Seminary of the Kitchen Table

...that's what Tom Tyson calls the theological education (catecheses, etc.) that his mother gave him as he was growing up. There are times when that seems like a very fitting name.

Tonight at dinner we had the Dividing Line on in the background and Frodo hears something about Joseph Smith and the Bible. "Joseph Smith was in the Bible? What did he do?" So I tell him no, that Joseph Smith lived about 150 years ago, taught something about God, changed the Bible, taught that God has a body, that Jesus and Satan were brothers, there are many gods... he responds (slack-jawed and wide-eyed) "That is evil." Of course, that earns him a bear hug from his pa.

Not everything went that smoothly, Samwise didn't catch it all so we were repeating that for him, expanding along the way, and included that if you're really good and do all the things you're supposed to do, after you die you can become a god and get your own planet. He gets excited "COOL!" Frodo, the Mrs and I jump in at that point with a correction (the Princess stayed focused on her Mandarin Chicken).

In the end we had a long and good conversation about LDS beliefs and contrasted that with what the Bible teaches. A little earlier than I'd planned on having that talk, but man, when your 6 year-old shows that level of discernment, you step up to the plate. (If only folks at Eerdmans, Fuller Seminary, etc. had the same level!)