What Children Think of God

FAITH

"Dear God, I wished on a star two times but nothing happened. Now what? [Signed] Anna." The question, delivered with all the Promethean imperiousness of a six-year-old, is from More Children's Letters to God (Simon & Schuster), the second of two phenomenally successful compilations of juvenile missives addressed to the deity. Compiled by a pair of veteran writers of children's books, Eric Marshall and Stuart Hample, Children's Letters to God was published last year, has so far sold 340,000 copies. More Letters, only eleven weeks in print, has already reached the 150,000 mark. Marshall and Hample gathered the letters from friends, hospitals, orphanages, camps and Sunday schools across the nation. Children under ten write much the best letters, they claim. Below that age, explains Hample, "children regard everyone as their equal, including God. Another fascinating thing is the total lack of fear that children displayed in the letters. I suppose that is because they have no guilt."

"Tell Me Why." The letter writers have an innocent certainty about God's omnipotence. One young writer implores: "Dear God, if you made the rule for kids to take out garbage please change it. Maurice." Requests can also be quite sweeping: "Dear holy God: Would you make it so there would not be any more wars? And so everyone could vote. Also every body should have a lot of fun. Nancy." Still other letters demand moral support for quite personal problems. "Dear God, Do you let your children stay up for Get Smart. I have to know. Linda." Several of the small fry pose questions that defy convincing theological answers: "Dear God, Charles my cat got run over. And if you made it happen you have to tell me why. Harvey." Or: "Dear God, Do good people have to die young? I heard my mommy say that. I am not always good. Yours Truly, Barbara." Though most of the children appear to conceive of God as a bigger-than-life human, a few seem to have a touch of the demythologizer about them. One seven-year-old penned:"Dear God, I am writing to you even though you can't write back I think and you are not a person. But I wanted to write anyway. Love, Karen" The letters, like children themselves, have a refreshing curiosity and candor about God and his works. One young writer, possibly a budding Biblical scholar, asserted: "Dear God, I read your book and I like it. I would like to write a book some day with the same kind of stories. Where do you get your ideas? Best wishes, Mark."

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