Andrew and I have different views about religion and the afterlife. Since we both feel strongly about our views but there's no way to prove our belief, we decided to discuss many belief systems with our children. We know this is not common among parents. We also know that several of our friends and relatives would think this isn't the correct way to introduce religion to children.
We respect the way other people raise their children and hope other people will do the same for us. If not, it isn't going to change our minds so it will only hurt our relationship with those people. We will raise children with strong ethics and belief systems.
The boys, especially Alex, have had many questions about death and the afterlife lately. Andrew explained reincarnation and the concept of heaven and hell. He also explained resurrection. We've told them bits and pieces along the way but haven't spent hours explaining things yet. Both of the boys listened intently to the entire explanation. When asked which belief system made the msot sense to them, they liked reincarnation the best. Heaven sounds best to me, but I'm not a 5 or 7 year old boy.
Alex was having a rough time a few days later. Afterward he told me that he really should work on his behavior because he wouldn't want to end up in that place with fire with the mean guy or as a bug in his next life. Then Gabriel chimed in and said, "I don't think a bug's life would be too bad." It was pretty tough to keep a straight face.
I will enjoy watching and helping our children develop their religious views. I know it's going to get more complicated but right now, I enjoy teaching them things from world religions. What a journey!
