Inspired by Dr. Frank Lake, Bruce Reed,
James Loder, Paul Tournier and R.S. Lee, Keith White explores and engages on
Child Theology. White’s understanding on parenting goes beyond nuclear family,
for the development of a child substantially happens and interweaves among
family, religion and education. In other words, the whole environment in which
a child grows are impacting the child’s life. Keith emphasizes that
“individuals grow within community” (p.12).
Using the terms “village” and
“villagers” metaphorically, Keith urges us to play our roles “in creating the
environment in which love can thrive” (p.12). Children need a child-friendly
society or a social canopy in which the children can grow in love. We all have
the responsibility to construct and nurture such an environment. Peter Berger
has “the Sacred Canopy”, we probably may want to have “love-canopy”.
Keith explains his purpose of choosing
the five motifs or themes – security, boundaries, significance, community and
creativity “to enable an interplay and, in some cases, integration between
different perspectives and traditions (p.30). These five words are memorable
and relevant to daily life. These five words enable interdisciplinary interaction
between theology and child development theory. It is important because it helps
to hold the tension between “the individual and the collective, the now and the
not yet, the planned and the unplanned, the conscious and the unconscious, the
functional and the spontaneous, the latent and the manifest and the forces of
life and death”. It helps to interwoven the two modes of existence (p.31-32).
These five words are also “open, fluid and expansive” as life is very dynamic.
These five themes except for security
cannot be understood as human needs for it is more than human needs explained
by Dr. White. (p.36).
The five words are not intended to be
another version of Erickson’s stages of growth or Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
However, White emphasizes that he purposely chooses to start with security for
he believes it is the most fundamental need of human beings as “life begins
with the fundamental longing for security” (p.33). Dr. White’s friend, Dr.
Jo-Joy Wright demonstrates that the five themes are in fact a progression
although it may not comprise a systematic of growth (p.33).
In order to create and experience
security, boundaries have to step in.
Keith White delineates that “patterns, structures and predictability” are very
vital in child development. In the process, a child will find his or her significance. Jo-Joy Wright points out
what Grotberg describes as “I am; I can; I have” (p.34).
White highlights that his thesis is
drawn from biblical insights as well as psycho-social theory and his practical
experience. Inspired by Karl Barth reflected in James Loder’s The Logic in Spirit, White explores the
fundamental questions of life such as death, nothingness, suffering and the
meaning of life in light of theology in which God revealed Himself through
Jesus Christ (p.42). White highlights his thesis succinctly,
“these biblical insights are set within the
understanding of human nature and development that sees our ultimate security
and significance in God’s love, mercy and forgiveness and grace; his boundaries
as those within which we best thrive; the new community modeled and established
in and through the life, death, resurrection of Jesus Christ as the one in
which we can be truly human; and his creation as the primary realm in which we
little creators find greatest joy and fulfillment, when our secondary creations
resonate with his” (p.45).
These five themes or what White also
calls as “the five fingers” are used to play the melody calls “love”. White
says, “Love is given and received, often unconsciously and unexpectedly; it
emerges through relationship, knowing, trusting, belonging, community,
creativity and so on” (p.46). This explains why White gives the title to his
book as well as why he chooses the five themes.
White suggests using the term covenant
to understand love with marriage as its best example to demonstrate this idea
of love within covenantal relationship. Theologically speaking, divine love is
reflected in the symbol of marriage (p.201). A children’s environment has to
consist of not only children but also adults, both males and females. In other
words, this village of love must consist of the whole community. Activities
which are done together in this village of love using theological practices
such as celebrations, pilgrimages, camps, retreats, baptisms, holy communions etc
become children’s learning experience.
White prefers not to include
spirituality in the five themes because he believes spirituality is not
conducive to be put into words in a book. Instead he prefers “silence, music,
colour and poetry” as better vehicles to convey spirituality. Children learn
spirituality from what they see and experience in their environment or village
(using White’s term). Particularly, they learn from how their parents such as the
way their parents internalize prayers and Bible reading (p.206).
Both spirituality of children and love
is essentially rooted in its relatedness or connectedness. Children live in the
“little family” (nuclear family) and the “bigger family” (local fellowship of
Christians). Within this village, children learn about love. This loving
village is what White hopes to describe. It is a “place or a setting in which a
child experiences healthy patterns of life, each day, each week, each month,
each year and through the stages of life” (p.207). Very often, a child is often
regarded as disturbance of religious life and expected to be quarantined from
the worship community. White urges us to take children as part of the family
and community and thus, they should not be segregated from the “bigger family”.
As the children of God who is love we
are commanded to love one another. Our culture has to be characterized by love.
Creating, nurturing and living in this village of love demonstrates our Village
Chief (God) is Love.
Batam, 18 Juli 2013
Johan Newton Crystal
