Terracotta

This past week, my 5yo stepdaughter has been going to Vacation Bible School with our neighbor, who is my best friend. They're Baptist, but they never impose on us - she kind of knows about my deconversion, but we rarely talk about it. She's quite "liberal" compared to many - hell, she smokes pot with me all the time.

Anyhoo, yesterday my SD starts saying things like "God lives in the sky." "God can help me fly." "You don't know God." I was stumped as to how to respond, so I said, "Sweetheart, lots of people believe in God, but lots of people think that God is just pretend."

So last night my friend brought SD home, and the first thing to come out of SD's mouth is "God is REAL!" My friend said that during VBS that night my SD had said "My mommy says that God is just pretend." Ooooooops.

The VBS thing didn't bother me too much at first, but now it does. I want my SD to grow up and make her own decisions about religion, but it seems like people are attempting to indoctrinate her. I don't want to make too big of a deal about this, and I don't want a confrontation with my friend. We don't go to church, so maybe it will all blow over.

Any ideas of age-appropriate responses for my SD?

Godless Dave

Why the hell did you send her to Vacation Bible School? I mean, what did you expect? Its whole purpose is indoctrination.

scarmig

May be time to bring up the whole Santa Clause/Easter Bunny/Tooth Fairy boondoggle.

King Rat

All you have to do is explain that god is like the easter bunny and Santa Claus. Some people like to have pretend friends. They'll get lonely or depressed and instead of seeking out relationships with real people, they'll invent imaginary friends.

It is a form of escape.

Non-praying Mantis

Tell your stepdaughter to lay off the pot...

NPM

beth

I wouldn't ahve let her go either if I didn't want her to start believing in god. I didn't let my kids go this year and I didn't let them participate in a church play. In fact they only go now when their Nanna takes them. Religion has been less of a topic in this family.

dimpledop

It would have been wise to not let her go in the first place. Indoctrination is the game, and they don't try to hide it (hence the name). This situation was inevitable. Pull her out and don't let her go to VBS again. Send her someplace where there is little or no attempt at indoctrination, or if not possible, spend more time with her yourself.

Evolved

I would pull her out and explain more about god and the bible to her in your own words. I have told my 5 year old that god is invisible to everyone and does not speak to anyone and I asked her, "If you can't see someone and you can't hear someone, what does that tell you?" Her response, "He's not real." Good girl.

And I have told her that some people need to believe in god so that when they die they think they can have all the beer they want, all the great fishing and/or hunting they want, all the money and food they want, cool cars, the great clothes...etc. It's all about getting things when they are dead compared to what they get when they're alive, everything will be better when they're dead and go to heaven. She seems to grasp that notion easily enough.

I still have people ask me why it would be so bad for her to go to church and I tell them that she's too young and I don't want her brainwashed, she's still at an age where she can be swayed to easily. And they tell me that I'm brainwashing her with my lack of belief.

Godless Wonder

I went to vacation bible camp back in the 70's when I was about 5 yo, with a neighbor's kid, almost the exact same situation. I was in it for the swimming, and the cable-slide, and the fun stuff. I do remember it being a bit weird, having a big group prayer before lunch, and an afternoon sermon, and stuff. I remember being worried that my parents would burn in hell forever, and I remember getting "saved", sorta. But, near the end of my days at VBC, the Bible-People were hoistes with their own petard.

They had a magician, see, and he did all these magic tricks for us kiddos, with ropes and knots and coins and handkerchiefs... I particularly remember one big ol' hanky with a giant airbrushed jesus on it. Anyway, coincidentally, I'd been looking into a book on magic, and my dad, or somebody, maybe my uncle, had showed me how a couple of card tricks were done, and some other little sleight-of-hand, so I knew these were just tricks, even if I didn't know how they were done. So when they said that Jesus helped them do the magic, well then I pretty much knew they were full of it. But it still took some talking to my parents to shake out the fear of god, I know I didn't want my parents in hell.

It's really pretty awful to go around scaring five year old kids with hellfire and bogus magic. Shame on you, you evil Christians.

jj

Ours have been in church only when somebody got married. They haven't exactly seemed to suffer, either.

Then again, nobody in the family is a believer.