God Bless the Child

Title:  God Bless the Child

Author: Billie Holiday and Arthur Herzog Jr.

Illustrator:  Jerry Pinkney

Publisher:  HarperCollins Publishers

Publication Date:  Words and Music copyright 1941/Illustrations 2004

ISBN:  978060287979

Audience:  Though this is clearly a picture book, the subject; the illustrations and the song that is used all combine to broaden the attraction across different age groups.  This is a book that could very easily be used across generations: with young children, who would be drawn by the illustrations and details, but partnered with the music, could be easy to learn; for older children through teens, the lesson in history, as it could also be partnered with the history of the song and its original singer and/or the musical genre could be well received; and adults will love the history, the illustrations and the story they tell and the song, which has been loved for many, many years.

Summary:  God Bless the Child tells the story of the migration of so many rural Southern Blacks, as slavery ended, when the backbreaking work and low wages of farm labor seemed more hopeless and the possibilities of the urban north provided hope.    Truly, the illustrations here could stand alone and the words from the classic song stand more to complement the artwork and the story being told.

How does the book present gender, race, culture, economic status and age:  There is so much being conveyed in the pictures.  At the beginning of the book,  we see a rural family that does not appear to have much in the way of material things, listening as the mother reads to them from the Bible.  This simple scene speaks of love, faithfulness and humility.  While in the scenes in the south there are some portraits of happiness, the larger part of these pictures of rural life show people who are poor and unhappy; the words burdened and weary coming to mind.  As the family moves to the north, the colors become bolder, the dress of the people pictured seem finer and the people seem happier.  It is also interesting to note what story the pictures tell about the children.  In the south, small and young children are pictured working in the fields alongside their parents or the adults.  In the north, while a child is pictured shining shoes, more so the children are shown engaging in simple play, daydreaming, singing  and going to school.  In short, the pictures in the north show children being children.

Theological Conversation Partners:  One could include the parable of the talents.  Jesus’ parable teaches the story of a man who, before going on a journey, gives his money to his servants.  The end result being that when he returned, the servant to whom he had given 5 talents gave him 10 back.  Likewise the servant to whom he gave 2 talents returned 4 to him.  To both, he responded “Well done, good and faithful servant.  You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.”  To the servant to whom he gave 1 talent, only the 1 was returned to him.  The man’s response to the servant was not a favorable response.  While the parable is a good partner for the song, with greater focus on Matthew 25:29, the story of the migration that is being told would more likely best be partnered with the themes of hope, family and love.

Faith Talk Questions:

1. Have you ever moved in your life?  Was the move local or long distance?  If you have, think back on how you felt about the move before and after?  In you have never moved before, think about what this might feel like?
2. Knowing these families had little time to make the long journey across several states, imagine the situations that may have played a part in forcing these families to move?  How might this have impacted the parents and the children differently?
3. List some of the events or situations that might force you to move your family today?  After creating the list, decide if this would be an easy or a difficult decision.  Why?
4. The book began with the family reading/being read the Bible and ended with a little boy in school.  What might these two scenes symbolize?  Are they similar themes?  Why or why not?
5. What moral values are being portrayed through the illustrations for this family?  How can you tell they are important to them?

This review is written by Union Presbyterian Seminary student LaDonna Harrison.

A Sweet Smell of Roses

Title:  A Sweet Smell of Roses

Author: Angela Johnson

Illustrator:  Eric Velasquez

Publisher:  Aladdin Paperbacks

Publication Date:  2005

ISBN:  978-1-4169-5361-6

Audience:  The intended audience is agest 5 – 8.  However, the theme of this book, the illustrations and the storyline makes this book suitable and attractive to people of all ages.  It functions very well as a book to be used to read to young children; it can operate as a challenge for newer readers because of the vocabulary used and it works well as both a conversation starter or lesson for adolescents through adults.  The audience will broaden still when you look to expanding the audience beyond age.  With a theme centered on the Civil Rights Movement, any and all nationalities could benefit.  It can be used to help inspire the young and old to find and use their voice and/or stand up for right.  It can be used to challenge and resolve conflict.

Summary:  A Sweet Smell of Roses is the story of two young sisters who sneak out of the house in order to be part of a civil rights march in their town.  The two young girls get to witness amazing things, like getting to see and hear Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., to clap and sing with the crowd they march with, and to be carried on the shoulders of some members of the crowd as they travel through the streets.   They also get to experience the negative aspects of the march, in the form of words of hate that are yelled at the group along the way.  By the end of the book, they make their way back home to an anxious mother who is very happy to see them.  Throughout the book,  we hear about the sweet smell of roses that is constantly in the air.

