cliff355 said:
Well, maybe not scared exactly but when I was circa 5 yrs. old I visited my ancient Presbyterian grandparents in WI and saw some kids next door that I wanted to go and play with. My grandmother forbade me from doing so giving the reason that they were Catholics.
I vaguely knew what Catholics were but wasn't aware of any rules against playing with them, so she advised me that they were "dirty."
50 years later I know perfectly well that there is nothing wrong with Catholics and that they are no more dirty than anyone else. Although I never exhibited any hostility toward catholics because of grandma's statement, to this day whenever someone tells me they are Catholic, what she said crosses my mind.
You really have to watch what you tell little boys, scary or otherwise. I think that is where most problems get started.
I hope that we, as parents can learn a bit here. It can be frustrating to deal with the screwy questions that kids ask and we are tempted to give them a quick, possibly BS answer. Often their constant questions can be irritating. Sometimes it seems as if they are just trying to "get" you.
I remember one of my kids, at about 6 yo, asked me, "If the world was made of ice cream where would it melt and drip?" I quickly answered, "Australia."
My mother was a sweetheart and very intelligent. I remember asking her knotty theological questions, like "How does God listen to so many peoples' prayers?" Usually she had a good answer, but sometimes she just said, "I don't know, you will have to ask God that question when you get to Heaven."
In my night time fears I remember her once asking me to get a frying pan from the back porch, a dark and scary place. I told her I was afraid and she said, "Don't be afraid, God is there and He will protect you."
I put my head through the door and asked, "God, would you hand me the frying pan?" I was serious, she laughed and went with me to get the pan. Well, she did tell everyone.
I also asked my Sunday school teacher a lot of questions, like, "How did the Pharoh escape drowning when the Red Sea drowned all the others?" She had no answer.
I quipped, "Maybe he caught a taxi-crab!" It was a final straw for her and she began calling me a "Transgressor." Said I was going to Hell.
Mother had a talk with her.
I was told that the Jews were "dirty." I knew some of the kids and they were no different from anyone else. I was also told they were all going to Hell because they did not accept Christ.
I was also curious about why our church was constantly asking for donations to send a missionary to Africa to briing Christ to people who were otherwise "going to Hell."
I voiced the obvious question, "Since the Jews are going to Hell, why don't we send a missionary down the street to the Jewish church? It would be cheaper and I know some of the Jewish kids. These people were my friends and neighbors." What about THEM. Also it would be MUCH less dangerous for the missionary than having to face cannibals."
Cheaper, safer and more appropriate.
They got mad at me, (again). I was mystified. Later when my friend Stuart Zuckerman died I felt very bad, betrayed.
