GERMANY – CULTURE
A new children’s Bible has been published in Germany which, according to publishers, reflects the diversity of modern society, Deutsche Welle reports.
The German publishing house Neukirchener-Verlag published the “Bible for All Children” (Alle-Kinder-Bibel) on Monday, 13 March, which is aimed at elementary school age. The project was initiated by the United Evangelical Mission Wuppertal (Vereinte Evangelische Mission).
Until now, in children’s Bibles published in Germany, the characters looked like they came from Central Europe, even though they lived in what is now the Middle East. God, too, was portrayed, if at all, as a white man.
“We wanted to create a Bible that would be easier for children with a multicultural family history to navigate,” says project initiator Sarah Vecera.
According to the woman, she got the idea for the book after talking to her four-year-old daughter: “She pictured God as an old white man.”
The new Bible gives children a new way of looking at Jesus and the events of the Bible. In the new edition, people are portrayed as different: adults and little ones, with different skin colours, heights and weights. Attention is also paid to characters with disabilities.
At the same time, according to Sarah Vecera, the publishers wanted the language of the new Bible to be appropriate for gender diversity: “We tried to make it clear that God is neither male nor female.”
Representatives from Christian communities in Germany, children’s organisations and universities took part in the two-year work on the book, including colleagues from Africa and Asia.
“I am happy for my children that they can finally read the Bible, which reflects the diversity of our society,” says Sarah Vecera.
