John Kyle - Daddy, Where Do the Stars Come From?: A Childs Introduction to Religion

DADDY,

Where Do the

STARS

COME FROM?

A CHILDS INTRODUCTION TO RELIGION

JOHN KYLE

AuthorHouse

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.authorhouse.com

Phone: 1 (800) 839-8640

2016 John Kyle. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 10/12/2016

ISBN: 978-1-5246-4177-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5246-4178-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016915958

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Acknowledgement

Originally written for my children, and now for their children

I want to express my most heart-felt thanks to my wife and our children for their valuable input and for the patience they have shown throughout this 25 year project. I want especially to thank daughter Kerry for the tremendous help and motivation she provided when it appeared I would never finish this book.

One of Mackenzies favorite things to do on summer vacation is to go out to the lake late at night after her bedtime, sit with her mommy and daddy, and gaze up at the stars. On clear nights when there were no clouds, she would beg her mommy and daddy to go out on the dock after her brother Jordan went to bed to stare up at the heavens.

Tonight was a clear night, so Mackenzie asked her mom and dad after dinner, Can we go out tonight and look at the stars after Jordan goes to bed?

Her mom looked at her dad and said, Sure, honey, but we think Jordan is old enough now to join us. Even though Mackenzie wanted to have this special time with just her mom and dad, she decided it was okay as long as she could go see the magic in the sky again this year.

They went out to the dock and got settled into their chairs and blankets. Everyone sat quietly as they looked up at the Milky Way which was like a large white cloud crossing the night sky. After several minutes, Mackenzie asked, Daddy, where do the stars come from?

Well, honey, thats a good question. The stars come from the universe, Dad answ ered.

Daddy, whats the universe? Mackenzie a sked.

The universe is everything that you see - everything up in the sky and on Earth. Everything around us is all part of the universe, Dad said.

Mackenzie was still confused. But, Daddy, where does the universe come from?

Her dad responded, Thats a good question, too, honey, and a hard one to answer. Different people have different ideas about where the universe comes from, but nobody really knows. Many people believe science and scientists can help answer that question. And many people believe their religions help answer that ques tion.

Whats religion? Jordan a sked.

His mom answered, Well, honey, a religion is a set of beliefs that tries to answer the hard questions of life, like - Where did the universe come from? How did we get here? What happens to us when we die? Most religions believe there is a god - a superior being or spiritual power - who created the univ erse.

Religions also try to teach people how they are supposed to live their lives and treat other people. Each religion has different teachings and different rules of life.

Mackenzie wanted to know more. How many religions are t here?

Oh, honey, I dont really know, said Dad. I would guess there are probably more than a hundred different relig ions.

This really puzzled Jordan. Why are there so many religions? he a sked.

Dad said, Goodness, kids, you are both asking a lot of hard questions tonight. Lets see. One reason might be because most religions started a long time ago in different parts of the world, before we had TV or the Internet. People back then could not talk to other people who lived far away about their religion. So people in different parts of the world developed different religions to help answer the hard questions of life.

Mackenzie turned to her Mom. Mommy, tell me about some of these relig ions.

Well, you know your friend David? David and his family are Jewish. The Jewish religion is called Judaism. Judaism is one of the oldest religions on Earth. It began in a place called the Middle East. Judaism teaches that a spiritual power God created the universe, the Earth, and pe ople.

Dad added, One of the greatest Jewish leaders was a man named Moses, who helped write a set of rules called the Ten Commandments. The commandments have ten rules of life that Jewish people are supposed to fo llow.

What are some of the rules? Mackenzie a sked.

Well, one of these commandments teaches that you should not steal. Another tells you that you should honor your mother and your father. And a third one teaches that you should not kill someone, Dad rep lied.

Mom added, Most religions have special holidays when family and friends gather to celebrate. An important Jewish holiday is called Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement. On Yom Kippur, many Jews go to their place of worship, called a synagogue, to pray. Many Jewish families also fast for Yom Kippur. A fast is where you dont eat anything all day. While you fast, you are supposed to think about your life, how you treat other people, and how you can be a better pe rson.

Mackenzies dad turned to her and said, Christianity is another religion that started a long time ago in the Middle East with a man named Jesus Christ. Jesus was a great teacher. He was also Jewish. After he died, his followers started a new religion based on his teachings called Christia nity.

Jesus taught people to love one another, Mom said. His most important rule is the Golden Rule which teaches that you should treat other people just like you want them to treat you. The book of Christian teachings is called the Bible. The first part of the Bible is actually an important Jewish book called the Hebrew Bible, which Christians call the Old Testament. The second part of the Bible is called the New Testament and contains the story of Jesuss life and teachings. Christians also believe that God created the universe. Christians believe that if you live a good life, you will go to a place called heaven when you die.

Mackenzie had heard people talk about heaven, but she really didnt understand what it meant. Mommy, whats heaven? she a sked.