Sabine Grant

Hello Ab-Normal ! Actualy I " stole" from my 18 year old The Student's Life Application Bible which is using the Living Translation. Instead of being a literal version, it focuses on the meaning and the concepts.. This is accomplished by translating entire thoughts ( rather than just words) into natural every day English. I would evaluate that kids from age 9 and above can comprehend the content. ( mostly because by the age of 9 they have accessed scholarization and sufficient reading skills to approach that version on their own).

I use the KJV only for the lyrism of Psalms. But when it comes to comprehesion of the thoughts, no way I would use the KJV.

Also the advantage of the Living Bible is that people do not spend hours debating over one word taken from one verse and usualy out of context. The debate is more focused on the thoughts. IMO it engenders more critical thinking than the "word" debate. Only scholars who have knowledge of ancient Hebrew, Greek and the dead language of Aramaic can pertain to argue on a single word.

By the way I voted that all kids can read the Bible.

Jayjay

Regarding children's Bibles or other propaganda material geared towards brainwashing kids, I'd certainly not want my children to read them. But could I really stop them if they really wanted to? The best I can do is to keep regular bibles available (so that they don't have to rely on doubletalking proselytizers on their bible-knowledge) in the house, and shun whatever seems like a brainwashing ploy.

Kassiana

and the huge numbers of people who, even as adults, admit they don't understand everything in it....given the numerous inexplicable (from a cold - no background - reading) practices in it....given those facts, I think I would permit a child of mine to read it, but if the child was too young to know those things, I'd insist on discussing what s/he read with her/him and clarify, using current Biblical research, what was meant and what probably happened.

Now, if the child was a teen and (probably) old enough to understand Biblical commentary, I'd have to introduce her/him to Spong and the Jesus Seminar, and other sources of real Biblical criticism. But sure, s/he could read the Bible as well.

Sephiroth

I feel that it is too violent for anyone under 10 to read. Heck, I would set the bar at 13 but some knowledge is probably necessary so the kid won't just buy it hook, line, and sinker without even knowing what the entire book is like. I also wouldn't approve of Children's Bibles, to me they're mere propoganda.

Sabine Grant

Hi Sephiro... I do not know if you are a parent but as you are concerned with violent content, you would then be careful with what the child views on TV or which movies he/she can access to. That also includes time on the Internet of course. Daily news sort of reflect violence. Video games. You also would have to monitor what books or material the child studies in school. As he/she studies World History , there will be exposure to violent episodes of the history of mankind.
When I took my older daughter to visit Dachau, she undertook to make a report to her classroom. She used pamphlets, documentation she had purchased there and did not spare the truth about what she discovered on Dachau. Most of her classmates were shocked.

Sephiroth

I'm not and I doubt I ever will. I merely commented what I would do if I had a kid.Indeed I would 'till the 10 year old mark (as far as violent content is concerned excluding news for the same reason I generally would exclude history).Violence in World History doesn't bother me quite as much as it also shows the consequence of said violence and its not often very graphical in the books/documentaries anyway (at least for me). Also, since history teaches you more about other cultures and their accomplishments it's the best tool to fight/prevent prejudices. You probably won't agree with me but the way the Israelites in the bible get to use indiscriminate violence on the inhabitants of Canaan without consequences and still being considered moral and with no one expected to bat an eye doesn't sit well with me. And, while I would hope I wouldn't be considered a sexual prude, I really don't know what to think of the Songs of Solomon.

Ab_Normal

I would not get my daughter a bible specifically for children; in my experience, they tend to gloss over (maybe even whitewash) certain parts, and I would want her to get the full story. Anyway, she hasn't evinced an interest, and I won't force any book on her.

Re: Violence, world history, and the media (an aside)

When I was a wee sprog, my dad would watch anything to do with WWII, and I would watch it with him. (I can still hum along with the theme to "World at War".) Therefore, I learned about the Holocaust and the firebombing of Dresden at an early age. Also, we'd watch the news at dinner time. Even though it wasn't as sensational as it is now, I learned about lots of things I might have been better off without knowing.

I first realized that I lived on what Heinlein called a "big red X" (a major target for Soviet nuclear missiles) at the age of 12. (That was after watching a Nova episode which compared Soviet and American civil defense plans.) I didn't sleep well for the next eight years. (Actually, I'm not joking; I was convinced I was going to be annihilated before I grew up.)

Therefore, I monitor (and control when necessary) what my daughter watches and reads. While I realize that she's going to have to face the ugliness of the world sometime, I want it to be later rather than sooner. I've had friends say I'm doing her no favors; the let-down will be greater as she gets older. She's not a "bubble kid"; she knows the world is a dangerous place, and she has to look out for herself. But she doesn't have to wallow in it like I inadvertently did. This helped us get through last summer, when the media was all over child kidnappings. Since she didn't watch the news, and isn't into the newspaper, she didn't freak out about it, like some kids of my acquaintance did.

8of9

"Let" them read it? Sure. Encourage it? No way.

One thing (among many) that my parents did right was to let us read any book in the house, or check any book out of the library.

Still, I'm not planning on stocking the shelves with bibles, prayer books, and rapture fiction.

winstonjen

I would let them read it when they were old enough to see it for the tripe it is, and not be brainwashed just because it is one of the first things they've read.

2tadpoles

My 11 y.o. son has a children's Bible in his room, that I think he's picked through once or twice. He wanted me to buy it for him, but it was after we had already been discussing religon quite a bit (because we had been going to a UU church, plus he was in Cub Scouts for a time). He already had a pretty poor view of organized religion in general, and Christianity in particular since much of it sounded quite "silly" to him. He just wanted to read some of the stories so that he'd know what people were talking about. I guess it's a "know your enemy" sort of thing.

I also have a NIV Bible somewhere around here. I doubt he'd want to read that, ever....but you never know. He does love to read, but History bores him. He loves magic and sci-fi and fantasy. I don't think the Bible would appeal to him.

I voted that they could read it at age 8, because kids younger than that sometimes can't distinguish between fantasy and reality very easily. I wouldn't want to scare the little buggers. My younger boy is 7.5, and he has trouble understanding that people in movies and TV shows are just actors. He got really confused when his brother told him that Austin Powers, Dr. Evil, and Fat Bastard are all played by the same person.