Q&A With 3rd Graders

[Theologian in Training]

So, now that this whole Q&A thing I do for the bulletin is gaining popularity, one of the teachers of the 3rd grade CCD class asked her students for questions...here they are completely unedited (BTW, if this is better suited in Transmundane Lane, make the change accordingly) God Bless

Our Questions For Fr. Brian

1) Why did the devil want to be stronger?
2) How did the devil get mean?
3) How did God make the earth?
4) Was God ever born?
5) Why did Mary have to marry Josephy to have Jesus?
6) Who built the Church?
7) Why do we have to die?
8) Who was God's Father?

Got some work ahead of me...really intelligent group

[MIKolbe]

very interesting how many of the questions point to understanding the beginnings of everything.

impressive how a child's mind can cut through alot of junk to get at the crux of the matter....

How lucky you are, Theo, to help shape these young minds for Christ.

JMJ,

MIKolbe

[littleflower+JMJ]

little kids minds really blow me away. I taught first grade ccd for several years and loved every minute of it. When it came down to it, they really taught me a thing or two every Sunday!

[Thy Geekdom Come]

Those are some very good questions, Father. It astounds me to think how early on we ask the really fundamental ones. Even children can get right to the heart of the matter.

[EcceNovaFacioOmni]

Wow.

[homeschoolmom]

Great questions. Nothing about liturgical abuse or anything... just meat and potatoes theology.

[Guest T-Bone]

# 4 isn't a good question. It's confusing. God the Father was never born, but God the Son was.

[Theologian in Training]

T-Bone, they are questions from 3rd graders, they think a little differently from the rest of us "educated" people.

Truth be told though, these questions are easier in comparison to the one I got from an adult: "What is the Catholic view of organ donation/cremation?" Doh!

[Theologian in Training]

And today, I try to tackle some of these questions to put them in the bulletin, say a prayer that I am able to speak theologically enough for a 3rd grader to understand and clear enough for an adult to want to read

God Bless

[homeschoolmom]

[quote name='Theologian in Training' post='1093874' date='Oct 17 2006, 10:29 AM']
And today, I try to tackle some of these questions to put them in the bulletin, say a prayer that I am able to speak theologically enough for a 3rd grader to understand and clear enough for an adult to want to read

God Bless
[/quote]
Or the other way around?

[Theologian in Training]

Here it is. I don't mean any offense by this, but don't try to edit it because it has already gone to the press, as it were. So, if I am off or wrong or anything else, I will have to deal with that one on one

God Bless

In light of my request for more questions for me to answer, one of our third grade teachers decided to ask her class to pose some questions. Now, I have to tell you many of these questions have been the subject of much theological speculation and controversy, but they do get to the heart of matter and really ask the fundamental questions of our faith. There were eight questions that I was given. Of course, I cannot answer them all in one bulletin, so I will be spreading them out over the next couple of weeks. The following are the questions I have chosen to answer this week:

Why did the Devil want to be stronger?

It is the question many theologians constantly ask, and one that really get to the heart of the matter with regard to sin and the dynamic of sin as well as obedience to God. In fact, in order to answer this question, we could even ask another question: what was the sin Adam and Eve were guilty of? Many immediately say they were disobedient and their sin was failing to do what God had asked, which is true, but there is something more, when the serpent (also known as the Devil) temped Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit, her response was that she was not to eat it lest she die. However, the serpent turned it around on her and told her not only will she not die but she will be like God. And that is the sin that our first parents were guilty of as well as the Devil: the desire to be like God, for you see, the Devil did not want to just become stronger, he wanted to be the strongest of them all, he wanted to be like God. (I say “like God” because the Devil could not be God since God created him, just like you or I) He was not content with being one of the most glorious and greatest angels in Heaven In fact, he was called Lucifer, which, in Latin, means: “light bearer.” It was this pride, his desire to become like God, that poisoned him and caused him to rebel, him and countless other angels with him. We see this in the Book of Revelation (7-9) “Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they were defeated and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world--he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.” And Jesus Himself said: “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.”

How did the Devil get mean?

The Devil got mean, as it were, as a result of envy, that is, by being jealous. He saw God make the human race and saw the power he gave them and the relationship they had, and so the Devil sought to cause division with God and the human race. In fact, his other name is Satan, which in Hebrew means “accuser” or “adversary,” that is, an opponent or an enemy. Therefore, even today the Devil seeks to separate us and keep us from God. That is why we would do well to heed the advice of St. Peter: “Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith.”

[Tufsoles]

I taught third grade for 2 years. I thought it was a blast. trust me they asked those same q's plus other q's not related to the class.

[Theologian in Training]

Oh yeah, I know, I also taught 3rd grade as a seminarian. Even though I have said it before my favorite response to a question was when I asked about Genesis. An eager girl confidently raised her hand saying: "Adam and Eve were in the Garden and they were told not to eat the apple but they did and they were naked." I then asked her how they knew they were naked, maybe expecting a response about sin or the like, no, after a look of confusion, but heavy thinking she looked at me and simply responded: "The wind?"

