This afternoon was one of those “rubber meeting the road” times. My 11-year-old daughter, who goes to public school, adores her science teacher. Today, however, she came home very upset. It seems they’ve begun to study evolution, and my daughter is feeling an enormous conflict with what she’s been taught in Sunday School.
This is so difficult and delicate a thing to have to start navigating. Intending no disrespect to anyone who might thing otherwise, I don’t think young earth creationism is a good way to approach this sort of thing. Yet, on the one hand I don’t want to nip her respect for the church and her Sunday School teachers or to bring her into conflict with any of her Christian friends; on the other, I don’t want her to be afraid of science; and on yet another, I don’t want her to think scientists necessarily have the last word. I did my best to start explaining how there are different ways of looking at how God created the heavens and the earth, and that some things — like that there is a God and that God is the creator — are primary while others — like how old the earth is or what natural processes God used to create — can be discussed.
Anyone have any tips, resources, etc. for helping a kid this age start to navigate this minefield?