When my son was 5 years old, he approached me with the question, “Daddy, what makes me think?”
For a second, since I was a physician with a degree in Biology, I actually considered a scientific explanation.
"Well son, You think because of your brain. There are molecules in the brain called neurotransmitters that interact with millions of interconnecting brains cells, and these chemical reactions makes us think. Somehow this didn’t seem to be the best answer for the question. So, I gave a better answer, “God made you, and God gave you the ability to think.”
Daddy, Where Did I Come From?
When my second son at the age of 6 came to me and asked, “Daddy, where did I come from?” For a second, since I am a physician with a degree in biology, I actually considered a scientific explanation of neo-Darwinian evolution, “Well, son, you evolved from primitive one-celled organisms over billions of years ago. That’s where you came from."
You Came from Mommy's Tummy
For a second, I considered another scientific explanation, "Well son, the sperm combined with the egg to form an embryo which grew in mommy’s tummy, and after 9 months, you were born. That’s where you came from." But that didn’t seem to be the best answer to the question. So, I finally said. “Son, you were created by God, and there is a small piece of God in you.” And that seemed to be the best answer.
You Came from Random Mutations in One Celled Organisms
My adopted son approached me and said, “I am an atheist. Where did I come from? What makes me think?”
Without hesitation, I replied, “you evolved from single celled organisms by a process of random mutation. The strongest organisms survived while the weaker died out. Eventually you were born. You were the strongest. Go forth and conquer the world. Your ability to think comes from chemical reactions in your brain. These chemicals evolved over millions of years starting as reactions in one-celled organisms, eventually leading to chemical reactions in your brain. Random mutations and survival of the fittest, that is where you came from and that is why you think .” And that seemed the best answer for him.
(c) Copyright 2009 Jeffrey Dach MD All Rights Reserved
TIP:
Enter the amount, and click "Tip" to submit!
Just Thinking...
Amy A
Jimmy Zuma
Jesse Mitchell
Frank Indiana
Lois Wickstrom
Salon.com
Comments
How is that better than, "Because I said so"?
I assume you didn't get through medical school answering every question with "Because of God." They would assume you were mentally retarded or had an obsessive compulsive disorder of some kind.
As an agnostic, I ackowledge there may be a god, but expect rational answers to rational questions. What is wrong with describing brain function? It is really preferable to give a pat answer to everything? Isn't that lazy? And teaching him to be mentally lazy?
Once you tell him there is a god that made everything, I assume he gets the point, and is asking specific questions for specific answers.
Seeing our horses foal and our dogs whelp every few years, pretty much taught me where "I" came from, in a sense. My parents never really explained the whole "birds and the bees" thing, lol My dad had one room in the house as a mini library and there were a set of medical encyclopedias from the 70's, I was only around 10 then and I would read those. My mom caught me looking at a diagram of a penis and just when I thought I was in trouble, she just sighed and left the room.
I couldn't eat hot dogs for a month.lol Ah the wonders of youth!
Rated!