This advice is wise and biblical, and I can’t help but think that it might be helpful to some of you. Russell Moore answers the question, “Should I Tell My Child He Was Conceived in Rape?” His short answer is “yes,” but a short answer won’t do. You have to read the whole thing. Here’s an excerpt:
‘Yes, you must be honest. God honestly speaks to his children about the circumstances of their backgrounds, whether back there in Ur or back there in Egypt or back there in the “power of the air.” You must not hide this from your son. Imagine what it would be like if he were to find this information out from someone other than you. He would then wonder whether everything in his life is fraudulent and illusory.
‘Having said that, you must not “exasperate your son” (Eph. 6:4) with knowledge he can’t handle. A nine year-old lacks the maturity to understand this horror in its fullness.’
Read the rest here.
One Comment
Donald Johnson
Very insightful, thanks.
One aspect is that there are births with a loving father and mother and then births, such as the birth of Jesus, where there is the potential for shame. It is important to teach that the potential for shame rightly rests on those that acted shamefully, NOT on the others. Mary was a very courageous to have Jesus, as the mother in this story was also; and I would make this mapping explicit to the son.