The Parables of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ facts for kids
The Parables of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is a special book written by Christopher Smart in 1768. It's a collection of parables (short stories with a lesson) from the Bible. These stories teach important lessons from both the Old and New Testaments. Christopher Smart wrote this book, along with Hymns for the Amusement of Children, to create religious books especially for kids.
About the Book
The book The Parables was printed in March 1768. It was advertised in a newspaper called the London Chronicle on March 31, 1768. Christopher Smart dedicated this book to the young son of his friend, Bonnell Thornton. Bonnell Thornton was a close friend who worked with Smart on a magazine called The Student. He also supported Smart during a difficult time with his health.
In the book's dedication, Smart wrote to the child:
- "There are many examples of our Blessed SAVIOUR'S love for Children. He has told us we must be innocent and simple like children to be with Him. This is so clear that even though you are almost three years old, you will soon read and understand it. I trust you will look back with joy, knowing you supported a good work almost as soon as you could walk."
Some reviewers at the time made fun of the book's simple style. One review from the Monthly Review said the dedication to a three-year-old was "with great propriety," meaning it was fitting because the book was so simple. Another review, from the Critical Review, said Smart's poetry was "unequal" and "of the lower class." However, they did admit it "may certainly be of use" for children.
Teaching with Parables
Like his Hymns for the Amusement of Children, Christopher Smart's The Parables of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ was made to teach good morals to young people. Smart believed that understanding the Bible didn't need to be super difficult. To make it easier, he changed the original Biblical parables. He simplified them to help them "make sense" to younger readers. After each parable, he added a short explanation.
Even with these changes, Smart stayed true to the original Bible stories. He used the language from the Authorized Version of the Bible but made it more modern for people in the 1700s.
Why Smart Wrote Them
The main goal of The Parables was to teach. Some experts, like Todd Parker, say that this book and Smart's other religious works were part of his effort to spread Christian teachings in London. Even if they weren't strictly "evangelical" (aiming to convert people), the books still wanted to encourage good behavior. Besides teaching Christianity, the parables also presented ideas that were different from the interpretations of the Roman Catholic Church.
Most of the stories in The Parables are traditional Christian Parables. However, Smart also included other kinds of stories. He thought a "parable" could be any "parabolic discourse." This means any story or saying that teaches Christian ideas using similes (comparing two different things), metaphors (saying one thing is another), proverbs (short sayings), or other indirect ways of speaking. This idea of a parable is similar to how they were understood in the Old Testament. There, a parable meant a comparison, but it also included many kinds of metaphors, riddles, mysteries, and illustrations.
Images for kids
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Title page of Parables
