Theology 101 (In the Nursery)

When school started in the fall, I introduced a series in our Sunday School on God’s incommunicable attributes — for the kids.  The timing was perfect:  everyone was going back to school.  We all have lots to learn.  God has never needed to learn anything.   He is omniscient . . .  and on we went from there, week by week, pondering God’s sovereignty, His immutability, the other omni’s, and more besides.

Childhood is the perfect time to introduce little people to the important truths of the faith.  With that in mind, Danielle Hitchen has produced a tool to make the learning process fun for the kids, the parents and the teachers.  Bible Basics – A Baby Believer Counting Primer has all the best indestructible features of a board book, the interesting and colorful pictures that go with a cute counting book, but with the important difference that the counting acts as a simple catechism that takes tiny disciples beyond the Bible stories and introduces them to the language and meaning of some of Christianity’s core tenets.

And why not?  The Bible is full of numbers!
We have one God in three persons.
God the Son exists in two natures, and He appears in all four Gospels.
The first five books of the Old Testament are called the Pentateuch, and I didn’t even hear that word until I was in college!

Each two-page spread features eye-catching drawings, but my favorite is number nine:  the fruit of the Spirit.

Bible Basics, the first of a series, is a book for my grandson to grow into.  We’ll start out by reading the concept headings and counting together.   With a tiny brain like velcro, the little wiggler will soon be ready to listen to the Scripture verses, hymn lyrics and other supporting texts that will help him to fill up those concepts with meaning.

I’ll also be sure to put a copy of this book in my church’s nursery, because there is no better time to introduce the idea that, while no one fully understands God, and while He transcends all our outlines and file folders, theology is a helpful tool that functions like a ladder, leaned up against the great truths of Scripture to give us a place to stand and wonder.

Stand and wonder with me now with the help of these words from Augustine (on page 3) about the trinity:

“Glory to the Father who created us.
Glory to the Son who redeemed us.
Glory to the Holy Spirit who sanctified us.
Glory to the most high and undivided trinity,
whose works are inseparable,
whose kingdom without end abides,
from age to age, forever. Amen.”

//

This book was provided by the publisher through the Blog About Network book review program in exchange for my review.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

An Announcement for January

Most of us have a favorite C.S. Lewis book, whether it’s the incisive practical theology of Mere Christianity or the glorious story-telling found in The Chronicles of Narnia.  It turns out that C.S. Lewis’s favorite of all his books was Till We Have Faces.  One Lewis scholar calls it his “most subtle treatment of the relation between good and evil.”  It’s a novel, based on the mythical tale of Cupid and Psyche, and in it, Lewis explores themes such as the selfishness of human love, the limits of reason, the corrupting effects of self-will, and in Lewis’s own words, “the havoc a vocation or even a faith works on human life.”   I’m planning to lead a discussion group about the book starting in January, and am hoping that many of you will join me, so here’s a quick overview of the plan:

1.  The pace will be leisurely at three chapters per week (about 30-ish pages), which will take us into the beginning of March.
2. I will be posting weekly starting January 5 (Thursdays) with introductory material and a detailed reading schedule.  My hope is that the comments section here at Living Our Days will become a comfy living room where we can discuss our thoughts on the book.  If you blog, PLEASE plan to include a link to your post about the week’s reading so that we can all benefit from one another’s impressions with more detail than is possible in the comments.  If you don’t blog, no worries.  Just share your thoughts in connection with the weekly reading here, and be sure to visit and respond to others.

//

If you enjoy reading Living Our Days, subscribe to get regular Bible studies and book reviews delivered to your inbox.  Just enter your e-mail address in the box at the top of this page.

I link-up with a number of blogging  communities on a regular basis.  They are listed in the left sidebar by day of the week.  I hope that you will take a moment to enjoy reading the work of some of these fine writers and thinkers.