How do we teach children about the Trinity? This is no easy task, not least since trying to explain the inner life of the Triune God without simply confessing the historic Creeds nearly universally runs into heresy. And yet, the new board book God Loves Me by Kristen Wetherell and Grace Habib gives it a go.
As far as it goes, this little book does the best job you can explaining the inexplicable. There’s nary a hint of modalism in sight, so no need to hassle Patrick. This is a straightforward little book that does its job well.
But, here’s the sticking point: there is no sin in this book.
Now, don’t get me wrong. It’s a book for the wee ones, and we obviously need to handle the topic delicately and wisely. One ought not open a children’s book by quoting Edwards’ “Sinners in the Hands of a an Angry God” (though I would read the heck out of such a children’s book!).
And of course, sin is not essential to the nature of God. It is, however, essential to our nature (not in the philosophical sense, so don’t jump on me there). We cannot understand ourselves or our relationship to God without understanding sin.
The closest God Loves Me comes to this is when it talks about prayer:
Again, I get it. We want children to be able to cry out to God when they are in need. But we also want them to understand what their greatest need is–the need for forgiveness. This book skips entirely over our sin and the cross and jumps straight from the Incarnation to the Resurrection with nothing in between. This means this book is a good supplement to confessing the Trinity, but ought not to stand alone.
And hey, that’s not necessarily unusual. The classic song “Jesus Loves Me” (which I have to assume the book is strongly inspired by–not least because the rhyme scheme and meter–when there is meter–both wander very close to fitting the tune) does something similar, insofar as you have to get to the second verse to get to sin and forgiveness:
“Jesus loves me he who died
heaven’s gate to open wide.
He will wash away my sin,
let his little child come in”
Dr. Coyle Neal co-hosts the City of Man Podcast and is an Amazon Associate (which is linked in this blog). He teaches Political Science, Philosophy, and History in Southwest Missouri.
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