34 min listen
The Pitfalls of Children’s Bibles (Rachel Wilkowski)
The Pitfalls of Children’s Bibles (Rachel Wilkowski)
ratings:
Length:
35 minutes
Released:
Oct 14, 2022
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
"Why wasn't I trained to read this way as a child?" —Rachel Wilkowski
Over the last several decades, the Christian world has eagerly produced a host of children's Bibles—retellings of biblical stories in "kid-friendly" language, complete with cute, colorful illustrations. Many of these children's Bibles, however, come laden with assumptions about the nature of childhood, which parts of Scripture are considered appropriate, and what "lesson" the stories teach. Rachel Wilkowski, a researcher in the area of children's Bibles, joins Dru Johnson to discuss history and pitfalls of these books. They discuss the impacts of "pre-interpreting" the biblical texts for children, including the propensity toward moralism and sanitizing some of the difficult parts of Scripture. They also consider how religious beliefs and the publishing industry combine to shape what is presented in these retellings of Scripture.
Rachel Wilkowski is a PhD student at Trinity College Dublin and Family Ministries Director at St. Peter's Fireside in Vancouver. She has particular research interest in how Genesis 1-3 (and other parts of the Hebrew Bible) are interpreted and retold in children's Bibles from different Jewish and Christian traditions. She has 14 non-biological nieces and nephews and one biological nephew.
Show notes:
0:00 Rachel's interest in children's Bibles
4:18 The history of children's Bibles
8:38 Religious beliefs and retelling Scripture
12:05 What is considered appropriate for kids?
15:33 Examples of poor retellings
19:57 Sales, illustrations, and entertainment
24:14 A children's Bible that gets it?
26:42 Helping kids read Scripture
29:41 Avoiding pre-interpreting Scripture and moralism
Show notes by Micah Long
Over the last several decades, the Christian world has eagerly produced a host of children's Bibles—retellings of biblical stories in "kid-friendly" language, complete with cute, colorful illustrations. Many of these children's Bibles, however, come laden with assumptions about the nature of childhood, which parts of Scripture are considered appropriate, and what "lesson" the stories teach. Rachel Wilkowski, a researcher in the area of children's Bibles, joins Dru Johnson to discuss history and pitfalls of these books. They discuss the impacts of "pre-interpreting" the biblical texts for children, including the propensity toward moralism and sanitizing some of the difficult parts of Scripture. They also consider how religious beliefs and the publishing industry combine to shape what is presented in these retellings of Scripture.
Rachel Wilkowski is a PhD student at Trinity College Dublin and Family Ministries Director at St. Peter's Fireside in Vancouver. She has particular research interest in how Genesis 1-3 (and other parts of the Hebrew Bible) are interpreted and retold in children's Bibles from different Jewish and Christian traditions. She has 14 non-biological nieces and nephews and one biological nephew.
Show notes:
0:00 Rachel's interest in children's Bibles
4:18 The history of children's Bibles
8:38 Religious beliefs and retelling Scripture
12:05 What is considered appropriate for kids?
15:33 Examples of poor retellings
19:57 Sales, illustrations, and entertainment
24:14 A children's Bible that gets it?
26:42 Helping kids read Scripture
29:41 Avoiding pre-interpreting Scripture and moralism
Show notes by Micah Long
Released:
Oct 14, 2022
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (90)
The Torah Is Not a Law Book (Jerry Unterman): The nation of Israel was born into a world that was already culturally old and established. When the Torah appeared, the ancient Near East contained several law collections. CHT fellow Dr. Jerry Unterman explains that unlike other law codes of the ANE, t... by The Biblical Mind