Teaching peace, talking theology

How to Teach Peace to Children (2nd edition) Anne Meyer Byler. Herald Press, 2003. 72 pp.

God’s Story, Our Story: Exploring Christian Faith and Life Michele Hershberger. Faith and Life Resources, 2003. 166 pp.

Some books have the audacity to confront you with a different way to view the world. Byler uses this little book, How to Teach Peace to Children, to offer a perspective on parenting that differs from the standard fare. The many unstated assumptions of what a “peace” worldview includes, however, and the unsatisfactory attention given to issues raised, make it difficult to wade through to the best part of the book – the excellent list of resources.

My favourite section of Byler’s book is a visual grid using animals to illustrate different ways to respond to conflict. Our nine-year-old son immediately understood where his conflict resolution patterns put him on the graph, and gave him a handle on how to improve.

Hershberger, in God’s Story, Our Story, does not confront the reader’s perspective head-on. Rather, she weaves a path through the stories of Scripture as they unfold. She invites the reader to encounter a God who shows Himself through the tales of human lives. Theological issues such as salvation, sin, the role of the Holy Spirit, and a believer’s response to conflict come to life through the stories and through the author’s reflections. The book feels more like a conversation than a lecture, as the reader finds companions on the journey. Hershberger brings 6 people (ages 13 to 83 years) along, using their observations and honest questions in a sidebar format to the main text.

This book is about God creating a people, and about a God who comes to the reader, inviting each one to join God’s people and God’s story. Discussion questions at the end of each section are useful for personal reflection as well as for group study. I highly recommend this book, and will look for more books by Michele Hershberger.

Darlene Klassen is children’s minister at West Portal MB Church, Saskatoon.