[alert variation=”alert-info”]Publisher: Bethany House
Formats: Paperback, Kindle, eBook
Purchase: Powell’s | Amazon | IndieBound | Barnes & Noble | iBooks[/alert]
Written by a mother/daughter team, Answering Your Kids’ Toughest Questions provides a biblical look at difficult topics that kids may be grappling with and the scriptural tools parents need to provide direction. Each chapter includes Scripture, stories, and an explanation of how all three relate in addressing the question at hand, as well as discussion suggestions for children in three age ranges: preschool, 5 to 10 years old, and age 11 and up. Some of the questions tackled by co-authors Jessica Thompson and Elyse Fitzpatrick include “Why do people die?” “Who is Satan, and what is hell?” “Why do people get divorced?” “Why do some people sin sexually?” and “Why does God let natural disasters happen?”
“I want my children to know that truth is outside of them; it doesn’t originate with them. It is not subjective or based on thoughts or feelings. There actually is what evangelical Christian theologian Francis Schaeffer used to call ‘true truth,’ a truth that transcends what our feelings or our culture or environment tells us is right and wrong, true or false.”
Thompson and Fitzpatrick focus their answers on truth and hope, presenting Scriptural but age-appropriate answer suggestions for children. In tackling divorce, for example, the authors write that “Jesus does not say divorce is always allowable,” but he does cite specific instances for divorce in the Bible. The authors then acknowledge that Christians differ in their opinions about divorce, with some believing there are never biblical grounds and others offering specific instances for a “righteous” divorce. While their theology may be too conservative for some, most Christian parents will appreciate their straightforward, biblical handling of many decidedly tough issues. To their credit, the authors do a nice job of keeping their theology both non-denominational and broad-based, offering a variety of Christian opinions for each new topic.
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