Tag: doctrine (page 1 of 1)

The Ology

On one end of the children’s literature spectrum, we find what Charlotte Mason famously called “twaddle”: books with pat morals, flat characters, and no life. These are often books adapted from TV shows or toys, where the crisis involves fairies losing their sparkle or forgetting the secret of spring or something. They are the books we sneak back onto the shelves before leaving the library, the ones our kids enjoy for a while but ultimately forget. They don’t stick in the hearts and minds of our children because they assume that our kids need to be entertained by what they read, not shaped by it.

On the other end of the spectrum, we find The Ology. Marty Machowski is an already-beloved author in our home: his Gospel Story Bible has been a favorite among every one of every age here for years, and his family devotional Long Story Short (mentioned last week) gives us hope that one day we will study the Bible with our children. With The Ology, though, he’s departed from the tried-and-true forms of the story bible and the family devotional and written a systematic theology for children.

Yes, you read that right. The Ology is a systematic theology for children. It doesn’t get further from twaddle than that.

A systematic theology for children? Yes! Introducing The Ology, by Marty Machowski | Little Book, Big Story

The Ology opens with an interesting premise: two children find an old book in a disused room of their church and discover that it was left there by “Jonathan E.” In a note accompanying the book, Jonathan E. writes,

Those who were helped [by the writings of the theologians] wanted to pass these truths on to their children. And so they wrote a book for children, entitled The Ology, so that they too might understand deep truths about God, drawn from the Bible. . . . But sadly, after many years, The Ology was forgotten. Parents and children began to think the truths of The Ology were old-fashioned and out of date. One by one these books vanished. The book you now hold may be the very last copy of The Ology in existence.

From there, we get to read the text of that last copy of The Ology in short chapters, each of which focuses on a specific doctrine. These are clear enough to read with preschoolers, but can be adapted to share with older children. I can see both Lydia (7) and Sarah (5) gleaning a lot from the readings, while Phoebe (just shy of 2) combs the illustrations for kitties.

A systematic theology for children? Yes! Introducing The Ology, by Marty Machowski | Little Book, Big Story

Machowski is an author who clearly believes that children can and should have access to every part of Scripture. He believes they’re capable of understanding big concepts and so he doesn’t dilute truth for them, but lays it out in a methodical, accessible, interesting way. I am not pulling these beliefs from a parent’s note or introduction, though: it’s evident from the way he writes every page that Machowski respects his readers, no matter how small they are or how outlandish their questions.

A systematic theology for children? Yes! Introducing The Ology, by Marty Machowski | Little Book, Big Story

The more we read of The Ology, the more deeply I love it. This is a book that strives to shape our children, to nourish them and help them grow in the rich soil of the gospel. It is not meant to entertain them (though it does), and its content will not be easily forgotten. Our daughters may not remember where they learned certain doctrine, but it will linger there, in their hearts, one of the means by which the Lord helped root and establish them in their faith.


Fun Fact

Sovereign Grace Music has released an album to accompany this book!


The Ology: Ancient Truths Ever New
Marty Machowski, Andy McGuire (2015)

3 in 1: A Picture of God

God is like an apple.

When put like that, the Trinity sounds simple. Suspiciously simple. In fact, it sounds almost as though the author is shrinking a profound truth into a cute metaphor, reducing a mystery into a comfortable object that we can hold in our hand. I had my reservations about that, but this book received such consistently glowing reviews on Amazon that I decided to take the plunge and see how, exactly, God is like an apple.

3 in 1 | Little Book, Big Story

Prepare yourself: this is yet another glowing review of 3 in 1. Of the books we’ve purchased recently, this is one of the best—a crystal clear picture of God and the Gospel that loses nothing in the telling but instead added to my own understanding of the Gospel by explaining the way that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit interact when a person comes to faith in Christ.

This is theology for kids in the best sort of way. Marxhausen doesn’t talk down to kids, though the language she uses is clear and simple. The illustrations are simple as well, but the images the artists use are somehow just right for illustrating the unseen, successfully using color and shape to depict God in a way that doesn’t flirt with breaking commandments.

3 in 1 | Little Book, Big Story

That said, I want to close on a very clear note: I heartily, heartily recommend 3 in 1. I’m sure you can think up some excuse to go buy it right now, right?


3 in 1: A Picture of God
Joanne Marxhausen, Ed Koehler