Publisher's Preface -- iii

Introduction -- v

Part One: Understanding Human Growth

Chapter 1: God's Pattern for Human Growth -- pg. 1 Jesus, Our Model and Hope -- pg. 1 Understanding the Human Life Cycle -- pg. 6 Roots and Wings -- pg. 9

Chapter 2: Exploding the Myth of Adolescence -- pg. 13 The Invention of Adolescence -- pg. 13 The Bible and Adolescence -- pg. 19 Dealing with a Secular Cultural -- pg. 23

Chapter 3: The Stages of Life According to the Apostle John -- pg. 27 The Words to the Little Children -- pg. 29 The Words to the Young People -- pg. 31 The Words to the Fathers -- pg.32 Guidepost on the Road to Maturity -- pg.35

Part Two: Parenting Principles from the Life of Jesus

Chapter 4: The Home Training of Jesus -- pg. 47 Nurturing Your Children at Home -- pg. 47 Dads are Teachers Too -- pg. 52 A Father's Pledge -- pg. 57

Chapter 5: Jesus and the Age Twelve Transition -- pg. 59 Expectiong Teenagers to Behave Like Adults -- pg. 59 The Bar Mitzvah and Psychology -- pg. 62 Teenagers Are Terrific -- pg. 66

Chapter 6: Jesus and the Age Thirty Transition -- pg.68 Jesus and the Age Thirty Transition -- pg. 68 "Abba, Dear Father" -- pg. 76 Favor with People -- pg. 80

Chapter 7: Celebrating Your Child's Passage into Adulthood -- pg. 83 Developing Your Own Rite of Passage -- pg. 83 A Love Letter to a Son -- pg. 83

Part Three: On to Maturity

Chapter 8: Expecting Your Teenager to Act Responsibly -- pg. 95 What Do You Want Your Children to Become? -- pg. 95 Major Areas of Adult Responsibility -- pg. 99

Chapter 9: Teaching Your Teen about Sex and Courtship -- pg. 111 Helping Your Teenager Make a Commitment to Purity -- pg. 111 Guidelines for Courtship -- pg. 118

Conclusion -- pg. 121 Three Reminders -- pg.121

Epilogue -- pg. 124

A Mother's Perspective -- pg. 125

For Further Reading -- pg. 136

Sample Letters of Invitation to a Coming of Age Ceremony -- pg. 138

Sample Program for Coming of Age Celebration -- pg.140

About the Author -- pg. 142

About the CD-ROM -- pg. 143

Index -- pg. 145

Other Davidson Press Publications -- pg. 149

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You will either love this book, or you will hate it. There is no middle ground. Dr. David Alan Black shatters the most common theories which have shaped our nation and our world for over one hundred years. His premise is quite simple: Adolescence is relatively new, only about one hundred years old. Prior to that, a young person was considered to be an adult by the age of thirteen. Further, Dr. Black says that the Bible has nothing to say about adolescence. That's because adolescence is foreign to the Bible. The Bible only speaks about responsibility, Dr. Black says. When you take responsibility away from a young person and put that young person into a "twilight zone" between childhood and adulthood, grave consequences will result. The biblical pattern, Dr. Black says, is for responsibility to begin at the age of thirteen, or earlier (at the age of twelve) if the young person can handle it. This compact volume opens the door to all sorts of discussions. At what age should a young person be employed? At what age should a young person marry? Should a young couple marry at thirteen or fourteen and live with one set of in-laws until the couple can move out on their own? And what if a young person commits a serious crime at the age of fourteen or fifteen? Should he or she face adult penalties for adult crimes, even the death penalty? The Myth of Adolescence is just a beginning, a starting place of what will be a new frontier for many people. But in reality, it's an old frontier, tried and proven over many centuries, It merely awaits discovery anew within these pages.