Teaching Kids the Dark Side of Genesis
Teaching Genesis
There’s a problem for most parents when reading through Genesis with children. Plain and simple, the accounts in Genesis involve death, destruction, and deceit—a far cry from Goodnight Moon or Poky Little Puppy! No doubt about it, there’s a real dark side to Genesis.
Ironically, younger children (preschool to second grade) aren’t usually that disturbed by dark content because they like blood and guts! At least they think they do—they’re children. In their naivety, children commonly glamorize conflict. Now, the bad guys might be aliens or robots, but to a child, the roles of heroes and villains are generally clear cut, as demonstrated through ordinary child’s play. (Just tune in to their sound effects!) All to say, with a little screening of violence and rephrasing of graphic words, most parents can read through Genesis with little ones to establish the wholesome habit of reading from the Bible. If you have young children, your challenge isn’t the content of Genesis; it’s managing their squirminess and training them to respect family reading time.
However, as a children’s historian, I’ve observed that issues with the dark side of Genesis come further down the road when kids are in third, fourth, or fifth grade and well beyond the stage of make-believe. Almost like clockwork, I’ve seen over and over that tweens (kids 10–12) are suddenly too old to brush off evil—and too young to process it. They begin to grapple with the biblical truths that mankind is corrupt, immoral, and subject to the fall (Genesis 3:16–24; Romans 3:10).
Case in point: do you remember how old you were when you first learned about the Holocaust? I’m guessing I was about 11 years old, in fifth or sixth grade, when I first saw those horrible black and white images of gaunt prisoners and emaciated corpses. I’m not sure what terrified me more—the barely living or the piles of the dead. Either way, I was too old to gloss over them and too young to make sense of them. But as a child, I wondered if I could have helped their suffering—and if I was ever going to face anything that horrifying in my own life. Though dismal, studying the Holocaust in my youth gave me the opportunity to soul search through legitimate life questions.
In fact, life questions are exactly where I want to direct you. While reading through the dark side of Genesis with teens and tweens, soul search with students through life questions they will ask, should ask, or that you can prompt them to ask about good, evil, and eternity.
How Do We Deal with the Murder, Deceit, and Wickedness That's Woven into the Pages of Genesis?
Though there’s not a singular way to address the challenge, I suggest the following approach when your children are ready for further discussion. Sometimes this guided approach of questions and answers is called the practice of catechism.
- Read a passage together
- Ask a related life question
- Listen to the child’s heart
- Offer a biblical truth
- Support it with Scripture
Read a Passage Together
You might specifically select difficult passages, or you might happen upon difficult portions in a daily Bible reading schedule. Either way, it helps to be familiar with the passage before reading aloud with your children so that you can be prepared to offer guidance.
Ask a Related Question
Don’t be afraid to go deep and make it personal. Perhaps bring in an element from world news or from your knowledge of their own struggles.
Listen to the Child’s Heart
Sometimes children can be quite insightful, but that doesn’t mean they know how to express their thoughts or consider all the angles. To encourage deeper thinking, you may need to ask additional questions.
Offer a Biblical Truth
If children are particularly knowledgeable, they might have already mentioned the biblical truth in their answer. If so, affirm them and reinforce the truth. If they did not give an answer similar to the biblical truth, share the truth in an understandable way.
Support It with Scripture
Have biblical references that address the topic directly and indirectly. For example, when discussing the value of life, explain the punishment for murder and other verses that express God’s high value of life.
Let’s apply this approach to some difficult accounts in Genesis. As you read these, imagine yourself with an intuitive 11-year-old by your side.
Genesis 4:1–15
Cain Murders His Brother Abel
- Read the passage together.
- Ask a related life question.
Why does life have value? - Listen to the child’s heart.
- Offer a biblical truth.
Life has value because mankind is made in the image of God. - Support it with Scripture.
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27).
Genesis 12:10–20
Abraham Lies to Pharaoh
- Read the passage together.
- Ask a related life question.
Does God approve of lying? - Listen to the child’s heart.
- Offer a biblical truth.
No, God hates lying and calls out the liar. - Support it with Scripture.
“There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue . . .” (Proverbs 6:16–17), and “A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will not escape” (Proverbs 19:5).
Genesis 37:12–36, 50:15–19
Joseph Forgives His Brothers
- Read the passage together.
- Ask a related life question.
Will God forgive me of my sins, and must I forgive others? - Listen to the child’s heart.
- Offer a biblical truth.
Yes, when sinners repent, God forgives, and he instructs us to likewise forgive others. - Support it with Scripture.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9), and “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you” (Matthew 6:14).
is the author of The Mystery of History, a chronological, Christian, complete world history curriculum for all ages (TheMysteryofHistory.com) and the hostess of The Mystery of Home Education, a podcast for home educators seeking direction from a biblical worldview.
Answers Magazine
July–September 2022
Support the creation/gospel message by donating or getting involved!
Answers in Genesis is an apologetics ministry, dedicated to helping Christians defend their faith and proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ.
- Customer Service 800.778.3390
- © 2024 Answers in Genesis