Never Argue With Children

During high school, I took a Bible literature class with an instructor who wanted to destroy our faith. One morning, our teacher stood before us, intending to mock our beliefs, seeking to shake the foundations of our faith and diminish it entirely.

On this particular day, she introduced us to a familiar tale from the Bible—the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea by the Israelites. However, she presented a perspective that was new to many of us. With a scholarly tone, she suggested that the Red Sea, traditionally believed to have been parted by God to allow the Israelites to escape from Pharaoh’s army, was actually the Reed Sea. This body of water, she explained, was shallow, only about six inches deep.

After this revelation, a friend of mine, with a glint of curiosity in his eyes, posed a question that cut to the heart of the matter. “Which,” he asked, “is the greater miracle? Is it God parting the mighty Red Sea, creating a path of safety for the Israelites? Or is it the notion that God managed to drown the entire Egyptian army in just six inches of water?”

In that classroom, we were not merely students of literature; we were explorers of faith; needless to say, that was the last time she tried to directly attack our faith.