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A few months ago, I was asked "What is the best way to raise a religious child?" My quick response was "Oh, no! Don't do that! Rather, raise a loving child--an ethical child--and the rest will work out."

For weeks, the question "Where should a child's religious/ethical learning begin?" rolled over and over in my head. One morning, I awoke with what I think to be the appropriate beginning. Instead of beginning with doctrine, ritual or text, we should begin with what every child already knows. They already know what Love is. This is a common theme in every religion and theology. Some call it compassion, some even say pity, but everyone knows what unconditional love looks like. This is why the best scenario for such a discussion is a child asking his/her mother the first question and the mother responding from her own feelings.

It started as a children's picture book but then I showed it to my friend Jay "Bird" Koder, the great guitarist. He called me the next night and said that this had to be a video!

After speaking with Michael Magaurn, founder and chief producer at Magaurn Video Media, we all felt like we were onto something that had not been told but desperately needed to be. If Love can be our starting point, then the result is not mere tolerance but understanding and with understanding comes devotion; devotion to the Whole Family.

This is an approach that transcends denomination or ethnic background or doctrine. If we approach humanity in this way and teach it to our children, then real understanding and sharing must be the outcome. It may be simple but it is not simplistic. And it is not naive.