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What strikes me is that you are already doing the hardest part you are refusing to lie to yourself. Most people glide in and out of belief without ever naming it. You have and that gives you something solid to work with.

You do not have to choose between pretending and burning everything down. There is a middle path. You can tell your kids the truth in layers. Start with this I grew up in this faith. It shaped my marriage my choices my sense of responsibility to the poor. I am not sure what I believe about God right now but I still think there is deep wisdom here and I want you to know it well enough to decide for yourselves one day.

Children do not need a parent who is certain. They need a parent who is honest and calm in uncertainty. Let them see that you can question without sneering and participate without faking. You are not trapping them in a story. You are handing them a language and trusting them to speak for themselves later.

Children do not need a parent who is certain. They need a parent who is honest and calm in uncertainty.

I think some of my own hesitation comes from a sense that if I express my own doubts about this faith, it may belie my attempts to teach it to them.

My own parents were (and are) very certain about their belief. I think that was beneficial to me when I was young. I wonder how I would have felt about this faith if they had been doubtful of it.

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