Suffer the Children: A Theology of Liberation by a Victim of Child Abuse [Paperback]

Janet Pais (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1991

A groundbreaking study that offers a personal and theological understanding of the problems and needs of children subjected to child abuse.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This book is both courageous in its exploration of the past abuse and subsequent feelings and theologically creative in its application of Christian doctrines of the Fall and the Incarnation to the problem of adult/child relationships. Pais shows how both religious and Freudian psychological teaching have rationalized abuse, how misinterpretations of the meaning of God as Father have wrongly justified abuse, and how the doctrine of God as Child, through Incarnation, can heal the inner adult/child split and lead toward true relationship with children. Highly recommended.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 172 pages
• Publisher: Paulist Press (May 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0809132265
• ISBN-13: 978-0809132263
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,580,352 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

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2.0 out of 5 stars A Childish View of the Human Condition, February 25, 2012

By 

Bradley P. Hayton - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Suffer the Children: A Theology of Liberation by a Victim of Child Abuse (Paperback)

Only feminists and Marxists will like Suffer the Children. Janet Pais attempts to blend liberation theology, feminist theology and victim theology into her analysis of child abuse. She accurately diagnoses our culture's current contempt for children, but instead of giving a pro-family theology, she promotes radical feminism and the type of Marxian liberation theology that is intent on the family's demise. She bases most of her basic ideology on the work of Alice Miller. She criticizes "adultist" assumptions, which assume that adults are more mature than children.

In contrast, she believes that the child is key to our salvation. She is horrified at the Father image of God, blaming the biblical authors of sexism since they are males, and believes a much more healthy view of God is that of a Child or Mother. Just as she believes the poor, women and minorities are innately good and more favored by God than the rest of humanity, she believes that children are innately good. Anyone who believes in the concept of a sinful nature in children, or even a concept of evil, are themselves evil. Though she says she doesn't believe that children are either good or evil, it is the belief that children have evil tendencies, are sometimes disobedient, or have evil motives that is the root of all abuse.

Pail confuses traducian and federal headship views of old sin nature (p. 2). She blurs the distinction between judging, condemning and discerning (p. 33). She even blurs the distinction between emotion and acts (p. 35). She confuses love, hate and detachment, encouraging the latter in response to a child (p. 35). She has an affinity for Zen Buddhism (p. 36), which is similar to her relativistic views of evil. She appears against all forms of maturity (p. 45), saying that children are the essence of good. She believes that all forms of aggression in human nature are a reaction to parental abuse (pp. 48, 52). She believes that adults sin, but children never do (p. 54), since the source of all responsibility comes with power (p. 55). The powerless therefore are not responsible for their misbehavior. This principle applies to women, the poor, minorities, and any other oppressed group.

Though I disagree with most of the key points that Pais makes, the book does present an interesting slant on abuse that is often ignored. For example, we often let our views of human nature color our experience and treatment of individuals. Both in therapy and in childrearing, each individual is unique. Neither theological views of human nature nor statistical generalizations give us guidance in healing and encouragement.