When and how much to teach about other religions is a sensitive subject. Each parent will need to make their own decision, taking into account the age of their children and the child’s own spiritual maturity.

We live in a culture that is bombarding us–and our children–with the lie that every belief is equally valid, and that each person can have their own Truth. Yet just because someone else believes their religion is true, doesn’t make it so. On the judgment day, those who rejected Christ will find that they were deceived.

In our pluralistic culture I believe it is important to teach children what others believe. I would rather have my children learn this from me than see them encounter it for the first time outside our home.

Helping our kids understand what we believe…

There is another reason to teach children about other religions. We can use these conversations as an opportunity to help our children understand their own beliefs more thoroughly.

I take a spiral approach, teaching in more depth as the children get older and more mature. I have always felt that it is not beneficial to teach children too much about other religions when they don’t yet have a firm grasp of the foundational teachings of Christianity.

With the younger ones, we focus only on a few key concepts. It is vitally important that other religions are not taught in a vacuum. Every word that is taught about another religion should be contrasted with what we, as Christians, believe on the topic.

For example, when we studied India we learned about Hinduism, their major religion. One key point is the idea of reincarnation. I taught the children that Hindus believe people may be reborn as a priest if they are good in this life or they may come back as a weed or a bug if their bad deeds outweigh the good ones. At this point, we paused our discussion of Hinduism to talk about what Christians believe.

Does the Christian believe he is saved because of his good works? Can we stand before a holy God on the basis of our own merit? What does the Christian believe happens to a person’s body and spirit upon death? I suggest asking the children to answer these kinds of questions, and then sum up what the Christian believes with a Bible verse or two on the topic.

Learning about reincarnation was an opportunity to remind the children that all our good works are as filthy rags, and that we are saved through faith in Christ alone. Twenty percent of the conversation was about what the Hindu believes, 80% about what the Christian believes.

As we talk about other religions, it provides an object lesson that can help children understand the freedom we possess in Christ. I asked them to think about how stressful it would be if they carried the weight of their salvation on their own shoulders. As it is, they often feel frustrated with themselves when they struggle with pattern sins. How much worse would they feel if they believed their sins were gaining for them an undesirable next life?

The pressure to perform has been lifted from their little shoulders. Jesus wants us to be obedient, but he knows we aren’t perfect. They are covered in his blood and their sins are paid for. I want my children to see this contrast between the futility of man’s teachings and the loving grace of the one true God.

With my oldest son, I go more in depth. Our curriculum, Tapestry of Grace, takes an approach that I have found helpful for years. We make T-charts comparing Christian beliefs on key issues with that of the religion we are studying. For example, we write Hinduism and Christianity in the two columns across the top of the paper. Down the left side are words such as “authority of scripture”, “salvation”, “afterlife”, and “the nature of God”. I draw heavily on the book Bruce and Stan’s Guide to Cults, Religions and Spiritual Beliefs during these discussions. A sixth or seventh grader could easily read this book on their own in preparation for this discussion. Tapestry also makes it easy for me, including relevant scriptures and key points in my teacher’s notes.

I frequently have my 7th grader take these discussions a step further and write a compare and contrast paper highlighting the differences between Christianity and the religion in question on key beliefs. This helps me to really know whether he understands these key points, and forces him to grapple with the issues.

This is also a wonderful time for him to learn how to use a concordance to begin searching out scripture for himself. I found in his last paper that he chose a scripture verse which did not prove the point he was making. We were able to discuss what the scripture he chose was about, what he was trying to say in his paper, and what scriptures would be more to the point. I want him to learn to use the sword of the Word effectively, and writing a paper with scriptural proofs is excellent training.

Model compassion 

In all of this teaching, we should be compassionate toward the lost. Jack’s paper had a disrespectful tone which conveyed that he thought Hinduism was ridiculous. I want him to recognize that unbelievers are intelligent, thoughtful people who have been deceived. Our children need to learn how to communicate passionate conviction in a winsome way that shows love and respect for the unbeliever.

Last week my children learned that the Buddha taught his followers that freeing oneself from all desire is the key to spiritual enlightenment. Six year old Colin must have pondered that discussion all day. That evening, he asked me: “Mom, if the Buddha could have had three wishes, what do you think he would have wished for?”

“I don’t know,” I replied. “He probably would have had to give his wishes to someone else, since he was not supposed to have any desires.”

Colin’s insight amazed me. He said, “Well, mom, he could have used one of his wishes to ask for enlightenment, but then he wouldn’t get it, because he would have desired it. See why it’s crazy, mom? He wants enlightenment, but he can’t get it unless he stops wanting it.”

“…by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” 2 Corinthians 4: 2-6

Knox chose to build the city wall with some structures inside.

We just finished our study of Ancient India, and we capped off the week with an Indian Feast. Mema and Papa came over to join in the fun. The kids were excited to share some things they had learned about India, as well as their lego replicas of the excavated ruins of Mohenjo Daro. Colin and Knox enjoyed making these replicas more than anything else we did all week.

Colin made a replice of a home, complete with inner courtyard, a granary and an outdoor public bath.

We enjoyed the fellowship and fun of sharing this feast, though on our “Fix it or Forget it?” scale, the kids thought most of it should be “forget it!” No one liked the Tandoori chicken, feeling it was too bland and that the lemon flavor was strange.

The adults all thought the curry tasted great, though it didn’t look very appetizing.

The younger kids all thought the curry was a bit too spicy. They ate the grilled Indian Naan bread, the toppings that were supposed to be for the curry (like dried fruit, nuts and coconut) and the Basmati rice. The one thing that got a rousing “Fix it!” was the Kulfi, or Indian ice cream. The kids loved it. Two of them preferred the cardamom ice cream and two preferred the mango, but they all ate two servings. The adults enjoyed the dinner, but thought the ice cream was a bit strange, as it tasted faintly of sweetened condensed milk.

