Podcast on Radio Maria: God is Not a Man in the Sky

In this episode of Radio Maria’s Just Life, Lizzy Peck speaks about her motivation for writing God is Not a Man in the Sky, as well as her hopes for how it may benefit children as their faith develops. An unusual publication, it actually comprises two books. The first, a beautifully illustrated children’s narrative spanning history from before the creation of the universe through to the early Church, covers the nature of God, evolution, and the Covenant from Abraham to Jesus. It also explores the Incarnation, what it means to be in God’s image, and the nature of sin and salvation. The second book, a Companion Guide (slotted into the back of the children’s book) is for adults and explains the theology of the children’s book in more depth.

During her many years of teaching the author has encountered several misconceptions about the Christian faith in the minds of her students and it is these that she seeks to address in the book. Lizzy hopes to prevent or address thirteen misconceptions in particular, which include the beliefs that:

• Science and religion are incompatible.
• God is just a man in the sky.
• We create, rather than discover, our own identities, meaning, and values in life.
• The Son of God became human only because God wanted to mend the relationship between himself and humanity, which had been damaged by sin. 
• The matter of the universe, material things in general, and our material bodies, are fundamentally worthless or even inherently evil. 
• The real self is the soul, and the material body is not truly part of your identity; rather, it is a merely a vessel for the soul, and only your soul will go to Heaven.
• Human nature, the very essence of what it means to be human, is corrupt and utterly sinful.

Themes addressed in the children’s book and explained in more detail in the Companion Guide are:

• The relationship between science and religion
• The Primacy of Christ
• The nature of God
• Human nature
• The nature and relatedness of all creatures and of Creation
• The nature of goodness
• The nature and effects of evil and sin
• The nature of redemption
• The Covenant

The book, written through the Franciscan lens, explains the view of the Incarnation brought to fruition in Bl John Duns Scotus’ doctrine on the Primacy of Christ, that the Incarnation was not merely occasioned by sin, but came about, in the first place, because of God’s love. Thus, the universe was created as the arena for the Incarnation. The book also emphasises the relatedness of all creatures and Creation as expressed in St Francis’ Canticle of Brother Sun.

The book, which aligns with the Religious Education Curriculum Directory, is now being used in schools and parishes where it is proving to be a useful resource.

Lizzy Peck may be reached at Twitter: @LizzyPeckAuthor and God is Not a Man in the Sky can be purchased here.