Sin comes later as the broader world, the world outside their parents' carefully woven protective cocoon, corrupts them.
Hughes Justly Questions is there really some physical manifestation of the presence of God coming into our lives? "My aunt told me that when you were saved you saw a light, and something happened to you inside (pg. 1059)." Some call God Jesus; some say Allah; some just say God or Lord, but most cultures have a reference to God or God's spirit entering us, embracing us, directing us, impacting our lives. Hughes certainly thought God was supposed to reveal himself to the children. He remained kneeling at the mourners' bench awaiting this revelation he was told of. Clearly, at least one other child (Westley) had no vision of the Lord. So at the tender age of 12 Hughes began to wrestle with that age-old set of questions: Is there really a God? And if so, am I worthy of His love? When will He make himself known to me? Even if there is a God, does He have any impact on my life? Why didn't He come to me when I needed him most, and if He didn't appear to me, am I some form of evil incarnate?.
"Salvation", By Langston Hughes Logically Promotes that children know best what they can touch and see and feel so how do you hold accountable a child that cannot differentiate a cookie on his plate from a religious concept? Hughes recalls the preacher speaking to him saying "Langston, why don't you come? Why don't you come and be saved? Oh, Lamb of God! Why don't you come (pg. 1059)?" Earlier the preacher was calling for all of the children, to come forward and receive God's gift, to see His love and accept Him into their lives. Although many children jumped up in response to the preacher's request, many did not. How were they to understand what they could do to be saved by something they could not see, hear or feel? Hughes makes it quite clear, with Westley as the example, that it is very difficult for children to rationalize punishment in an indirect form.