do they really?
Below is a recent snippet of a conversation with my daughter. She's 12.
Her: Why would anyone not believe in God?
Me: Well, there are some pretty bad gods out there.
Her: What do you mean?
Me: Well, let's pretend, as your dad, that I told you how much I love you but I also said that if you don't love me then I'm going to torture you every day.
Her: Hmm.
Me: What would you think?
Her: I would think you weren't a very good dad. And I definitely wouldn't love you.
Me: Right. Some people hear about that god and aren't very interested. But that god works for some people too. I mean some people believe in that god and talk about that god to others.
Her: (after a long pause) But do you think they really love god then? Or are they just afraid?