Central literary elements at work in the book:  The book is told from a first person perspective which seems  to be that of the eldest sister.  We never learn her name, but learn her younger sister is named Minnie.  The wonderful illustrations are done in an antique style of black and white with each pairing of pages containing a little splash of red.  These splashes of red show up are in the little ribbon around Minnie’s bear’s neck and in the red of the flag as it appears on several  pages and in the red of the roses that are mentioned throughout.  I think, although red is so often connected to blood and love, I see the use of the red ribbon on Minnie’s bear, for example, presented a symbol of innocence.  When red appears on the flag, it can be seen as a symbol of pride in a country that is shared, even with some who hate.  There is a page where both the bear and the flag are illustrated, however, only the bear  is represented by the red ribbon.  Could it be that innocence outweighs pride?  It is in this same scene where the crowd is pictured shouting at the marchers “You are not  right.  Equality can’t be yours.”  Innocence immediately comes to mind, especially when viewing the girl’s faces, which show confused sadness, rather than the anger that clearly reflects on many of the faces of the marchers.  Even the sweet smell of the roses seems to stand as a testament to innocence.

How does the book present gender, race, culture, etc.:  The book, which is dealing with the theme of the civil rights movement, paints a picture of inclusion.  While there are pictures of people whom the reader is not sure of their  ethnicity, such as the milkman, the mailman and the men in the market; its author is intentional in showing men, women and many people of different races in the group of marchers.

Theological Conversation Partners:  Themes that could be made part of a theological discussion around A Sweet Smell of Roses would include the verses that discuss loving your neighbor as yourself.  Taking into account that the book is written from the perspective of a child, part of a theological discussion could include the role and responsibilities that children can and should take, not only in their religious life, but that they can play a role in the much larger aspects of our world.  Along this theme, Psalms 129:2 would be an excellent partner.

Faith Talk Questions:

1. Why do you think the children had to sneak out of the house?  What danger do you think they could have faced?  Would those dangers be different for our children today?  Why or why not?
2. Once they reach the crowd and the marchers, the children are swept into the excitement of the march.  Imagine yourself experiencing this scene through the eyes of a child.  What may have stood out to you?  How do you think the children felt about those people yelling at the marchers?
3. What was the role of the “sweet smell of roses” that was mentioned throughout the book?
4. The mother was happy, not angry, when the children returned home.  Why do you think this is?
5. What role, if any, do you think God fills in this book?

This review was written by Union Presbyterian Seminary student LaDonna Harrison.

Everett Anderson’s Goodbye

Name of Book:  Everett Anderson’s Goodbye

Author:  Lucille Clifton

Illustrator:  Ann Grifalconi

Publisher:  The Trumpet Club

ISBN:  0-440-84950-0

Audience:  6-10 years

Summary:  Everett Anderson’s father has died. Everett, who is an African American boy, appears to be five or six years old. He is experiencing the five stages of grief as described by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross. He experiences denial of the death, anger about the death, bargaining, depression, and finally after an undisclosed period of time—a kind of acceptance that his father has died. Everett’s mother quietly supports him, and lovingly holds him when he cries. She understands the strong emotions Everett is having in the midst of mourning the loss of his father. At the end of the story,Everett Anderson says, “I knew my daddy loved me through and through, and whatever happens when people die, love doesn’t stop, and neither will I.”

Literary elements at work in the story:  Ann Grifalconi’s beautiful drawings show us Everett’s grief. Everett Anderson’s Goodbye is a Reading Rainbow Book, a 1984 Coretta Scott King Award winner, and a 1984 NCTE Teacher’s Choice. It is illustrated with chalk sketches using only the colors of black, gray, and white. This simple and small picture book of 17 pages opens the door for discussion about the grief and loss experienced by all children who have lost a parent, or beloved caregiver, whether they are African American or not.

How does the perspective on gender/race/culture/economics/ability make difference to the story?  The story is specific in telling a story of an African American child. It was published in 1983, and recognized as an outstanding book when books were just beginning to be published about African American families in the United States.

Theological conversation partners:  Everett says, “I knew my daddy loved me through and through…” We know that God loves us “through and through….”  The words:  “Love doesn’t stop” remind us of the everlasting love and power of God that never “stops.”

