Hijacking the mind of a child is easy

Even easier when you use god as a weapon

 

A 3-5 year old child feels it is quite natural to have an imaginary friend, the child  has no concept or experience by which it can determine that having the concept of another human being in their head can be a dangerous place to be later in life.

It is simply a natural component of the life of every child at this stage in their development. The idea of a god is completely acceptable to children of this age as it mirrors the reality of their own personality at this stage in their development as a human child.

Many children grow out of this by the age of 9 or 10.  It may be that children are initially learning to communicate with themselves in the way we do as adults through the use of an imaginary friend. The friend becomes integrated into the whole of the person that the child is.

If a child is introduced to a god that is as equally pervasive and is spoken of by others as being a particular entity the child must know on some level that the god that is in their head is the very same one spoken of by adults. This mirrored aspect of their personality is hijacked by the concept of a god in their head; not only that there is no mirrored personality for the child to communicate with in the way other children who have not been introduced to the god concept can and do do.

The development of the personality of the child in a natural unaffected environment will never encounter the possibility that another mind or being can exist inside their head.

As they develop they begin to understand that the person they are communicating with is their own personality and that is integrated into their psyche quite naturally.

On the other hand the child who has had to reject that mirror image of themselves and replace it with the concept of an all seeing eye in their mind capable of knowing their every intimate thought is for the young child a very real concept and as such will be accepted.

Once this has been accepted by the child they are at the whim and the disposal of any entity who can claim to have a closer connection to the god that exists in their head as a separate personality.

Kutner (n.d.) reported that 65% of seven-year old children report they have had an imaginary companion at some point in their lives. He further reported:

Imaginary companions are an integral part of many children's lives. They provide comfort in times of stress, companionship when they're lonely, someone to boss around when they feel powerless,and someone to blame for the broken lamp in the living room. Most important, an imaginary companion is a tool young children use to help them make sense of the adult world.