Every Child Matters to God

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Every Child Matters to God

• The Theology of the Child
• Adult Education Conference
• Education and Theology
• 5th July 2006
• Howard Worsley

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Every Child Matters to God

• 1. Old Testament Views of the Child
• 2. New Testament Views of the Child
• 3. Early Church Medieval Views of the Child
• 4. Twenty-first Century Views of the Child
• 5. The Spirituality of the Child (Childrens
  spirituality)
• 6. The Spirituality of the Child (Child Theology)
• 7. The Inner-child as a resource of Adult Faith
  Development

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1. Old Testament Views of the Child

• CHILD AS LEARNER
• Train up a child in the way he should go
• (Proverbs 22 v 6)
• Teach Your Children
• (Psalms 78 v 1 7)

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Old Testament Views of the Child

• Child as Prophetic Leader
• (Isaiah 11 v 6)
• Child as Vision of Future Stability
• (Zechariah 8 v 5)
• Child as symbol of relationship to God
• (Children of Israel)

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New Testament Views of the Child

• JESUS
• Child as role model to adult
• Matthew 18 v 3
• Mark 10 v 15
• Luke 18 v 17
• John 3 v 3-5
• PAUL
• Child as undeveloped one
• 1 Corinthians 13 v 11
• 1 Corinthians 3 v 2

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Early Church Medieval Views of the Child

• Did Jesus mean become like a child (metaphor) or
  receive a child (literally)?
• Medieval idealisation of child as moral being or
  original innocence.
• Society saw actual children as small adults.

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Twenty-first Century Views of the Child

• Creation of the Child
• Creation of the teenager
• Shortening of childhood
• Developmentalism giving way to consumerism

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The Spirituality of the Child(Childrens
Spirituality)

• Categories of Spiritual Sensitivity
• Awareness Sensing
• Here and now
• Tuning
• Flow
• Focusing
• Mystery Sensing
• Wonder and awe
• Imagination
• Value-sensing
• Delight and despair
• Ultimate goodness
• Meaning

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The Spirituality of the Child (Child Theology)

• The idea of the hermeneutic of the child (K
  White)
• The idea of Godly Play (J.Berryman)
• In most religious education children are told
  who God is.
• In Godly play, children can discover God for
  themselves.

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The Inner-child as a Resource to Adult Faith
Development

• 1. Search for the inner-child
• 2. Highlight what is resourced
• 3. Revive the inner-child
• 4. Release the revived inner-child

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Dysfunctional Faith (Gordon)

• 1. Fowler
• Stage 4 Choosing Faith
• 2. Rizzuto
• God linked to distant father
• 3. Kelly
• Sense of on-going movement

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Functional Faith (Frank)

• 1. Fowler
• Stage 5 Conjunctive Faith
• 2. Rizzuto
• God linked to composite family
• 3. Kelly
• Realistic movement

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The Inner-child can be a Resource to developing
an Adults faith

• By getting involved with children (listening,
  playing, seeing).
• By re-examining childhood memory (both positive
  and negative memories).
• By exploring and re-examining our use of symbol
  to see how we construe awe, wonder, space etc.
• By regressing in the service of the ego.
• By working with children for whom we have vision.

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ECM Outcomes Theologically Reflected

• Be Healthy (Physically, mentally, emotionally and
  spiritually)
• Stay Safe (Home, community and?)
• Enjoy and Achieve (and receive)
• Make a Positive Contribution (Be loved)
• Achieve Economic Well-Being (Be content in riches
  and in poverty)