 Faith Talk Questions:

1. How does this story end?
2. Have you ever been angry at someone who died?
3. Do you know someone who has lost their father?
4. What stories from the Bible show us that God’s love for us never stops?

This review was written by Union Presbyterian Seminary student Chris Feno.

Ender’s Game

Name of Book:  Ender’s Game

Author: Orson Scott Card

Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates

ISBN: 9780812550702

Audience:  Ages 12+

Summary:  Aliens, known as the buggers, have attacked Earth twice and almost destroyed the human species.  Although it has been years since the last attack, the world wants to make sure humans win the next encounter, so the world government has taken to breeding military geniuses, and then training them in the arts of war.  Fearing that the next attack is imminent, they cannot wait for the children to grow up to adulthood, they must use them now.

Into the unending pressure of military training comes six-year-old Andrew “Ender” Wiggin, who struggles to keep his humanity even as the adult teachers, rivals among his fellow students, and the strange unseen influence of the alien invaders all threaten either to destroy him or to make him into someone he can’t bear to be.

His genius raises him to the top of the intensely competitive games in the Battle Room, an immense null-gravity chamber where armies of youngsters engage in mock combat. But his real struggles are off the playing field with a dangerous older boy named Bonzo Madrid, who doesn’t believe that the world is big enough for both Ender and him to live there peaceably; with his teacher, Mazer Rackham, who won the last war on a fluke and now is trying to prepare Ender to win the next one by skill rather than luck; and with himself, as Ender wrestles with his own demons, desperate to remain a decent human being even as he sees himself being transformed into exactly the same kind of monster as the buggers themselves.

In the last battle of his training, Ender finds out that their mock combat was really a navigation of fighter pilots several light years away, who under Ender’s leadership have destroyed the bugger planet.  Faced with the reality of actual xenocide, Ender goes on a quest to find a home for the last remaining Queen, who is the future of the bugger population.

Literary elements at work in the story:  This science fiction novel is set between Earth, which is run by a unified World Government and Outer Space at the Battle School for training young children combat skills.  Often times children act older than they actually are, and they like to be given credit for the knowledge and skills that they have.  In fact, they are often smarter than the adults that train them.  This book uses children and characterizes them in such a way that they are really small adults.   They are brilliant children, in fact, they are the brightest children in the world who have come together to be trained for battle against the alien population, known as the buggers.  The children are involved in world politics and they face adult situations.  They have conflicts that they must address amongst themselves with very little adult intervention, and their ultimate goal becomes survival of the fittest as they are trained.  The third person narration allows the narrator to be omniscient and omnipresent through all circumstances and events.  Throughout the violence and conflict that Ender must face, his love and care for his sister keeps him human.  And it is through this love that he is able to feel remorse after the final battle and seek a way of peace with the buggers for the future.

(How) does the perspective on gender/race/culture/economics/ability make a difference to the story?  The fabulous thing about this book is that all gender, race, cultural, economic differences that are present in this current world have all faded away as the world has had to unite as one human race, so they can defend Earth together.  The children that attend the Battle School are from all over the world and from all different economic backgrounds.  The real enemy portrayed in this book is the alien population.

Theological conversation partners:  Religion is out of vogue in this futuristic world and there is great pressure to keep one’s religious beliefs underwraps.  The world is working out of their own strength and ability to defeat the Buggers once and for all.  The children are being raised to be hard and determined as they compete with one another to be the best and brightest to fight to save the world.  The book is violent and children die in the process.  But this book ends with the thought of hope.  Faced with xenocide, the annihilation of the entire bugger species, Ender makes a choice to find the last living Queen and a safe planet where the alien population can grow and live again.  Often times, it is easy in our own lives to get so caught up in the moment that we lose sight of the picture of what we are fighting for or why we are even fighting in the first place.  We tend not to think about the long-term consequences of our actions, until it is too late.  This book forces us to take a step back and rethink our relationships with others and the consequences of our actions in the midst of conflict.  This book is the first in a series of books by Orson Scott Card that features Ender as the main character.  Each subsequent book in the series is for a more mature audience as they cover material that is not as interesting for an adolescent audience.  However, there is a parallel series, entitled Ender’s Shadow, that will appeal to an adolescent audience throughout.

