Ep 219: Is God just for kids?
Some say that God is like an imaginary friend in which we grow out of. Is believing in God just a bit childish? We speak to someone who writes songs which engages kids and adults alike about God, and the deeper truths of the world. An engaging and entertaining conversation.
Our guest: Colin Buchanan. Colin is an ARIA, APRA and 9 times Golden Guitar winning singer/songwriter whose diverse career includes being an ABC TV Play School presenter, sought-after hit song collaborator and Australia's #1 Christian kids artist. He’s written numerous musical albums and is a popular performer around Australia.
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Bigger Questions asked in the conversation
So Colin, you’re a popular performer, you have an impressive CV, how do you like to be introduced?
You have a diverse range of musical interests - 9 times Golden Guitar Winner and you’ve also written multiple children’s albums. Do you get confused sometimes when you’re doing a gig and maybe sing country songs for kids? Or kids songs at a country gig?
Musical journey
So when did you discover you were musical, you could play guitar and sing and write songs?
Personal story
A lot of your music is Christian, singing about God, Jesus and the Bible, why is that?
So what convinced you that the Christian message was true? Why do you ‘follow the saviour’ so to speak?
Engaging children
English comedian Jimmy Carr once said,
“We’ve all got imaginary friends, I’ve just grown out of mine”
So isn’t God something you grow out of?
How do you respond to people like the famous atheist scientist Richard Dawkins who says that children needed to be ‘protected’ from religion and that teaching children about God is indoctrination and tantamount to child abuse? As potentially a professional indoctrinator how do you respond to that?
The Bible’s reflection
Colin, a good number of your songs are memory verses - where you make a tune to accompany a verse of the Bible. Do you do this because you’re not very good with writing lyrics?
Isaiah 53:6
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
Now your version is a little different to this, isn't it?
Is the word iniquity too much for kids to understand, do you think?
The Big Question
So Colin, is God just for kids?
