About the Author: Alex Sangster
About Sophia Books
Have you been looking for powerful children’s books from a progressive perspective? Have you found yourself frustrated by the traditional/fundamentalist theology found within many of the books aimed at children?
The focus of religious development within children should always begin with the recognition that children are naturally religious beings and that our role as adults is simply to facilitate the growth of their organic spiritual hearts.
Jesus placed the child in the midst of a crowd of disciples and asked the child to lead the way, he told us that we must become 'as the little child' if we wish to enter the kingdom. And yet we rarely take this radical message seriously choosing instead to 'teach' children about the Spirit rather than listening to what they can share with us.
In my work as a minister of the word with the Uniting Church in Australia I have focused on making space within the worship experience for children to experience and live from the center of God. Part of this 'making space' is done through the telling of simple stories using song and symbol and inviting the child to participate in the telling of the tale.
Children posses an innate capactity for the mystical experience and are grounded in an immediate awareness of the mystery of life. If we accept that spirituality is intimately bound up with the seach for meaning and the discovery of the true self, then it is clear that the vast majority of children have the capacity for and natural inclination towards, the development of their spiritual selves. We can encourage them in this development by helping them to reflect imaginatively and courageously about the world around them, not being afraid to let them ask the big questions and to dance together into the mystery.
In my work I am committed to breaking open the traditional ways in which children are taught about God. Using inclusive language, multi-faith perspectives and images which are culturally diverse, these books don’t tell children about God; instead they ask children to connect in with their own experience of the holy.
The Mystic Bible is perfectly balanced on the progressive spectrum, meaningful for people who are deeply connected to the stories of the Bible, mystical and poetic, and yet innovative and theologically progressive.