Faith Talk Questions:

1. Which character in this book can you relate to the most and why?
2. Compare and contrast the way the children in this book are treated by the adults with the way that you interact with the adults in your life.  What’s the same, what’s different?  What do you like about the way the children in the book are treated?  What do you dislike about the way the children are treated?
3. While religious faith is present in some of the characters within the book, it is frequently downplayed.  Where did you see God in this book?  How did you know that it was God?
4. The buggers are not human as we understand humanity, but what human qualities do they display?  What qualities do an individual need to be considered “human”?

This review was prepared by Union Presbyterian Seminary student Amanda North.

 

Where Does God Live?

Name of Book:  Where Does God Live?

Author:  August Gold

Illustrator:  Matthew J. Perlman

Publisher:  Skylight Paths Publishing (August 2001)

ISBN: 978-1893361393

Audience:  Ages 3 – 6 years

Summary:  In this picture book for young children a child ask the parents where God lives and the parents respond by telling the child the multitude of places that God lives and how the child sees and feels God all day every day.

Literary elements at work in the story:  The genre of this book is a very realistic one, as it portrays a conversation between a child and her parents when the child asks where God lives. It is also realistic in that it deals with the child’s struggle to comprehend something as immense as God, and where God can be found, and the role of the parents in helping her understand. The book is told from the point of view of the parents as they attempt to show their daughter where God can be found. The setting is the present day. Also, due to the multitude and variety of photographs used, children of all walks of life in a multitude of settings can relate. Since this book is geared to 3-6 year olds the characters are very simple – mother, father and child – and are presented in a simple fashion that mimics conversations that young readers probably have with their own family members. The plot, simple though it is, is about parents helping their child understand their relationship to God more fully. The theme of understanding more about God, is summed up in the title of the book. The combination of the words and the beautiful photographs help the reader “feel” the things that are described in the book.

(How) does the perspective on gender/race/culture/economics/ability make a difference to the story?  The book uses a wide range of photographs to tell the story. In these photographs children will find other children, places and things that resemble the child and where they live, but they will also be introduced to other children and settings that look very different. Through these pictures children can learn that God is in all people and places and not just people that look and dress or live in similar places as they do.

Theological conversation partners: In reading this book to the children of my church I am reminded of two passages of scripture from the Gospel of Matthew: Matthew 19:14-15  and Matthew 28:20. I think both of these passages are very well represented in the book, and I have used both when I have used this book in preschool lessons. First, by the parents’ loving response to the child they reaffirm for the reader that they are not only welcomed by God, but encouraged to ask questions of and about God. Secondly, by illustrating for the child all the places that God lives, the parents have reinforced our belief that God is with us in all places, times and circumstances forever. One caution I would give to adults sharing this book with children is to emphasize the fact that, while God is present in all facets of our lives, God is still ONE God. The young children who will enjoy this book are very concrete thinkers, and can easily form the idea that God is many and not one. Adults need to keep this in mind as they read and discuss it with small children.

Faith Talk Questions:

1. Where do you think God lives? (Ask this question before reading the book.)
2. Now that you have read the book, do you have other ideas of where God might live?
3. Which picture of one of God’s homes do you like best? Why?
4. How does it make you feel knowing God is so close to you?

This review was written by Union Presbyterian Seminary student Shasta Bode-Brown.

Christmas Books for Elementary Children

Librarian and regular reviewer Janet Lloyd offers a collection of suggestions for Christmas reading with elementary students.

Click on the link below to print these bibliographies.  And don’t forget, we would love to hear your suggestions for books to use with this age group.  Please leave your comments below!

Christmas Books for Grades 1-3

Christmas Bibliography Grades 3_5

Dragon’s Child

Name of Book: The Dragon’s Child: A Story of Angel Island

Author: Laurence Yep

Publisher: Harper Collins

ISBN: 9780062018151

Audience: Ages 9-12

Summary: In 1922, 10 yr old Gim must leave China and go to America with his father who he has not seen for many years and is a stranger to him. He wants to please him but is left handed and stutters and is afraid he will fail the stringent test he must take when he reaches America. This short novel, based on interviews with his grandfather, the real Gim, Yep captures the experience of a young boy trying to please his father while wondering if he will ever become an American.

Literary elements at work in the story: The unique format of question/answer gives the story an immediacy that is compelling and heartwarming. The plot is well developed and true to the time period. The character of Gim is particularly well developed.

How does the perspective on gender/race/culture/economics/ability make a difference to the story: Yep raises many issues about both Chinese immigration and the immigrant experience in general. By using personal family interviews and historical notes Yep brings an authenticity not often found in historical fiction.

Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5: 16-21

Theology: “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances…” “…hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.” These words could have been written for Gem or any other immigrant.  Gim and his fellow countrymen came to America for many different reasons, but the one thing they all had in common was that this new land would be a place they would have to strive hard to hold on to the good and reject the evil. At first, Gim has a hard seeing any good in what is happening to him. He is taken from the land and family he loves to please a father he does not know but is desperate to please. His spirit comes close to being crushed. It isn’t easy, the task he has been given, but he knows he must not give in, he must succeed. It is hard in the middle of conflict to heed the words from this passage. But like Gim, we have no choice. We must succeed, not for honor’s sake, but for the sake of our souls.

Faith Talk Questions:

1. How would you feel if you were asked to go somewhere where you knew no one?
2. Would you go as Gim did?
3. Could you pass a test about your town as Gim did? For example, could you name the closest river or mountain to your town.
4. Why did the writer of Thessalonians tell his readers to “Rejoice always…” and “….give thanks in all circumstances”?
5. Have you ever been asked to do something you did not want to do but knew you had to do?
6. Do you think you could do as the writer of Thessalonians asks?  If not, how do you think you could get to the place where you could rejoice and give thanks no matter what was happening or what was being asked of you?

Review prepared by regular contributor Janet Lloyd

The Easter Story

Name of Book:  The Easter Story

Author:  Brian Wildsmith

Illustrator:  Brian Wildsmith

Publisher:  Eerdmans Books for Young Readers

Audience:  Ages 5 and up

Summary:  This book is a retelling of the gospel Easter stories with the addition of the Palm Sunday donkey throughout the entire story. The book begins with the Palm Sunday ride into Jerusalem and ends with Christ’s ascension into heaven following the Resurrection. The donkey from Palm Sunday is present in each part of the story, thus adding a more child-friendly character to the Easter stories.

Literary elements at work in the story:  The story is told from a third person omniscient point of view. The addition of the “little donkey” helps to soften the story and make it more personal to little children engaged in the story. The characters named and portrayed are the Biblical characters from the appropriate stories, including: Jesus, disciples, Pontius Pilate, Mary, Mary Magdelene, Caiaphas, angels and more.

How does the perspective on gender/race/culture/economic/ability make a difference to the story?  While the book is set in the various towns and locations from the Bible, the artwork portrays a very fair-skinned cast of characters. The book is also layered with a lot of gold paint, helping to set a high ecclesiology interpretation of the Biblical stories. (For instance, there is an altar-looking stone table in the tomb where Christ’s body is laid after crucifixion.) The culture portrayed strongly resembles the culture of the author as he shares his rendition of these stories.

Scripture:  Matthew 21:1-18, 26:17 – 28:10; Mark 11:1-25, 14:12 – 16:20; Luke 19:28-47, 22:7- 24:12, 24:36-53; John 12:12-16, 13:21-38, 18:1 – 20:23

Theology:  Jesus Christ is the humanity of our Salvation offered to us by God in love. In salvation, God makes the first move and reaches out because God loves us no matter how we respond to God. God also gives us the gift of faith so that we can trust that our relationships with God and one another are made right by Jesus Christ. Through the life, death and resurrection of Christ we experience the abundant forgiveness, mercy and love of God. The story of Jesus’ death and resurrection is the story of love, healing and reconciliation from God to all of creation.

Faith Talk Questions

1. What was different in this book from the Easter stories in Scripture?
2. Why do you think Little Donkey wanted to stay with Jesus?
3. Who might Little Donkey remind you of that’s always with you, even when bad things happen?
4. How does it make you feel to know that God sent Jesus to be crucified in your place?
5. Where do you most see God’s love in The Easter Story?

Review prepared by Union Presbyterian Seminary alumna Katie Todd

Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher

Name of Book:  Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher

Author:  Bruce Coville

Publisher:  Scholastic

ISBN:  978-0545051187

Audience:  Ages 8 – 12

Summary:  While dodging some friends, Jeremy spots a shop he has never seen before. He sees a shining, multicolored ball that, to his surprise, the owner sells to him for 25 cents stating that “It” wants him. He takes it home and follows the odd instructions and finds that it is not a ball but a dragon’s egg. When the dragon hatches he has several problems. First, no one but Jeremy can see it. Second it eats eats and eats and eats. As the dragon grows, Jeremy learns that this world is not safe for dragons. Dragons are only hatched here, but must go back to their world when they are grown. He knows he should take his dragon to the other world but he loves her and does not want to part with her. Finally he accepts that he must do what is best for his dragon, not what is best for him. He must take her to the land of the dragons.

