reviewed by Kathy L. Dawson
As the title represents, this book is about the place of the child in Scripture. It contains eighteen essays by a host of well-known biblical scholars, such as Walter Brueggemann, Judith Gundry, W. Sibley Towner, David Bartlett, and Patrick Miller, as well as the editors.
The book moves canonically, touching on key texts that involve or address children. The texts explored have been used by Christians to lift up children as gifts of God and in some instances to justify physical harm to children. The authors both explore the world of the texts from the time of their composition and ways they have been interpreted and misinterpreted in recent history. There is also a collection of thematic essays that explore such concepts as the Image of God in children, adoption, and the children’s vulnerability.
Taken as a whole, the 467 pages may seem daunting to a reader, no matter how attuned to children he or she may be. The essays do have the connecting thread of the child at their core, but they can also be easily read in isolation. The volume also contains several excellent indexes that aid in locating particular names or Scripture passages, as well as a subject index that may prove valuable for teachers.
This book could be used as a resource for teachers preparing a study of a particular book of the Bible like Deuteronomy, Luke, or Paul’s letters to bring a unique perspective to their presentations. It would also be valuable reading for parents or teachers of children. Certain essays may also be instructive to committees working in the various areas of child advocacy, or developing a vision statement for children’s ministry.
William P. Brown’s contribution, “To Discipline without Destruction: The Multifaceted Profile of the Child in Proverbs.” would demand special attention by groups crafting a child protection policy for their church. Brown devotes attention to passages like Proverbs 13:24, in which withholding the rod is likened to hating the child. He unpacks this passage and others like it first in their historical context of discipline in the ancient Near East and then helps modern readers see how these passages, oft quoted to justify corporal punishment, are really about the love and protection of parents and teachers for their offspring.
This twist in interpretation of a familiar Bible passage is indicative of the book as a whole. It encourages the reader to have the Bible in one hand and this text in the other as it approaches the Bible with the lens of children in mind.
Kathy L. Dawson is associate professor of Christian Education at Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, Ga.
