{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"What to Do When Your Child Doubts God (and You Don\u2019t Know the Answer) with Elizabeth Urbanowicz","description":"Questions Aren\u2019t the Opposite of Faith: Preparing Kids for the Questions They\u2019ll Face Our kids are hearing hard questions about God, the Bible, and faith from friends, influencers, and the internet. Elizabeth Urbanowicz, founder of Foundation Worldview, returns to talk about how to make home the safest place to ask them. She and Terrie discuss what to do when your child doubts, when you don\u2019t know the answer, and when someone has twisted Scripture to hurt them. In this episode:  Welcome questions: The opposite of faith is unbelief, not questions. Affirm the question before you answer it. When you don\u2019t know the answer: Faking an answer trains kids to trust blindly, and that trust eventually moves to a peer, an influencer, or a professor. Instead, research the answer together and teach your kids how to judge whether a source is reliable, including asking AI tools to cite their sources. When your child doubts God exists: Doubt can be an invitation to discover whether what they believe is true. Ask questions first to find the root of the doubt. An intellectual objection calls for evidence. A painful experience calls for comfort first. When a friend walks away from faith: Help your kids come up with good questions that uncover why the friend left. The listening ball activity: A simple game that teaches kids to ask questions and repeat back what they heard before they respond. When Scripture has been twisted: Teach kids the whole story of the Bible, how to read a passage in context, and the difference between descriptive and prescriptive passages. Remind them that God takes it seriously when shepherds harm His sheep. Literal or symbolic? Using John 6 as the example, Elizabeth explains how genre, context, and the resurrection help kids interpret hard passages. Moving past \u201cthe Jesus answer\u201d: When kids default to \u201cJesus,\u201d ask them to explain why.  Timestamps 00:11 Welcome 01:54 New Foundation Worldview resources for kids 02:44 Preparing kids for the questions they\u2019ll face 03:19 Making your home a place that welcomes questions 06:12 What if I don\u2019t know the answer? 08:30 When your child starts doubting God 11:13 Finding the root cause of doubt 14:43 When a friend walks away from faith 18:06 The listening ball activity 20:57 When kids have been taught twisted Scripture 25:54 When church hurt affects your kids 29:55 John 6: Is it literal or symbolic? 33:42 Why Jesus used shocking language 36:00 How a doctoral assignment turned into a family Bible study 37:55 Moving kids past \u201cthe Jesus answer\u201d 40:51 Closing Resources mentioned  Foundation Worldview: apologetics and biblical worldview curriculum for kids, plus parent training. foundationworldview.com. Use code SPARK10 for 10% off. Coming soon from Foundation Worldview: Trusting the Bible (ages 8\u201312) and Bearing God\u2019s Image (ages 4\u20137, working title) GotQuestions.org: answers to Bible questions, footnoted with Scripture  We\u2019d love to hear from you. Leave a comment or question below. Sparking Everyday Discipleship is sponsored by Hypurpley Publishing, bridging the gap between Sunday school lessons and Monday morning life. ","author_name":"Sparking Everyday Discipleship","author_url":"http:\/\/booksthatspark.libsyn.com\/website","html":"<iframe title=\"Libsyn Player\" style=\"border: none\" src=\"\/\/html5-player.libsyn.com\/embed\/episode\/id\/43321969\/height\/90\/theme\/custom\/thumbnail\/yes\/direction\/forward\/render-playlist\/no\/custom-color\/bc90ce\/\" height=\"90\" width=\"600\" scrolling=\"no\"  allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen><\/iframe>","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/assets.libsyn.com\/secure\/content\/207670194"}