Meek and Mild: American Children's Bibles’ Stories of Jesus as a Boy

Abstract

The four canonical gospels provide readers with few details of the life of Jesus as a boy. Many authors of children's bibles in America, however, have been happy to fill in some of the details. This article suggests that these retellings regularly create or adapt stories of Jesus’ childhood to teach children virtues that serve to affirm the status quo rather than virtues that would lead children to become agents of change and advocates for justice.

Notes

The research for this article was partially funded through a Lilly Theological Research Expense Grant distributed by the Association of Theological Schools, which allowed me to travel to the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, Massachusetts and the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.