From the Margins to the Center

This article explores the significance of childhood and anthropology in the New Testament
through the lens of childist criticism. After outlining the implicit anthropology
of New Testament texts and the major developments of child-centered
biblical
interpretation in recent years, the discourse is situated within the socio-historical
context of childhood in Greco-Roman
antiquity. Exegetical analyses of Mk 9:33-37
par. and Mk 10:13-16 par. demonstrate how children are transformed from marginalized
figures into central agents within the discipleship of Jesus. By placing children
at the center of the community of disciples, Jesus effectively challenges the prevailing
structures of power and status. Finally, drawing on insights from critical spatial
theory (spatial turn), the article highlights the spatial dynamics of these narrative
reversals. The movement of children from the margins to the center emerges as a spatio-performative act that redefines the New Testament's theological anthropology and reveals children as paradigmatic figures of the kingdom of God.