Literary elements at work in the story:  The characters are well drawn and believable. It has all the elements needed to appeal to all readers, especially boys. It is plot driven, fast paced and who wouldn’t want to hatch a dragon egg!

How does the perspective on gender/race/culture/economics/ability make a difference to the story: This story could take place in any town. What does make a difference is the careful care Coville takes to make the characters believable. The actions and reactions are typical of the children’s ages.

Scripture: Matthew 1:18-25

Theology: Joseph had a difficult decision to make. Here he was engaged to a woman who was pregnant. Custom told him he did not have to honor the engagement. However, Joseph did what perhaps was a hard thing for him to do. He swallowed his pride and embarrassment and married Mary. The angel told him he had to do what was right for God, not Joseph. Jeremy had a similar decision to make. He had to do what was right for his dragon, not what was right for Jeremy. The dedication for this book reads: “For Jane. Believing in dragons is easy. Jane believes in people—an act of love that takes considerably more imagination.” God has that kind of imagination. When the world could only imagine dragons, he gave us Christ—truly an act of love that takes considerably more imagination.

Faith Talk Questions:

1. Have you ever found yourself in a position where you had to do what was right for someone else at your expense?
2. How did you handle it?
3. What if God told you to do something hard like God told Joseph? How would you make your decision?
4. What about the dedication? Do you think it is easier to believe in a “thing” than to believe in people?
5. Can you think of another story from the Bible that shows us God’s imagination?
6. How can we use our imaginations to show God’s love?

This review written by regular contributor Janet Lloyd.

Images of God for Young Children

Title:  Images of God for Young Children

Author:  Marie-Helene Delval

Illustrator: Barbara Nascimbini

Publisher:  Eerdmans

ISBN:  9780802853912

Audience: 4-8 years

Summary:   How can we help children know God who is unseen, beyond space and time, beyond our highest thoughts?  Marie-Helene Delval says that “the Bible does describe many ways that we can help children discover God in our world.”  To prove her point she has selected 40 biblical images and matched them with illustrations and text.   A number of the images are concrete nouns-rock, fortress, bread, water, spring, wind, fire, path; a number are abstract nouns-love, justice, beauty, wisdom, joy.   Several images are roles that God takes-shepherd, king, healer, friend, and parent.  Jesus is one of the 40 images: “Jesus came to us and so God has a face.”   The author could have strengthened the book by giving scripture references for the images since these are theoretically drawn from the Bible. Several need documenting (tears, darkness, root, secret).  Though the language is simple, the concepts of the text are not. The illustrations are rich in color, often exuberant, but do not always illuminate the image.

Literary elements at work in the story: Images of God is a book of metaphors, not a good choice for  the concrete thinking that predominates in the early elementary years. Similes are more readily accessible. “God is bread” may be taken literally; “God is like bread to us” is within their grasp.

God’s actions do not equal God. God makes covenant does not compute in their minds to “God is covenant.”

How does the perspective on gender/race/culture/economics/ability make a difference to the story? While most of the images are gender neutral, masculine pronouns are used throughout for God.  Except for the picture about bread, all of the children are light skinned, although it should be noted that these are not realistic pictures.

Theological Conversation Partners: Biblical language about God is full of metaphors.  Rock, fortress, shield, a drink for a thirsty soul, a grieving mother, a betrayed husband-the list is almost endless.  We must speak of God in similes and metaphors. In a sense, Jesus is the essential metaphor for God. When we answer the question, “What is God like?,” this is where we begin.  Metaphors are the language of poetry and much of the Bible is poetry.  It’s a great gift to help children think metaphorically and Images of God can make a contribution to this.  It is a book for conversations over time not a book for reading in one sitting, and several images may be skipped. Conversation will be strengthened by finding some of the places in the Bible where these metaphors are used.  And this may stimulate a search for further metaphors as you read the Bible.  Psalms is a particularly rich source.

Faith Talk Questions:

1. What do we know about God?
2. How do we know this?
3. What does Jesus tell or show us about God?
4.  The Bible uses many comparisons or images to tell us what God is like.  (Choose one and explore it: What is light?  What does it do for us? The Bible says, The Lord is my light (Ps. 27).  How is God like light?)
5. Can you think of something you see each day that helps you understand God?
6. What is your favorite image for God?

Review prepared by guest blogger Virginia Thomas.