My Daughter, The Frog

[SquidMom]

So, this wierd. My 12 yr old daughter said she doesn't believe in the church because she firmly believes that she used to be a frog, but was hit by a car and reborn to me. I know, she's insane. I just told her she can believe whatever she wants, but she still has to go church. She says she believes in God. I explained to her about reincarnation, and how it is a non- christian belief, so that doesn't really work.
Should I support her at this stage? I know this is only a crazy phase for her, and she will likely come around eventually. So, is it unhealthy to allow her to explore other beliefs, i.e. non christian, to allow her to come into faith on her own accord? Or is she to young for that kind of freedom?

[Bini]

Originally Posted by SquidMom

So, this wierd. My 12 yr old daughter said she doesn't believe in the church because she firmly believes that she used to be a frog, but was hit by a car and reborn to me. I know, she's insane. I just told her she can believe whatever she wants, but she still has to go church. She says she believes in God. I explained to her about reincarnation, and how it is a non- christian belief, so that doesn't really work.
Should I support her at this stage? I know this is only a crazy phase for her, and she will likely come around eventually. So, is it unhealthy to allow her to explore other beliefs, i.e. non christian, to allow her to come into faith on her own accord? Or is she to young for that kind of freedom?

I don't think it's ever unhealthy to learn about other cultures and religions. However, until a child is of legal age and continues to live under their parents' roof, mum and dad are in charge.


I went to private school and Religious Studies was a mandatory course - for everyone - covering everything from Judaism, to Christianity, to Islam, etc. etc. I was and am LDS, and I used that opportunity to broaden my knowledge on various faiths. Some days I questioned the differences between us and 'the other guys'. Other days I felt uplifted that I knew the LDS gospel was true. In retrospect, while I'm no religious scholar, I have learned to appreciate the good that so many other faiths have to offer and contribute to our world.

[Backroads]

I recall asking my parents at a young age about reincarnation (somehow my young mind wasn't grasping the contradiction of the premortal existence in tandem with reincarnation).

I certainly wouldn't waste my time fighting with her on this--like you said, it's probably little more than a crazy phase.

[RMGuy]

I think you support her, and love her and HELP her explore.

At the same times it has always struck me as curious how we believe that children, at the age of 8, are accountable/responsible enough to make an important decision regarding what church to join, but they amazingly aren't accountable/responsible enough at the age of 12, 14, 16 etc to decide to leave...

-RM

[SquidMom]

I had mostly the same thoughts on this. Thanks, all! She is kind of a strange kid anyway, she'll likely be obsessed with some other wierdness in a month or so.

[anatess]

Originally Posted by RMGuy

I think you support her, and love her and HELP her explore.

At the same times it has always struck me as curious how we believe that children, at the age of 8, are accountable/responsible enough to make an important decision regarding what church to join, but they amazingly aren't accountable/responsible enough at the age of 12, 14, 16 etc to decide to leave...

-RM

I don't think it is that we don't believe they're accountable/responsible enough to decide to leave. I think it's more like - until you can live on your own, you're going to follow the house rules. And a rule in this house is you go to church. I don't see anything wrong with that.

[RMGuy]

Originally Posted by anatess

I don't think it is that we don't believe they're accountable/responsible enough to decide to leave. I think it's more like - until you can live on your own, you're going to follow the house rules. And a rule in this house is you go to church. I don't see anything wrong with that.

So it really wasn't a choice at 8 then?
-RM

[anatess]

Originally Posted by RMGuy

So it really wasn't a choice at 8 then?
-RM

Of course it was. At least in my house you don't get baptized unless you choose to get baptized. But you still have to go to church even if you decide not to get baptized. House rule.

[Vort]

Originally Posted by anatess

Of course it was. At least in my house you don't get baptized unless you choose to get baptized. But you still have to go to church even if you decide not to get baptized. House rule.

Same here. The child makes choices, but the parents set that standards of conduct.

[skippy740]

Originally Posted by SquidMom

So, this wierd. My 12 yr old daughter said she doesn't believe in the church because she firmly believes that she used to be a frog, but was hit by a car and reborn to me. I know, she's insane. I just told her she can believe whatever she wants, but she still has to go church. She says she believes in God. I explained to her about reincarnation, and how it is a non- christian belief, so that doesn't really work.
Should I support her at this stage? I know this is only a crazy phase for her, and she will likely come around eventually. So, is it unhealthy to allow her to explore other beliefs, i.e. non christian, to allow her to come into faith on her own accord? Or is she to young for that kind of freedom?

Hmmm... pretty recent reincarnation. What kind of car was it?

It's a pretty big "promotion" to go from frog to daughter. If she really believes in reincarnation, what was she supposed to learn from being a frog that she didn't get the chance to learn before?

Was she expecting her 'prince' to turn her back into a frog?



I think she's just in a phase and having some fun with you.

For fun, you can find some frogs legs and have them for dinner one night!

I know, I'm evil.