The Kingdom of God Belongs to the Little Children

Building on the positive view of children in Jesus, Martin Luther, and Karl Rahner,
the article explores what anthropology can learn about human beings by reflecting
on childhood. Five aspects come to the fore: natality, vulnerability, sociality, human
learning, and the ambiguity of human existence. The newborn child reminds us that
every person comes from a sphere of intercorporeality - and lives due to a promise
that was kept. Children would not at all be able to survive without the support of
others - and so they demonstrate that human beings are dependent on others due
to their vulnerability. Toddlers act in different ways prosocial-driven
by sympathy.
They thus remind us of what is possible in human life. Due to the specifically human
nature of learning, in the history of humanity, natural evolution shifts into cultural
development. However, stress and fear affect a person even before birth. Already the
fetus develops in a life context that is, at least partly, shaped by distrust, lovelessness,
and anxiety. However, when people, like children, explore new possibilities for social
coexistence, show their vulnerability, act socially, and are moved by the proclamation
of the Kingdom of God, they discover a new, meaningful way of life, or in other words,
the coming of the Kingdom of God.