Conscious Bible Stories For Kids?

[AnnaWillberg]

Hi there,

I am looking for bed night stories about the bible for my sons. They are four and five. I want to teach them about the old testament, but I am looking for a version that is more conscious. Which means a version in which for example Cain and Able don’t kill each other, instead working through their misunderstandings. I want to teach my boys compassion and loyalty.

What do you think about a kids’ books edition of the bible that has a more conscious approach? Do you know a copy like this? Would you buy the bible with a more modern, conscious perspective?

Thank you so much for your thoughts!

Anna

It wouldn't be the Bible though, if you re wrote the stories. Instead, you could go for a children's bible that focuses on more positive aspects - the Jesus storybook bible by Sally Lloyd Jones is a good one.

Is this a joke? You want to teach religion without all the horrible killy/ nasty/ mean bits which form a lot of the stories….you either believe in it or you don’t.

I don't think the Old Testament is the book you are looking for to teach your dc these skills.
They aren't the skills or way of thinking that were valued at that time.

There are lots of child friendly bible stories and lots of social skills stories for dc I would just buy versions of both to teach them different things at different times.

You're thinking of the wrong testament. There's lots of books available where the wording would be hurt him or something or other. Most kids Bible stories.
A bit weird to want to rewrite a religious text though, you're better of getting some moral based stories like Hans Christian Andersen or something.

You'd be better off with 'stories Jesus told' ie the Parables.

Surely if you rewrite the stories it's not going to be the bible?

Which means a version in which for example Cain and Able don’t kill each other, instead working through their misunderstandings.

I think that might be the first time I have ever burst out loud with laughter at MN. 10/10, OP.

I particularly love the total misuse of 'concious'.

This is one for classics.

Really? But they wouldn't be bible stories! Go with the New Testament children's stories

Is this a specific use of the word 'conscious' in this context?

And what happens with the Garden of Eden? Do Adam and Eve talk it through with the serpent and agree that redeveloping the land outside the Garden of Eden is a positive use of otherwise accursed ground?

standrewsbookshop.co.uk/kids-books/
This is a good website.
Creation
Noahs Ark
David and Goliath
are good ones to start with.
The New Testament stories you could look for:
Parables of Jesus
Miracles of Jesus

Doesn't that kind of defeat the point?

What?? That's absolutely mental. You can't sanitise the Old Testament. Hugely disrespectful to the religious tradition.

My thoughts are that you're off your rocker.

You cannot rewrite copywrited book. Not the Word of God. Just give him Noah the arc, David and Goliath - in some books they say David cut his head off etc

Not to mentor you but you seem need to do the Alpha course and understand what the Bible is and share noal kids books with your son.

I meant normal not noal. Sorry

Is this a poorly disguised market research?

Conscious, does not mean what you think it means.

If you change them ,then they're not the Bible. Just make a different story up with different names then.

If you want warm and fuzzy focus on the New Testament.

Or pick and mix from the Old, like many believers do.

Which means a version in which for example Cain and Able don’t kill each other, instead working through their misunderstandings

They don't kill each other in any version of the story, do they?
Cain murders Able, they don't sit around a campfire singing Kumbaya and toasting marshmallows becoming best friends and living happily ever after.
It sounds like you need to do a bit of research for your own sake OP.

Concious - you keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means.

Conscious even 🙄

I have a feeling the copyright ôn the bible has expired buy now.

@annawillberg, they are not necessarily biblical stories, but my DS at that age loved the BookBox stories on YouTube as a bedtime story. They have a "moral" message.

Try "The Sun and the Wind", "Turtle's Flute", "Tory the Brave" etc, and because they are subtitled for English language learners, it can help with reading / comprehension.

Try Peppa Pig.

Hi OP,

Firstly, I think it’s great that you want to read Bible stories with your sons! Whether or not you would describe yourself as a Christian, it’s a book that has shaped our culture and civilisation profoundly!

There are some really good suggestions in this thread about bibles for kids, I would like to add my vote to the Jesus Storybook Bible, I’ve bought it a number of times for Christian friends when they’ve had kids and they’ve all said how great & clear it is.

There are, of course, some difficult stories in the Bible (mostly in the Old Testament, but the New Testament isn’t free from stories that can raise difficult questions from kids.) a really hello fun thing that I’ve learnt is that Bible characters aren’t always meant to be moral examples for us to follow - part of the moral teaching of the Bible is it’s commentary on decisions humans make e.g. it’s very clear from the story of Cain and Abel that Cain’s actions were evil. Of course as a parent you have to decide how to introduce concepts like killing etc, but if we were to edit every morally-dubious or worse story from the Bible it’d be a whole lot shorter than it is and we’d miss what it is trying to teach us (again, personal choice regarding whether you want to learn from it).

May I suggest a series of YouTube videos called ‘The Bible Project’ if you’d like to feel confident in reading the Bible with your kids? It’s made by Christians who believe that the whole Bible tells one unified story that is about Jesus from start to finish, but whatever your personal beliefs I think you’ll find some really interesting stuff there. When I was a student, some friends studying English literature found them super helpful for one of their modules where they had to read the Bible in a older, less reader friendly translation and they said the videos massively helped them understand what was going on! (Thankfully more modern translations are much easier to read, and kids bibles are especially accessible in their language!)

Hope it goes well OP, I’m always happy to chat if you have questions! ☺️

That should say * a really helpful thing, not a hello fun thing 😂