Last night, I was using the bathroom in the middle of the night and looking at Brooklyn's bath toys. She has a few rubber ducks, a "Hello Kitty" toy, a bath book, and a Noah's Ark toy, complete with Noah, his wife, and some animals. I am frequently reminded of a part in Donald Miller's book Blue Like Jazz, whenever I look at the Noah's Ark boat. He says it best, so I will just quote him:
"I associated much of Christian doctrine with children's stories because I grew up in church. My Sunday school teachers had turned Bible narrative into children's fables. They talked about Noah and the ark because the story had animals in it. They failed to mention that this was when God massacred all of humanity.
It took me a while to realize that these stories, while often used with children, are not at all children's stories. I think the devil has tricked us into thinking so much of biblical theology is [a] story fit for kids. How did we come to think that the story of Noah's ark is appropriate for children? Can you imagine a children's book about Noah's ark complete with paintings of people gasping in gallons of water, mothers grasping their children while their bodies go flying down white-rapid rivers, the children's tiny heads being bashed against rocks or hung up in fallen trees? I don't think a children's book like that would sell many copies."
(Blue Like Jazz, by Donald Miller, pages 30-31)
When I give Brooklyn her baths and she plays with the ark, I often think in the back of my mind, "This toy must be incomplete... where are all the drowning people?" She has a rocking chair at my parent's house that has a painting of Noah, his family, and the animals on it... I think the same thing when I see that...
It is interesting to think about who was the first person to think that this was a good story to teach kids about and think of it as cute... why not make some children's books about the Colosseum when people were thrown to the lions... after all, it would have some adorable little kitties in it?!
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4 comments:
seriously. it's interesting, isn't it? several thoughts passed through my mind as i read this, and in sharing them i do not have a point or goal. they're just thoughts, and i hope you don't mind me sort of dumping them out here.
we regularly underestimate what children can and want to understand. of course anna has no comprehension of a world covered with water (do i?), but she covers the picture of eve crying when we read about the 'time out' from the garden that God gave our unfortunate ancestors. she understands sad and naughty, and it makes her uncomfortable. countless times i've had kids ask hard, fantastic, insightful questions, and generally their responses to what we might consider difficult answers are more faith-filled than mine, even though i'm the one offering the answer. they seem to have a much clearer grasp of sovereignty and fairness than grown-ups, maybe because they've never been truly independent. somebody else being in charge and making decisions is just the way life is for them. i don't know.
we regularly miss the point of bible narratives. for instance, when did the story of daniel become about daniel? or david and goliath about david? or esther about esther? and like you said, when did the story of noah become about animals? i would also probe further and ask when the story of noah became about judgment. pretty sure that's not the point, either.
as one who has and continues to teach children in religious settings, i have several times found myself frozen with what i can only call fear, although i don't think that's the right word, my words stuck in my throat because i might say something that's not true about Yahweh. countless times i've asked Him to wipe from their minds anything i've said that's not true. i've had to go back and tell kids that i was mistaken about something, and i think that's a privilege in and of itself. a lot of people don't like the fluidity of faith; i take comfort in it.
k, done for now. thanks for sharing. :)
Hey Connie--I seriously have to get that book back to you! It is sitting (or is it setting???) on the counter ready to be returned to you, just as it has been for... a long time! I will really try to remember to give it to Jessica this Sunday to bring to you. Sorry I've had it so long. Thank you for your thoughts--I appreciate hearing what you have to say--and for loaning me Blue Like Jazz. It really is a great book!
Hi Josh, Kyle your bro here. By the way, I told Mike this, but not you yet. Thanks for the raspberry beer. I agree with Mike that it was quite raspberry-y, but I thought it was pretty refreshing. Somewhere between an ale and a wine cooler. It was good!
Ok, now for the post. I'm preaching through Jonah right now on Sundays. A few years ago Rachel and I were browsing through a bookstore and happened on a Jonah story book written by Mark Lowry. I leafed through it and found a story almost unrecognizable as a Bible narrative. It was about a guy named Jonah, but this Jonah was worshipping with the Ninevites at the end. Here's what I think happened: Lowry read Jonah and realized he was a racist bigot who wanted to see God kill an entire city. Realizing the truth would never sell, he changed it to a happy ending. Now it's "fit" for kids.
While I agree that the Noah story should include all the elements, it needs to be told with emphasis in the right areas based on the context of the written story. The story is no more about drowning victims as it is about animals. The story is about God's holiness, human sin, and God's promise of redemption. That's what needs to be taught to kids, and everyone else.
sitting is what you do with your butt, and setting is what you do with your hands. so the book is sitting (even though it technically has no butt) because if it were setting, it would be using its hands to place something somewhere.
i'm sitting on my butt instead of setting the table.
oh, and not a problem. didn't even know you had the book anymore. i have one of mrs. reid's books from when they still lived here. ha.
and mark lowry's a comedian. how could a comedian not have a happy ending? ha.
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