Kid Nation

Okay, so I admit it, I'm hooked on the new Kid Nation show. I was especially interested in this weeks episode when the kids faced religion. The 'televisionland' experts had, of course, put quite the mix if kids together so they knew they could expect excitement. But I'm not sure anyone knew what to expect from the kids.

Okay, so the writers set the kids up, but you have to admit that telling them the lack of God ruined the town the first time when adults tried to run it was compelling. And I'm not sure the dialog was all that much different than adult dialog. Many of the kids were parroting adults in their lives, others have reached a point of questioning in their lives, and still others exhibited a strong faith themselves.

Okay, I got sucked into the show and was disappointed when no one showed up for the first church service. But I was intrigued when one young girl rallied them for a time of prayer around a fire. And I was impressed by some of the prayers the kids said.

Okay, it was hokey that the challenge was to put together a giant puzzle of a church, and sad that I find myself rooting for one of the teams. But the prize at the end really surprised me. They had a choice of miniature golf or holy books. The "council" decided that they were tired of making decisions since everyone was angry at them when they did, so the group decided. Democracy got the town the books.

Now I wonder how the kids would have reacted if they didn't have their preconceived notions about religion. I wonder if they would look for God without knowing He existed. And how would they find Him? The Bible tells us they would look and if they truly wanted to find Him, they would. I also wonder how a bunch of adults starting a new town with no outside influence (other than the producers of the show of course) would handle the dilemma the kids faced. I just wonder....