Hi Linda ===================================== In the last 15 years or so I have come to believe there is only a stream of wellness or good from God/Universe/Spirit/Higher Power, whatever you want to call this power. ===================================== Funny story. When my daughter was 5, she was kicked out of Sunday School for suggesting that. lol The Sunday School teacher was talking about Hell & the devil. At the end of the lesson, the teacher asked if any of the children had questions. My daughter raised her hand. She proceeded to say that if God loves everyone and is forgives all sin, there would be no need for a hell... and if people went to hell because they didn't accept God, then that's very not really all-loving because real love doesn't have conditions. So, she asked, is it possible that if there is a hell or a devil, maybe it has nothing to do with God - and maybe God is only about goodness? The teacher ended the class right then and there and told my neighbor (who was picking the kids up that Sunday) NOT to bring *that child* back again and to *inform me* that my daughter isn't welcome there anymore. Funny how threatened an adult felt by a small child's innocent question. lol L P.S. She was always older than her years. It started when she learned to talk... full sentences by her first birthday. My mother used to laugh her head off and say it's me all over again. lol

Hey Linda, Wow, what a wise little daughter you have. Children are so wise before grownups start to invalidate what they instinctively know to be "true." It is so interesting, whatever the source of information about spirituality in any form, if you pay close attention, it is all saying the same thing. The difference is that specific groups of people are interpreting it's meaning in one way and USING that definition to control the group of people they influence so they can say then that they are RIGHT and all other groups must be wrong. We are all right. No one is wrong. And that is MY belief. :)

I immediately picked up my Bible to look up the citation for the "little child shall lead them" quote that I only partially remember. The concordance is very selective, and I didn't find that one, maybe Dave can help us. But I did find this: ============================================ unless you...become like children, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. ============================================ I'd say that Sunday School teacher may be in trouble. I can't remember the name of the book or who the movie star is who put it together, but there's a beautiful book of photographs and quotes from real children that's recently been published. Many children under the age of five or so seem to remember an idyllic pre-existence. The author discusses, and convincingly dismisses, the suggestion that all of these children had been influenced by parental discussion in the home. I'll try to find the title, and anyone who is interested can see for themselves. Standing in the bookstore, flipping through the pages and reading the children's words with tears streaming down my face, it felt like truth. Cheri

Hi. My daughter is 23 now (where did the years go?) but I could talk for hours about the wonderful experiences (ie; the church one) that I had as she was growing up. I tell her all the time that I don't just love her because she's my child. I truly love and admire who she is as a person and a woman. Cheri, I'd love to see that book if you happen to find the name of it. : ) L

Hi Cheri and Linda, One of the thing I also study is Radical Forgiveness by Colin Tipping. In his book he tells the story of a very young child whose parents bring home a new born baby. The child repeatedly asks to be along with the child until finally the parents allow the child to go into the baby's room along, but they watch through a crack in the door. The child walks over to the baby's crib and says, "Baby, tell me about God. I'm starting to forget." I think that is a perfect example of the wisdom of a child - before we as adults influence them so. But it's all perfect. Each of us creating our own experience in perfect timing. All is well.