Recently, I was shopping for books to add to my kids’ library. As I perused the selection, I wondered: Should I lean more into faith formation and spark an interest in biblical characters? Or pivot toward their personal interests? Scrolling through children’s biblical books, I landed on several faith stories that I knew were important and popular—like the story of Noah’s Ark, for instance.
But so many complexities surround this well-known narrative. I remembered, from when I was a Protestant, how Christians would argue over whether the flood was local or universal. I remembered that Noah’s Ark and the flood record was a point of disagreement in the 2014 debate between creationist Ken Ham and “science guy” Bill Nye. Knowing that many civilizations’ epics include the account of a global flood, I was put off by the idea of presenting Noah’s story as factual when it was more likely a widespread mythic archetype. Additionally, the story of Noah reinforces the idea of a vengeful God—a God who commits mass murder.
What’s the rationale, as parents, for telling our children biblical stories? This question is relevant not only for myself, but for many parents who read the Bible, including both “spiritual but not religious” Christians, and professing believers trying to reconcile biblical stories with modern-day science, reason, and moral questions.
A “Biblical” worldview?
Consider all the stories of violence and revenge in the Bible that seem to be more like a bloodthirsty ancient Greek epic than the Christian morality we want to teach our children.
Not only do parents have to worry about passing on a fundamentalist (whether Catholic or Protestant), anti-intellectual misinterpretation of the Bible, but also we need to worry about the advocacy of morally questionable ideas, or the subtle embrace of slavery, genocide, and ethnic cleansing. There are also larger philosophical questions about things like why God permits evil and suffering.
Many of us respect the scriptures and want to transmit biblical literacy. We want to hand on those crucial pieces of wisdom and values that can be pillars for moral and ethical standards. However, when confronted with challenging moral stories or details that don’t line up well with what we know based on modern-day advancements, we may end up opting to dismiss the scriptures altogether, since they’re replete with standards we wouldn’t want to adhere to.
It might be tempting for parents to abandon the Bible altogether. But many parents still desire to foster a better understanding of this sacred text, even though much of it is so far removed from our current age. Facing the reality that popular interpretations of scripture are incompatible with contemporary understandings of both science and morality, we as parents must find effective ways to reinforce biblical wisdom—teachings about love of God and neighbor, stories about heroes who challenges injustice—without inadvertently passing on misunderstandings.
The Bible and racial justice
These questions are especially pressing for my family. As a Black American couple, with lineage that spans from enslavement and Jim Crow, and the mass incarceration era, how we approach the issue of slavery in the Bible is morally significant.
With the Bible prescribing slavery in places such as Exodus 21:2–11, Leviticus 25:44–46, and even the entire New Testament Epistle of Philemon, in which St. Paul advises an enslaver to be merciful towards a returning enslaved person, scripture has many disconcerting views in this area. Moreover, these scriptures became part of the legacy of American enslavement, global colonialism and imperialism, as they were distorted and misapplied to justify the inhumane and barbaric system of African-descended people across the diaspora in heinous ways that have far-reaching impact today.
It’s important for children to understand that, regardless of how “merciful” ancient systems of slavery may have been (in contrast to the European system of chattel slavery), owning a person is always an exploitative system that undermines the dignity of the human person. No person is entitled to reap the labor and well-being of another. Granted, in antiquity, there were no safety nets or welfare states so types of slavery like indentured servitude were common. The fact remains: Simply possessing another human violates their right of self-determination and reduces them to an object instead of a person created with intrinsic sacred worth.
We don’t want to present the idea that God approves of slavery. And we want our children to understand slavery not just as something that was around in the ancient time but also as a major contemporary issue with millions in economic, labor, or sexual bondage against their will.
As the parent of two Black boys, as I stand in my appreciation for my racial identity as a person of African descent, and in light of the historical, cultural, and modern relation of the Bible to issues like slavery, I must make it a priority to transmit critical thinking about the Bible.
Look at scientific and historical contexts
One way we do this is by encouraging our children to practice the art of comparing and contrasting the biblical narrative with modern history and what we know about morality today, especially given the development of Christian doctrine. We can teach Bible stories, but we also need to teach history and natural science. We should encourage them to think about what in these stories might have been factually true, and what might have been made up. We can ask them to think about what the authors of these texts might have intended, and how the people who read them at the time might have experienced such stories.
By helping them synthesize information and form a broader understanding, we guide them toward forming their own perspectives. We hope that, in developing these perspectives, and understanding that Christian teaching has developed over time, our children will understand that not everything in the Bible is to be read literally or read as an instruction manual. Helping kids think critically about the Bible can help dismantle longstanding views about slavery, race, power, and gender that maintain imbalances of power in our church and world. It can help foster better fraternal love.
Consider the interfaith implications
Another thing we can do is teach kids about how many biblical narratives have parallels with other comparative societies of antiquity. Events such as global floods, special births, heroic tales, and divinely authored moral codes were also present in the mythologies of many civilizations that were contemporaries of the Old Testament world.
Rather than feeling threated by these parallels, worrying that they challenge our claims of scriptural inerrancy and Christian exclusivity, we could use them to foster interfaith dialogue and a sense of communal interdependence. Seeing the similarities between global religious or spiritual systems, we can help our kids understand the importance of religious pluralism in a global system, especially in cultures where Christian privilege still reigns supreme. As we all try to navigate the diverse world of religious and spiritual truth, seeing our common ground may enrich our interreligious dialogues that foster mutual respect and trust.
Let the gospel be your guide
And lastly, we can even use the Bible itself, especially the stories Jesus taught, to help our children critically evaluate the details in Bible narratives. The Parable of the Good Samaritan, for instance, can remind us of the shared connection we have as spiritual beings. Stories like this can help our children to demonstrate works of mercy, how to embrace others that are different from them, and the value of breaking out of echo chambers.
As part of the domestic church, it is our responsibility to teach and raise kids in a manner that equips them to be stewards of God’s love. Yet, in our ever-evolving world, teaching about the faith often leaves us with more questions than answers. By giving our children the right perspectives on scripture, helping them take a more critical stance toward conventional interpretations, we can help them navigate the complex relationship between faith and human existence—and raise them to be light bearers who seek justice and love their neighbor.
Image: Unsplash/Kindred Hues Photography
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