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<\/a>Two summers ago,my husband Jeremy and I decided to cancel our family\u2019s cross-country road trip just days before departure. Our bank account had taken a beating with some unexpected bills. We suddenly found ourselves looking for staycation activities for our children, who were devastated to miss out on hiking the national parks and splashing in the ocean with their California cousins.<\/p>\nFortunately, several churches in our area offered Vacation Bible School programs,so we immediately set to registering Lydia, 9; Becca, 7; and Samuel, 4. You can\u2019t go wrong with snacks, scripture, and slap bracelets for less than $15 per kid. Later in the summer, I was delighted to find yet another VBS in a neighboring town that offered a curriculum different from those of the previous weeks.<\/p>\n
The program was called IncrediWorld Amazement Park: A Thrill Ride Through God\u2019s Creation.\u00a0 Still pining for Yellowstone\u2019s geysers and Black Canyon\u2019s 2,000-foot, Precambrian drop,the kids welcomed a nature-themed week.<\/p>\n
When we dropped our kids off, Jeremy and I were struck by the warmth of the staff and volunteers. While the other VBS programs funneled children into the appropriate groups right away, this church stationed the pastor at the door.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s your name, Buddy? And how old are you?\u201d he asked Samuel, crouching at his eye level and patiently awaiting an answer as if Samuel were the only child in the room.<\/p>\n
This church seemed to define itself with tenderness, and we felt comfortable entrusting our kids to them for a few hours each morning.<\/p>\n
At lunch after the first day, we asked the children what they had learned. \u201cCreation stuff,\u201d Lydia quipped, and tossed a chart on the table.Jeremy picked it up and squinted. The children had been asked to place a sun sticker on day one, a moon on day two, and so forth. The chart read, \u201cIn six short days, everything was made.\u201d He and I exchanged a quick glance.<\/p>\n
The focus on six literal days surprised us, but we didn\u2019t make too much of it, and the kids didn\u2019t even seem to notice. We\u2019ve taught them that while we<\/em> don\u2019t adhere to six literal days, many people do, and that in the context of following Christ, differing opinions are acceptable, even healthy.<\/p>\nOur own church body represents a variety of views on the creation issue\u2014if the subject even comes up. We\u2019re usually too busy trying to feed and clothe teen mothers and gang members. Be open-minded and respectful, we tell our kids. Examine your beliefs, admit uncertainty, but don\u2019t lose sight of what\u2019s\u2014or who\u2019s\u2014most important: Jesus.<\/p>\n
On the second day, as Jeremy and I drove the children home, we learned they had participated in a role-play activity.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, like a scientist guy stood on one side of the stage, and a Christian on the other,\u201d Becca said.<\/p>\n
Our kids explained how the two characters debated about the age of the earth, and then the students, aged preschool through fifth grade, were asked to stand on one side of the room if they agreed with the scientist and the other if they sided with the believer.<\/p>\n
There was, literally, no middle ground. And still no mention of Jesus.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere\u2019d you stand?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Christi<\/em><\/span>an<\/em><\/span> side,\u201d Becca said, as if I were crazy. \u201cEveryone did.\u201d<\/p>\nPanic rose in my chest, but I decided to keep quiet until Jeremy and I could speak privately. When the kids went outside to set up their Slip-n-Slide, we flipped through the morning\u2019s items.<\/p>\n
Their craft for the day was a pair of paper sunglasses labeled \u201cGod Glasses.\u201d I didn\u2019t object to that so much; it\u2019s good to try to see things the way you believe God sees them. But then I found the theme printed throughout their colorfulpaperwork: \u201cThe Bible says it, I believe it, that settles it.\u201d<\/p>\n
We hold the Bible in high regard in our household and have read it to our kids since their births. But I find the statement dangerous. What do the writers mean by says it<\/em>? Are they accounting for genre and cultural context? Certainly this church doesn\u2019t take head coverings and stoning disobedient children literally (or they would never be able to run a VBS).<\/p>\nWe want our children to linger in the mysteriously, often beautifully, gray it<\/em> of the word, not read a verse, slam their Bibles closed, and wipe the dust from their hands.<\/p>\n\u201cWhat do you think?\u201d I asked Jeremy, but we both knew the answer.<\/p>\n
To be continued tomorrow.<\/em><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
This post was made possible through the support of a grant from The BioLogos Foundation\u2019s Evolution and Christian Faith program. The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of BioLogos.<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\nTania Runyan<\/strong><\/a> is the author of the poetry collections\u00a0Second Sky (<\/em>Cascade Poiema Series), A Thousand Vessels, Simple Weight,\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0Delicious Air<\/em>, which was awarded Book of the Year by the Conference on Christianity and Literature in 2007. Her book\u00a0How to Read a Poem<\/em>, an instructional guide based on Billy Collins\u2019s \u201cIntroduction to Poetry,\u201d was recently released by T.S. Poetry Press. Her poems have appeared in many publications, including\u00a0Poetry<\/em>,\u00a0Image<\/em>,\u00a0Books & Culture<\/em>,\u00a0Harvard Divinity Bulletin<\/em>,\u00a0The Christian Century,\u00a0Atlanta Review, Indiana Review,\u00a0<\/em>and the anthology\u00a0In a\u00a0Fine Frenzy: Poets Respond to Shakespear<\/em>e. Tania was awarded an NEA Literature Fellowship in 2011. She tutors high school students and edits for Every Day Poems and Relief<\/em>.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Two summers ago,my husband Jeremy and I decided to cancel our family\u2019s cross-country road trip just days before departure. Our bank account had taken a beating with some unexpected bills. We suddenly found ourselves looking for staycation activities for our children, who were devastated to miss out on hiking the national parks and splashing in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1732,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48,50,593],"tags":[1172,69,1170,44,741,1171],"class_list":["post-7025","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-faith-topical-categories","category-relationships","category-tania-runyan","tag-bible","tag-children","tag-creation-vs-evolution","tag-faith","tag-the-biologos-foundation","tag-vacation-bible-school"],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/a>Two summers ago,my husband Jeremy and I decided to cancel our family\u2019s cross-country road trip just days before departure. Our bank account had taken a beating with some unexpected bills. We suddenly found ourselves looking for staycation activities for our children, who were devastated to miss out on hiking the national parks and splashing in the ocean with their California cousins.<\/p>\n