Do we need a ‘normal’ bible for children?
Bibles made for children to understand the Word of God are not a new phenomenon. However, when it comes the new fundraising by the organization known as The Bible for Normal People, their initiative for a new children’s bible is questionable at best.
As Protestia noted, “God’s Stories as Told by God’s Children” created by The Bible for Normal People has an unusual agenda behind it.
On their Kickstarter initiative site, Pete Enns and Jared Byas share the reasons why they are focused on creating this children’s bible. They also share a description of their concerns about current children’s bibles.
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In our survey of 10 of the most popular children’s storybook Bibles, we found:
8 out of 10 were written by men
9 out of 10 were written by a single author
10 out of 10 were infused with biblical literalism
And 8 out of 10 espoused a single atonement theory
Perhaps the two most questionable pieces of this information is the concern about biblical literalism and single atonement theory. The Bible is literally the Word of God, and there is literally only way that we can enter heaven. There’s a reason Jesus said He was the way, the truth and the life, and that no one can come to the Father except through Him (John 14:6).
The project was allegedly created to help children along with asking questions about Scripture to provoke curiosity. However, the point of this particular source sees Scripture as a “companion” to understanding God’s word.
“When we frame the Bible as a companion rather than a collection of non-negotiable rules about God, a child’s relationship with the Bible can grow to be one of respect, without expecting it to provide an answer key to life—and being incredibly disappointed when they find out it doesn’t,” The project’s Kickstarter FAQ reads.
While we will encounter lots of different things in this world, some detailed out in Scripture and others which are not, the Bible can be trusted as our manual for this life. There’s a reason that Proverbs 1:7 tells us “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” The best way we can learn to know and fear the Lord is through reading His Word.
If you look further at the beliefs of The Bible for Normal People, their accessibility statement reads as such:
Our heart is for the normal person so we are not elitist or exclusionary and we also want everyone who comes to the table to find something valuable (including our global audience). We are inclusive of LGBTQ people, women, BIPOC, disabled people, and other diverse religious voices and backgrounds.
In their video promoting the children’s Bible, Byas says, “When we model a curiosity about God in our everyday life and draw answers to our questions from many sources, we can frame the Bible as one way of encountering God. An important way, but not the only way.”
When buying a bible for your children, carefully consider the purpose the people behind that Bible have. If a Bible does not illuminate Scripture as the perfect, God-breathed Word, then it isn’t truly a Bible at all, but merely a piece of man-made writing. It’s important that we train up our children to not just see Jesus as a way to life or the Bible as a source, but as the ultimate and only source by which true life comes.
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Abby Trivett is a marketing copywriter and coordinator for Charisma Media
Abby Trivett is copywriter for Charisma and an editorial intern.