We wanted to end the evening with a game of Indian Pacheesi (Parcheesi) but we couldn’t find a game board and didn’t have time to make one this week. So we decided to play Indian Rummy instead. This is played similar to Gin Rummy, with 13 cards. Playing cards were invented in India (along with Pacheesi and Chess!) so we felt an Indian card game was in keeping with our celebration, and I think it was much more fun than Pacheesi would have been, since we all love playing cards together. I found simple rules online, and this game was easy enough that even our 6 year old could play, with a little help from dad.

We studied Ancient India this week. Our study culminated with an Indian Feast. Here are the recipes we used.

Menu:
Basmati Rice
Tandoori Chicken
Chicken Curry
Indian Naan Bread
Green salad
Kulfi (Indian Ice Cream)

If you decide to prepare an Indian Feast, plan ahead. The ice cream needs at least 8 hours to freeze. No one thought the Tandoori chicken was anything to write home about, so I am not including the recipe here. If you are interested in serving that, you can find many recipes online. We thought the recipe I used was very bland.

Chicken Curry

Ingredients: (Double quantities for a larger crowd)
* 3 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 small onion, chopped
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 3 tablespoons curry powder
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1 teaspoon paprika
* 1 bay leaf
* 1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root
* 1/2 teaspoon white sugar
* 1 can pineapple tidbits, drained
* 2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves – cut into bite-size pieces
* 1 tablespoon tomato paste
* 1 cup plain yogurt
* 3/4 cup coconut milk
* 1/4 cup lemon juice

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Saute onion until lightly browned. Stir in garlic, curry powder, cinnamon, paprika, bay leaf, ginger, sugar and a pinch of salt. Continue stirring for 2 minutes. Add chicken pieces, pineapple tidbits, tomato paste, yogurt, and coconut milk. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 30 to 35 minutes.
2. Remove bay leaf, and stir in lemon juice. Simmer 5 more minutes. Add salt if necessary.

The curry was a bit hot. I did not add any cayenne pepper, which was recommended, and it was still spicy. The white rice helped, and so did serving it with some toppings.

Curry Toppings

It may not be traditional in India to serve curry with toppings. But that’s how we do it! That’s part of the fun! I set out several dishes on a lazy susan with ingredients to put on top of the curry. Everyone can personalize their own dish!

Suggested toppings include pineapple tidbits, sliced mango, dried cherries or diced dried apricots, coconut, nuts (many prefer peanuts, we use canned mixed nuts), and diced green onions.

Basmati rice is imported from India. I wanted to make Saffron rice, but at $15 a bottle, Saffron was too expensive. I made the Basmati rice in a steamer, and I didn’t add anything to it. It tasted good, even without salt or butter!

Indian Naan Bread

1 (.25 oz.) package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup white sugar
3 tbsp milk
1 egg, beaten
2 tsp salt
4 1/2 cups bread flour
2 tsp minced garlic (optional)
1/4 c. butter, melted

Directions:
1) In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes until frothy. Stir in sugar, milk, egg, salt and enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead for 6 to 8 minutes on a lightly floured surface, or until smooth. Place dough in a well oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth and set aside to rise. Let rise 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in volume.

2) Punch down dough and knead in garlic. Pinch off small handfuls of dough about the size of a golf ball. Roll into balls, and place on a tray. Cover with a towel and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

3. During second rising, preheat grill to high heat (I used a grill pan on the stove).

4. At grill side, roll one ball of dough out into a thin circle. Lightly oil the grill. Place dough on the grill and cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until puffy and lightly browned. Brush uncooked side with butter and turn over. Brush cooked side with butter and cook until the other side is browned, another 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from grill and continue process until all the naan has been prepared.

Kulfi (Indian Ice Cream)

Mango and Cardamom Kulfi

4 slices white bread with crusts removed
1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk (light or fat free version is fine)
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk (light or fat free version is fine)
1 (16 oz) tub cool whip (light/fat free is fine)
1 tsp cardamom powder or 1 cup mango chunks

Method:

1) lightly warm the bread…I used a toaster at the #1 setting. The bread should NOT change color, but it will be easier to pulse into crumbs if it is a bit warm. Out the warmed bread in a food processor or blender and pulse until it turns to crumbs.

2) In the blender or a large mixing bowl, add the thawed cool whip, condensed milk, evaporated milk to the bread crumbs and mix well. Blend/mix until everything is well combined and you can see bubbles starting to form. If in doubt, mix a few more minutes.

3) I wanted to make two flavors of Kulfi (cardamom and mango) so I separated the mixture into two batches. Adjust spices as desired if you do not want two different kinds of ice cream. I poured about 1/3 of the mixture into a pyrex dish (you can use a tupperware dish, a jello mold, a baking dish…whatever). I sprinkled the top of that mixture with cardamom powder.

The other 2/3 of the mixture stayed in the blender, and I added 1 cup of mango chunks (purchased in the frozen section). Pulse until the mango is liquified. Pour the rest of the mixture into another pan.

Cal tasted the mixture before it was frozen. He didn’t think it would be very good.

4) The ice cream should be frozen at least 8 hours before you eat it, or it can be made the day ahead of time.

This recipe can be adapted with different flavors. Some suggested grinding pistachios or almonds and adding those to the cardamom flavored ice cream. Experiment! All of my kids loved the Kulfi. Two preferred the Mango flavor, two preferred the Cardamom. I thought it tasted too much like sweetened condensed milk, so I didn’t really like it that much.