Took the kids to the library last week, oldest (6) grabbed the Childrens Illustrated Bible. I put on my best fixed smile and said ‘that’s nice, dear’.
Fast forward to last night, and she’s been struggling with a lot of the words, so I sit down to help her- at first says she wants to read about baby Jesus, but then focuses in on pictures of Moses in the bulrushes and I have to read with her through the stories of Pharaoh killing the first born males in each family, a few more killings and God visiting the various plagues on Egypt. Nice, for a 6 year old.
How should I deal with this- if she was older, I could explain it a bit better, but she still believes in Father Christmas, the Tooth Fairy and Easter Bunny, and the inherent niceness of human beings. She’s had no religious instruction, other than attending the odd wedding or christening.
Part of me wants to disappear the whole book, despite being against censorship and a supporter of religious freedom, though an agnostic.