead...'You know what.....Jesus IS God the Father'.......
What do you say?! Your three year old is grappling with the Trinity. Do I grab a clover and go all St Patrick on him. Do I break it down and pretend I fully and completely understand the mysterious God in Three Person thing....simple....straightforward thing that it is....??!....Type it into Google and hope for the best?! Nah....
Luke. Our middle child. The second born. Our thinker. His wheels are constantly turning. Always processing something. It's one of those things I don't remember doing as a child. I don't have all these snapshot memories of times when I was thinking. Yet it is one of the things that I probably did most. All inside my little skull. Assimilating my life as it came to me. Imagine watching life from 3 feet. No cynical cloud or pre-disposed dislike. No wound or emotional scar to form your opinion. It must be very freeing.
So here's the brown-eyed boy. Lying in his bed telling his Daddy how much he loves him and how great he is! (He's great for the feel good stuff....) He then muses.....'There are two Gods, aren't there?....Jesus and God the Father' and Ryan explains....'Am...well, no...there is one God.... Jesus is God...and God the Father is God...they are just the same God and...am'....ahh....the awkwardness when you feel stumped and are trying not to show it. Nervous cough and well....Luke is always right. This is one of his many lovely traits! So he insisted in no uncertain terms....'NO...there ARE two Gods'.....Ryan explained again, said the I love yous and goodnight.....
Next day. Beautiful day and we are enjoying it outside on our blanket. Luke is sprawled with his hands behind his head watching the clouds roll by. 'Mammy, you know what.....'....'What Luke?'.....expecting to be told about how fast Opel cars are...but instead...'You know what.....Jesus IS God the Father'.......
What do you say?! Your three year old is grappling with the Trinity. Do I grab a clover and go all St Patrick on him. Do I break it down and pretend I fully and completely understand the mysterious God in Three Person thing....simple....straightforward thing that it is....??!....Type it into Google and hope for the best?! Nah....
I just asked him if he wanted more juice......
Theology and three-year-olds. He is clearly a genius! He then went and pooped. Right in the middle of the backyard grass, naturally.
Lovely....
Greetings Dec
ReplyDeleteIndeed, What does one say to a three year old who is grappling with the Trinity?
Well, scripturally, the answer is more simple than we think!!
We simple don't teach children the Trinity at all!!
That is, seeing that Hebrew children (including Jesus the Messiah) were never taught "The Trinity";
but rather were taught the Shema i.e.
(Deu 6:4-7) Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: 5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. ...
Surely, this is what we ought to be teaching children!!
Jesus, himself, the Messiah, quotes this verse as the foremost (first) of all the commandments in Mark 12:28-34.
This was therefore, Jesus' creed; therefore, as Christians, followers of Christ, this ought to be our creed!
If Jesus was never taught such a concept as the trinity when he was a child in light of Deut 6.4-7 (the first of all the commandments), then is it right that we teach such things to children??
Surely we ought not to!
Jesus' creed stipulates that GOD is ONE i.e. ONE Being, ONE Person, for there is one God; and there is none other but he:
[Mark 12.32]
Who then is this ONE GOD?
Jesus identifies his Father as
the only true GOD.
[John 17.3]
Paul concurs ...
(1 Cor 8:4) ... that there is none other God but one.
(1 Cor 8:6) But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; ...
Thus, there is solely ONE GOD,
the Father.
A child can easily understand that.
Indeed, this was the understanding of the early church:
(TO US there is but one God, the Father)
This teaching is indeed foundational for a child's understanding of GOD; i.e.
the fact that GOD is ONE & this ONE GOD is the Father;
indeed, the GOD & Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
[2 Cor 11.31, Eph 1.3, Col 1.3, 1 Pet 1.3]
Therefore, I encourage both you & your sister, as truthseekers, to consider the difference between Jesus' teaching and what is being taught to the children.
For more info on this subject,
I recommend this video:
The Human Jesus
Take a couple of hours to watch it; and prayerfully it will aid you in your quest for truth.
Yours In Messiah
Adam Pastor
Hi Adam,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment. This is a subject I haven't grappled with enough to debate on, but I do know that there are various texts that won't fit so easily into the above scheme, and various early Christian practices also. It's also interesting that you leave out the second part of Paul's revised "Shema": "...and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist."
I don't claim to have all the answers, but I don't think I'm ready to adopt your non-trinitarian monotheism just yet!
interesting. how do you factor in the Holy Spirit and the New Testement into all of that....I find it interesting that my little 3 year old seems to have something awakened in his own pure heart as to the existence of something more.....not just God the Father.....that Jesus is God too.....this isnt something he heard us talking about...but it has burrowed its way into his little mind.....
ReplyDeletei have neither enough knowledge of Scripture or any sort of super background to argue out a point about what or what not to teach our children.....but it certainly seems that if you leave out the Trinity....(simpler as that would make things)...you are not giving them the whole Truth......seems like a bit of a cop out....
the Godhead three in One...Father Spirit Son....it even rhymes.....therefore it MUST be right!