"Såsom barn" - Sätt att se på barn i urkristen tid ("Like Children")

Abstract

Material from Antiquity is cited to shed some light on how one thought of children in the environment of Early Christianity - and, as a rule, also among Christians of the first generations. E.g. the following features are touched upon: the father’s right to expose newborn children (rejected by Jews and Christians, who have regarded them as members of the people of God); children’s dependence on their parents; the need for harsh education because of children’s uncultivated, primitive nature; transmission of religious heritage through participation; the natural love between parents and children. Against this background some New Testament text are brought in viz. Mt 5:44 f; 18:13 ff; Mk 7:11 f; 9:33-37; 10:13-16; 13:12; 14:20; Lk 2:41-52; 1 Co 4:14 ff; 7:13 f; 2 Co 6:13;11:12; 12:14; Gal 3:26; Eph 6:14; Col 3:20 f; 1Ths 2:7.