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A Little Child Shall Lead Them, by Johann Christoph Arnold (Plough/Intervarsity, 193 pp.; $9.99, paper);

Raising Them Right: A Saint's Advice on Raising Children, by Theophan the Recluse (Conciliar Press, rev. ed., 71 pp.; $5.95, paper). Reviewed by Gregory Mathewes-Green, a priest of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese and pastor of Holy Cross Mission, Baltimore.

It is difficult not to envy the Bruderhof community. We rarely meet Christians with such dedication to their common life that they won't serve the Lord's Supper if any two members are not in spiritual harmony. Folks like that are just plain admirable, and in some ways a judgment on all the rest of us. And the wonderfully sturdy children's toys that come out of the Bruderhof shop are the envy of every parent who has attempted to cobble together wooden playthings for the kids. Then there is the Bruderhof's simple Christian lifestyle, a concept the rest of us have been talking about for at least a quarter of a century; while we have been yakking, they have been doing it.

So why is this book by a certified Bruderhof leader so disappointing? A Little Child Shall Lead Them: Thoughts on Children and Education, by Johann Christoph Arnold, elder, counselor, father, and grandfather, is a personal reflection that, while serving up some very moving stories and thoughtful insights, nevertheless remains fundamentally flawed. Early in the book Arnold builds on Bonhoeffer's "Wedding Sermon from a Prison Cell" and briefly states the case for a Christ-centered, two-parent family in which prayer is the sustaining force for living the biblical family life. It is within this kind of family that strong and Christian children will grow up, and where the husband and father will demonstrate the firm love of God. Good stuff as far as it goes.

But why not draw the parallel to God the Father, "from Whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named"? Christian dads know how to be real fathers because of the Father revealed in the stories of the Bible. In both the Old and New Testaments he is seen to be strong, reliable, trustworthy, and loving. He, like many of the pagan gods, "begets" children, though spiritually rather than materially. But unlike many of the gods in the pagan stories, the biblical God sticks around to love, lead, and discipline his children. Thus, he teaches all of us earthly fathers something fundamentally important about duty and responsibility as well. In short, more emphasis on the meaning of the Fatherhood of the First Person of the Trinity for family relations, and commentary on its implications, would add a distinctly scriptural view to the dad's role.

Stories form the most effective part of this book. In two sections titled "When Children Suffer" and "The Special Child," Arnold presents in simple, straightforward language the troubling, yet deeply meaningful, lives of some very unfortunate children. Told mostly by the parents, these stories argue strongly against that adjective unfortunate, because even in their pain, these children are so clearly bearers of God's strange grace to those who, even in their own pain, love them.

It seems unfair to criticize a book that conveys such beautiful and hauntingly true pictures of what life is like for some among us. But the overwhelming image of childhood presented here is straight from the sketchbook of Rousseau. Though mixed with brief and seemingly obligatory talk of sin and the need for discipline, the overall impression is that children probably won't need it, because they are so good. Original sin is acknowledged, but not presented as the powerful force that it is.

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May 19 1997, Vol. 41, No. 6