Read previous coffee chats under the “discussion” category or click here.
It’s been awhile since we gathered around our coffee cups and keyboards to “chat.” It sure would be nice to meet you all in person! One of the awesome things about being at the conference in November was meeting face-to-face with people from all over the country (and from other parts of the world) who have the same philosophy about food and nutrition. I actually did enjoy a “coffee chat” with one of my fellow conference attendees. It was great fun discussing ideas and talking about vaccines and schools and all that jazz. One lady from Canada (originally from India) described how her father made chai tea by grinding the spices and using seeded raisins for sweetening. So cool!
It’s the time of year when children dream of red-nosed reindeers and toy-making elves. Santa Claus/St. Nick/Father Christmas has become the icon of Christmas. Unfortunately, a jolly old man from the North Pole delivering toys on a reindeer-drawn sleigh that flies come snow or shine is not real.
I hope that I haven’t burst your bubble… but I felt you should know if you weren’t already aware.
I love good stories. I read fairy tales to my children. I love the creativity that goes into authoring these tales along with the gorgeous illustrations. My 8-year old has completed five Harry Potter books and is currently devouring the sixth one. She gets into the story. We have to remind her that it’s all imaginary. When we do, she giggles and says, “I know that!”
There is a problem, however. Our secularist society—particularly the “over-educated”—consider the Bible to be no more real than Aesop’s Fables or Greek Mythology. It’s just one more historical fiction book to them. They believe that God’s existence is just as likely as Santa’s. He’s just another fairy tale—to them.
But God IS real. The older I get and the more I learn about biology, anatomy, physiology etcetera, the more my confidence in His existence increases.
So, the question(s) up for our discussion today: how do you juggle myths vs the Bible? How do you make clear to your children that it is ok to dream and imagine, but also teach them how to separate fact from fiction?
Take, for instance, the Santa problem. Do you allow your kids to “believe” in Santa? If so, why? Do you worry that they might one day feel that since they’ve been wrong about Santa, they might be wrong about God as well?
The bottom line: how do you teach them to critically distinguish/critically think about such things?
The Elihu’s Corner cafe is open for discussion!
I’m going to be sipping on some warm Joy tea and enjoying your comments.
Remember: Keep your comments civil! Ad hominem arguments and attacks will be moderated without mercy. Grinches and scrooges—you have been warned!
Elihu's Corner 
Mine are all grown now, but when we had seven children at home we told them the truth about Santa. We also told them that others like to pretend he is real. “It’s fun to pretend and play make believe! So let’s not ruin their fun by insisting they not play.”
Thus worked quite well! They knew we believe the Bible to be true and God is real. Santa, tooth fairy and Easter bunny are pretend.
LikeLiked by 2 people
That’s good advice. We take a similar tack. We also make every effort to refer to particular events in the Bible as “accounts” and not stories. Words make a difference. Thank you for commenting and sharing your wisdom!
Have a wonderful weekend and may God be with you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
My three kids are all grown now too. We enjoyed reading (and watching the movies) C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien which helped in discussions of myth, faith and the Bible.
LikeLiked by 1 person