Pumpkins, Original Sin, and That Evangelical Illustration

Yesterday I posted this. Several people (here and on Facebook) asked me to explain  my conversation with Elias’s teacher. A couple people asked why I felt the need to speak with his teacher about the “pumpkin illustration.” So I thought I’d offer a follow-up post to explain…

Why did I talk to Elias’s teacher?

For one thing, because he was 3! And not almost 4, either, though that wouldn’t have made much of a difference. I likely would have discussed the use of this illustration with his teacher even if he’d been 6 or 7.

That’s because I’m very careful about how Elias and Adeline learn about God. Sometimes I’m probably too careful. But I’m willing to walk that line because I believe faith is too important not to be intentional in how we share our beliefs with our children. How we present spirituality affects every aspect of a child’s being, from how they view themselves, their friends to how they will eventually come to terms with loss or disappointment or pain.

Though I consider myself to be an evangelical, I do not buy into all of America’s evangelical ideology.

For instance, I abhor the doctrine of “Original Sin.” Which is the crux of this silly illustration, that we are all chockfull of dirty, nasty, slimy sin. And not only that, we were born that way. What a dreadful idea to teach anybody, let alone a child.

And while Original Sin is a concept that a majority of America’s churches adhere to and teach, it’s not a biblical concept. It’s an idea that was manifested by St. Augustine and then tweaked by John Calvin and others. But it’s not supported by scripture. And even when scripture does hint at the concept (the verse most often used is Psalm 51:5), the writer is pontificating about himself, not all of humanity. And too, he doesn’t tie his sin back to whatever happened in the Garden of Eden.

Furthermore, I think the doctrine of Original Sin is a dangerous teaching, one that can negatively affect a child’s self-esteem, a child’s mental health, and a child’s personal understanding about who and what God is. And while my son knows he’s not perfect, to teach him that God created him predisposed to make bad and evil choices seems cruel.

Do I believe we all sin? Yes. I just don’t believe it’s genetically programmed into our DNA via Adam and Eve. When I held Elias for the first time, I refuse to believe that there was anything remotely evil or bad or unnatural about his 8-pound-4 ounce being. He was a blotchy, wrinkly perfect soul. If I believe that God created my son, that God formed him in his momma’s womb, why on earth would I also believe that he was born depraved beyond reason? But even if I did believe that (and I don’t), but if I did, I’d want to be the one to tell him…

But beyond the theological issues I have with the Christian Pumpkin concept, I think tangible illustrations always fall short telling the mysteries of God. Because they are limited, too simplistic, and occasionally leave more questions than answers.

For instance, if we’re going to take the pumpkin illustration literally (which is what we Christians tend to do), should we also tell the little kiddos that after God puts light inside a little pumpkin, it will start to decay, eventually wrinkling up and rotting until it’s shrunk into a hideous and disgusting clump of orangey mush on the front porch. And that, in all actuality, if God had left the pumpkin alone, it would have lived a much longer and happier life.

For six months, Elias believed that pumpkins were filled up with yucky sin. And I guess I think, why can’t carving a pumpkin be just that, carving a pumpkin? Why do we have to take a fun activity and Christianize it poorly with doctrine?

Which is why, the next morning, I talked to his teacher. I simply took her aside and asked her what she taught and then simply said that I didn’t think that the illustration was age appropriate for 3 year-olds. I told her that Jessica and I appreciated her passions for God, but that we were intuitionally careful about what and how Elias learned about God. I explained a little about my church background, which I believe she understood to some degree. And then I requested a heads-up the next time she planned to discuss “sin” in a classroom setting. I told her that I wasn’t trying to change her lesson plan, but would just like to know what Bible lessons she was teaching so I could have choices and not be in the dark the next time we make jack-o-lanterns. 

Maybe I was overreacting.

But I’d overreact again in a heartbeat. Because how my kids learn about God and themselves is that important to me.

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