Portia--I'm concerned about appropriateness, esp, in light of the fact that he is wanting to learn about religion in a community that has a very strong belief system that I don't share. I don't want to say they are "wrong" (for all I know, they're not, at least not 100 percent wrong). I'm actually confused as to how people can believe something that is not a scientific fact and be so sure that they are right, and dismiss any evidence to the contrary (for instance, people who insist that the earth was created in 6 days). I am worried about the fact that he will offend/disturb people (esp. people close to us who may freak out, thinking we're going to hell, and put us on prayer chains). But I also don't know how to answer any questions that come up. I can tell them what I "think is probably true" but no one has all the answers. An 8 year old is probably going to want something to believe, not a bunch of "I think this is probably the answer, but I could be wrong" responses. Is that really fair to them? I have to put my foot down in terms of certain things (like believing the earth was created literally in 6 days) but other than topics like that, which can not be verified or disputed with science, it's all a big unknown. In the same way that I don't want to tell him that the Bible is just a bunch of made up stories, I also don't want to tell him that there is no God, because I don't have the answers. I have respect for people who can have a "strong faith" (or the opposite--no faith at all) and teach their child to follow it, but I can't do that. So then what? Especially if you have a child who thinks about all of this much more than most adults think about it? Most people say they are a certain faith and they accept it, but understand very little about why they actually believe it. They accept it because they were indoctrinated by their parents and church when they were young. Or they don't accept it, but follow religious traditions/practices in order to fit into their community. I don't want my kids going down that path.
Like I said, I don't want to offend anyone and probably 80 percent of the general population would be offended by this thread. I'm looking for other people who have the same sorts of concerns, esp. with a gifted child, who is fascinated with the topic, and parents who value teaching their child to think critically.
