I have been greatly disturbed lately by the content of children's Bible story books:
In my children's German Bible story book, David has blond hair and blue eyes (nothing against either of those, but it's not very authentic), Jesus has very nicely styled long red hair, and the last story is the Wedding at Cana. There are actually several NT stories. They're just not in order. However, I am a bit concerned that the Cross is never mentioned. Nor is Easter.
In my children's English Bible story book, Rebekah wears a very American-looking wedding dress when she marries Isaac, Moses has a forked beard, the Shunamite woman appears to be serving Elisha a Thanksgiving turkey, and the fish Jesus' disciples catch are all smiling. Then there's Jonah. He has a forked beard too. His has 5 tines. And when the wind starts blowing on the boat in the storm, his hair blows back, and come to find out, it's forked too. He looks a lot like a starfish. That's probably why the big fish swallowed him. Incidentally, the "big fish" is called a "big fish," but is pictured as...you guessed it - a whale. Moses and Jonah are not the only wierd-beard guys. Zacchaeus and John the beloved both have beards shaped like a boat. Very disturbing. This Bible also had an annoying habit of inattention to detail (eg. Simeon is pictured as a high priest). And John's vision of Heaven looks frighteningly similar to Disneyland.
Discussion question: Should children actually be exposed to such spiritual and literary aberrations?
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