Awkward Moments Children’s Bible

Awkward Moments Children’s Bible is the most wonderful primer to Biblical Scripture I’ve ever read. Let me just put that out there.

As much as I’ve taken my shots at Christianity religious fundamentalism, I strongly support the idea of incorporating the teaching of all religions in school. That’s right….in history class. Because there are so many religions, myths and long-held sacred traditions attached to various tribes and cultures, the content would obviously have to be condensed, but with so many online sources, it wouldn’t be difficult to conceptualize a thorough history class via compartmentalized lessons which explore the religions each class wants to learn about based on collective interest alongside eras of history relevant to particular cornerstones of human civilization/expansion.

Science literacy is a beautiful goal, but in order to achieve this, there’s much about human history people must be caught up on. And because the most influential religion in the world happens to be reading out of (relatively) the same book, the Bible is a good place to start regarding the verification of certain text in relation to our actual understanding ofthe world everything (thus far).

Or…you could create a book like this.

From Awkward Moments’ Facebook Page:

Combining actual Bible verses with more than 30 whimsical original illustrations, Awkward Moments uses humor to encourage people from all walks of life to think, perhaps for the first time, about how the Bible continues to shape our culture.

From the opening foreword by acclaimed author David G. McAfee, to the challenging commentaries and interactive games at the end,Awkward Moments Children’s Bible is much more than an irreverent book for your coffee table! Readers of all faiths will find themselves laughing out loud while being encouraged to think about the Bible in a new way.

Most people were raised in the faith chosen by their family. Young children learn a few Bible stories taken out of context and accept them without question. (On what basis could they possibly question their parents or church leaders?) After decades of repetition and tradition, it’s understandable that we might put our beliefs on auto-pilot and just nod as a pastor repeats the verses and ideas that are already familiar and comfortable to us. It’s no wonder that recent studies show an incredible lack of Biblical knowledge among Christians - 55% unable to even name the four Gospels of the New Testament - the very foundation of Christianity!

The Goal? Awkward Moments encourages readers to really understand what is in their Bibles and think for themselves about the context of Biblical teaching. The 32 color illustrations and included commentaries will likely challenge some readers to reflect on how religion continues to shape the lives and culture of future generations. If readers happen to laugh out loud and enjoy the interactive puzzles and games in the mean time - it’s just an added bonus!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Horus Gilgamesh was raised Catholic before being “born again” in college and starting a life of full-time ministry focused on evangelism and Biblical literacy. During his time overseas, he witnessed firsthand the unspeakable horrors that much of the undeveloped world is afflicted with on a daily basis. This lead him to struggle with the problem of suffering in the Bible and take a closer look at the basis for his faith.

'Awkward Moments' unabashedly presents the book - still being deemed “holy” and “sacred” by religious institutions and justice systems - to which people have been indoctrinated with its supposed “moral” and “ethical” teachings, whereby those who have provided instruction to this book have essentially skipped over the grimy, gory, disgusting details, and charmed up their favorite parts, cherry-picking content from a book used to dub over the actual honest understanding of all we continue to gain through science, otherwise called “curiosity and skepticism.”

Along with the satirical illustrations drawing from actual verses and themes in the Bible, the rear contents of the book explain each illustrated adaptation, further quoting from Biblical text. Accompanied with a crossword puzzle and Bible ad-lib, author HORUS GILGAMESH compliments the literary journey by including your very own “Jesus Toast”, whereby the reader is encouraged to take a selfie with the edible holy relic and post it to facebook.com/AwkwardBible to receive a special gift.

I enjoyed every word of this, as it left me with a bittersweet feeling, wishing I had this when I was a child, which would have permitted me a more powerful sense of direction through the myriad of fundamentalist lies forged in my mind by my family and religious peers. However, I’m happy to be able to share this with others, as well as my own child, whom I’ve committed to teaching “how”, not “what” to think.

Well done, Horus and Agnes. Looking forward to Volume 2!