[homeschoolmom]

[Theologian in Training]

whew...found them...

[Theologian in Training]

Wow, these are much harder than I initially thought they would be....I could only fit one question...

Continuing with the questions from the 3rd grade CCD class, I have chosen to answer only one question given its importance and the great depth it entails; the very heart of our existence.

How did God make the earth?

In order to answer this question, there is something important that first needs to be clarified: God did not make the earth, He created it. This is important to remember, because when we read about God creating the earth we, quite naturally, compare it to how we make something of our own. Yet, we can never say we created a chair, or we created a table, or we even created the clothes we wear, because those things were made from the materials we already had; nails, hammer, wood, thread, etc. When God created, however, there were no materials, there was nothing. In fact, in the first book of the bible, Genesis (1:1-2) we read: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters.” So, God created something out of nothing, there is a Latin word we use to describe this: “ex nihilo,” that is, “ex” means “out of” and “nihilo” means nothing. Therefore, we can see in this the great power God has by being able to create the earth out of nothingness.

Now, I realize that this may be difficult for 3rd graders to fully understand, so I am going to attempt to simplify this a little bit:

God did not make the earth, He created it. In other words, when we make something, a picture, a sculpture out of clay, or even write an essay, we are using things that we already have. We already have the crayons or pencil to draw the picture, we already have the clay to make the sculpture, and we already have the words to write the essay. However, when God created the earth, He did not have anything to use, so, out of nothing at all, He had the earth appear. And, we read all about this in the first book of the bible, Genesis, where we see in great detail the way in which creation occurred.

Given this though, the question still remains as to how God created the earth, and the answer is quite simple: He spoke it into existence. In fact, during this act of creation, before anything occurred, we first hear the words: “And God said.” In Psalm 33:9, we hear the same: “For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood forth.” Even the Gospel of John reminds us of the importance of this Word who: “became flesh and dwelt among us.”

It is something I don’t think we tend to think too much about, that God had only to speak in order to bring something into existence. It shows us how powerful God is and, not just that, but that His Word is not just any word, but the eternal Word that is so powerful, it could bring life out of darkness, it could bring existence literally out of nothing.

[Thy Geekdom Come]

[quote name='Theologian in Training' post='1105196' date='Oct 30 2006, 05:29 PM']
Wow, these are much harder than I initially thought they would be....I could only fit one question...

Continuing with the questions from the 3rd grade CCD class, I have chosen to answer only one question given its importance and the great depth it entails; the very heart of our existence.

How did God make the earth?

In order to answer this question, there is something important that first needs to be clarified: God did not make the earth, He created it. This is important to remember, because when we read about God creating the earth we, quite naturally, compare it to how we make something of our own. Yet, we can never say we created a chair, or we created a table, or we even created the clothes we wear, because those things were made from the materials we already had; nails, hammer, wood, thread, etc. When God created, however, there were no materials, there was nothing. In fact, in the first book of the bible, Genesis (1:1-2) we read: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters.” So, God created something out of nothing, there is a Latin word we use to describe this: “ex nihilo,” that is, “ex” means “out of” and “nihilo” means nothing. Therefore, we can see in this the great power God has by being able to create the earth out of nothingness.

Now, I realize that this may be difficult for 3rd graders to fully understand, so I am going to attempt to simplify this a little bit:

God did not make the earth, He created it. In other words, when we make something, a picture, a sculpture out of clay, or even write an essay, we are using things that we already have. We already have the crayons or pencil to draw the picture, we already have the clay to make the sculpture, and we already have the words to write the essay. However, when God created the earth, He did not have anything to use, so, out of nothing at all, He had the earth appear. And, we read all about this in the first book of the bible, Genesis, where we see in great detail the way in which creation occurred.

Given this though, the question still remains as to how God created the earth, and the answer is quite simple: He spoke it into existence. In fact, during this act of creation, before anything occurred, we first hear the words: “And God said.” In Psalm 33:9, we hear the same: “For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood forth.” Even the Gospel of John reminds us of the importance of this Word who: “became flesh and dwelt among us.”

It is something I don’t think we tend to think too much about, that God had only to speak in order to bring something into existence. It shows us how powerful God is and, not just that, but that His Word is not just any word, but the eternal Word that is so powerful, it could bring life out of darkness, it could bring existence literally out of nothing.
[/quote]

I hope that's not the way you're phrasing it for them.

[homeschoolmom]

Why not? It's for the whole parish. I like it.

[Thy Geekdom Come]

[quote name='homeschoolmom' post='1106034' date='Oct 31 2006, 01:21 PM']
Why not? It's for the whole parish. I like it.
[/quote]
Oh, well...if it's for the whole parish that's okay...it's just that it's a little heavy on the technical language.

[homeschoolmom]

He asked the kids to submit questions for the bulletin.

Kids can ask some hum-dingers.