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Teaching Bible to Children — 10 Comments

  1. Very good thoughts, indeed! I agree that we must not water down stories for children. When I try to make Bible stories age-appropriate for children, my goal is not to dilute the story, but to use words that children understand, and to present the story in a way that they will comprehend it. Being age-appropriate is not just about content, but also about language. I am glad you brought this up, so that when I say my stories are age-appropriate or kid friendly, I can clarify that I am referring to language and vocab. Thanks Janice!

  2. Janice, thanks for your article. As a Bible lover who enjoys reading to my grands, I like your “bully” approach to Goliath that relates to situations kids often encounter today. In that instance, the timely topic might be more important than the full story but still shows David’s reliance on God.

    For reading times in general, snuggling up with a child and an easy-to-read translation such as the Common English Bible, Good News Bible, or New Living Translation will provide those details and also associate Bible-reading with a loving environment that leads to a life-long habit of loving God’s word.

  3. I once read a quote from John Piper: ‘It takes as much or more understanding of a biblical doctrine to teach it to children than it does to teach it to adults’.
    I suppose another way of putting it is that Age Appropriate could mean ‘listener appropriate’.

  4. I totally agree that Bible stories should be taught when children are quite young. Children love stories & are soaking up a lot of information, even when they aren’t being verbal about what they have heard.

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