For parents
"Why did Grandpa die?"
It arrives at bedtime, in the car, halfway through dinner. You have about four seconds, you do not want to say something you will have to walk back in ten years, and the honest answer is more complicated than the moment allows.
AskScripture is built for that moment. You type what your child actually asked. It answers in words that fit your child — their age, how they learn, and where their faith honestly is right now — with the verses underneath so you can see where it came from.
Free to start: three questions a month, no card. Premium opens with a 7-day free trial. iPhone today; Android is coming.
One question, your child
The same question, answered for the child in front of you
A four-year-old and a thirteen-year-old are not asking the same thing, even when they use the same words. Before it answers, AskScripture knows three things about your child.
Their age
Pre-K, elementary, middle school, or high school. This changes how much abstraction the answer leans on, and how much it simply says plainly.
How they learn
Some children need a story. Some need something they can see or hold. Some want it as a straight question and answer, and some only really get it through a comparison to something they already know.
Where their faith is
Just starting out, growing, settled, wrestling with doubts, or bumping into what their friends believe. A doubting thirteen-year-old deserves a different answer than a confident one.
What it never does is pick a denominational side. There is no tradition setting, because we do not think a parent should have to declare one to get a straight answer about who made God.
Worked example
"Is my dog in heaven?"
The same question, from two different children. Both answers are honest about the same thing — Scripture does not say directly. They differ in what they do with that.
The Bible does not tell us if pets go to heaven, but God loves all his creatures very much — including her dog.
Help her understand God's love for all creatures
- Tell her that God made every animal, including her dog, and he loves them very much.
- Use a simple story about how God cares for animals — how he gives them food and keeps them safe.
- Explain that even though we love our pets, the Bible does not say if they go to heaven, but God cares about them a lot.
Encourage her to talk about her feelings
- Ask her how she feels about her dog, and whether she misses him.
- Reassure her that it is okay to have questions and feelings, and that you are there to listen any time.
The Bible does not clearly say whether animals go to heaven, but it does show us that God loves all his creatures and cares deeply about them.
Help her understand what the Bible says and does not say
- Explain gently that the Bible does not tell us for sure whether dogs or other animals go to heaven.
- Tell her that while we do not know everything about heaven, we do know God made every animal and loves them very much.
An analogy that may help
"God is like the author of a story who made all the characters, including the animals — but we don't know what happens to every character after the story ends."
- Some things about heaven are a mystery to us, and that is different from God not caring.
- Even when we do not know everything, we can trust God's love for all he has made.
Both of these are actual AskScripture answers to the same question, asked against two different child profiles, condensed for length. Your own answer is generated for your child and arrives with its verses attached.
Written answers
Questions children actually ask
Free to read, no app required. Each one is written to the parent, with the verses in context and an honest note where Scripture is quiet.
Before the next one lands
You will not see it coming
The questions on this page are the ones we could write down. Yours will be about your family, your loss, your child's exact words — and it will arrive without warning. Three questions a month are free.
