Have you ever been asked a question and been completely stumped to give an answer? There is a healthy dose of humility when once in a while we are caught out by a question and truly at a loss for words.
I remember being in exactly that situation. It did not concern biological evolution, manuscript evidence for the New Testament, or an ethical question raised by new technology. It was at an assembly at a local first school when a reception-year child raised a hand to politely ask: ‘My rabbit died this weekend, will he be in heaven?’
My thoughts froze. I knew what I might say to an adult but what should I say to a child? I knew lots of things in the Bible that might have relevance to the question, but what should I select for a brief comment in front of a reception year group? Perhaps most importantly, how do we harmonise a theologically accurate answer with a pastoral word to a child for whom a great tragedy has happened.
Comedy, free speech and warnings from the past
Hannah Arendt was a Jewish philosopher who grew up in Nazi Germany. Eventually she had to flee to France and, …