Child-like faith

By Jim Killebrew

[June 24, 2014]  Mark’s Gospel documents an account of Jesus’ interaction with the children around Him. “13 And they were bringing unto him little children, that he should touch them: and the disciples rebuked them.14 But when Jesus saw it, he was moved with indignation, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me; forbid them not: for to such belongeth the kingdom of God.15 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall in no wise enter therein.16 And he took them in his arms, and blessed them, laying his hands upon them.” (Mark 10:13-16 KJV)

Children are eager to trust those things around them as reality. They see something and become curious about it and go to investigate. Children have a trusting spirit about them and can sometimes show the way of acceptance. They are willing to approach others without fear and demonstrate their dependence on others, especially adults. Jesus tells us that everyone should “receive the kingdom of God as a little child” if he wants to enter into that kingdom.

Jean Piaget was a Swiss developmental psychologist who lived from August 9, 1896 to September 16, 1980. According to Jean Piaget’s Theory of cognitive development children pass through several stages of development, three of which are: Preoperational, Concrete and Formal Operational. When we talk about faith in a child it usually would be found in the preoperational stage which is about the time the child starts to talk to about age 7. The child at that age is usually ethnocentric thinking that others’ viewpoints are essentially the same as theirs. The child at that age begins to use symbols to represent objects and relies heavily on fantasy that influences thinking. Information is internalized and changed in the child’s mind to fit his/her understanding of reality.

Concrete operational is the next stage where the child begins to think abstractly. Rational judgments are beginning at that age, from about first grade to early adolescence. From adolescence into adulthood the individual moves to a formal operational stage of development where concrete objects are no longer necessary to make rational judgments. Hypothetical and deductive reasoning is used more often than fantasy.

Now the question, can an adult have a faith like a child and still maintain the wisdom of a mature adult? That is very unlikely because as the individual grows and develops cognitively the ability to have the kind of faith that would have the child walking off the end of a diving board into his father’s arms is replaced by rationality and judgment. As a person moves beyond preoperational or concrete operational thinking it is virtually impossible to return to that form of thinking unless there is some pathological reason for it, either illness or accident.

An adult with highly developed wisdom that brings good judgment (as with age and experience) it is possible to have a “child-like” faith, but not the faith of a child. The main hindrance to that is the ability of an adult with formal operational thinking having the wisdom and rationality learned through a lifetime of experience actually prevents the individual from discarding rational thinking in exchange for the actual faith of a child.

This may seem like a trick question since the question was regarding an adult with experience and wisdom having the faith of a child; because children are not just miniature adults with the same thinking patterns. Children are innocent thinkers and are devoid of the experiential learning that would give them the ability to form hypothetical and deductive reasoning. For sure as they develop they gain that experience through living life and begin to take on concepts like morality, philosophical dualism and constructs for worldviews. But the person eventually reaches a point of accountability that moves from innocence to rational decision-making. That person then has the choice to make decisions based on the reality as they understand it through cognitive processes, experience and wisdom.

At that point they are ready to make their rational decision in terms of acceptance or rejection of some idea or construct. I believe that God wants people who rationally choose Him; He wants people to make a choice to submit themselves to Him and believe Him. He wants people to have a faith that is built on their rational choice due to the evidence they have collected through their learning experiences and consciously with critical awareness say “Yes” to Him.

That kind of faith does not come by the process of thinking as a child thinks, but it can be “child-like” in its rational conclusion of making a choice for or against Him. That is one reason why when Adam and Eve disobeyed God it had the impact it did; they made a choice from the basis of intelligence and rational judgment. They calculated the information they had received from both God and Satan, along with their experience and concluded that disobedience would result in their gain. If they had operated from the basis of a preoperational stage of cognitive development as a child they would have reached out for that fruit regardless of having heard “No” from God.
 

[By JIM KILLEBREW]