Buildings Are Held Up By Faith And Gravity

(My husband and I are atheists, but are trying to raise our five-year-old son without too much bias on the subject. We drive by a church.)

Son: “Why is there a church there?”

Me: “Well, so people can go and worship God.”

Son: “Why do they need a building for that?”

Me: “Um… so they can find other people to talk about God with.”

Son: “Okay, do you believe in God?”

Me: “Um… not particularly. Do you?”

Son: “I think that God could be real, yes.”

Me: “Okay then.”

Son: “But what is God? Who is he?”

Me: “He’s the guy people think made the world… and everything.”

Son: “But, gravity made the world. It pulled all the bits of rock and stuff together, and made the planets.”

Me: “Hmmm…”

(We stay silent, trying not to tell him what to think.)

Son: “Mommy? I don’t believe in God anymore.”