This has been a favorite topic of mine for a very long time, and I've really
enjoyed the discussion  on it.   But now I have to share!!!  As I read all of
the responses, I just kept wanting to say, 'yes, and did you know? or what
about?"

I was so excited many years ago, while reading in my husband's falling apart
Scofield study Bible, what the meaning was behind the Old Testament name for
God "El Shaddai"  It seems the root word 'shad' means breast, and the
translation is 'Mighty Breasted One', and the picture behind the name (Hebrew
is a very pictoral language, there are usually pictures behind each word), is
that of God as a nursing mother meeting all of our needs at His breast!
 Then, many years later, a military chaplain who used to teach Old Testament
at a seminary referred me to an old book published by Moody Press called
"Names of God" by Nathan Stone, which has a whole chapter on 'El Shaddai',
which expands even more on the meaning.  (So, moral question:  If is not
'godly' to nurse in church, and God refers to himself as nursing us?
 H'm'm'm, does that mean God should not be in church?  Oh my, what a tangled
web . . .)   BTW, I have found that this has helped give other women who had
an unhealthy or non-existent relationship with their father a way to approach
God by opening up a relationship they could understand if they had breastfed.


It amazes me that we are still, in the mainstream, fighting to get the church
to accept children in church.  Helen Wessel's family ministry 'Under the
Apple Tree', has a position paper on Children in Church, and it is discussed
in her book "Under the Apple Tree - marrying, birthing, parenting", and she
also wrote  a biblical perspective on childbirth, along with a clarification
of those man-translated verses in Genesis, in the book, Natural Childbirth
and the Christian Family.  It's also been published under the name 'The Joy
of Natural Childbirth"

All one has to do is read the Bible to see that God not only allows children
in His presence, but welcomes them.  Joel 2:16 says "Gather the people,
sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and
those that  *suck the breasts: . . .*  Jesus of course, let the children
come, and in Matthew 21:16 " . . .And Jesus saith unto them, Yes; have you
never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected
praise?"

And interesting study is to get a Strong's Exhaustive Concordance and look up
the words, and then then the verses that contain the words: breast, breasts,
suck, suckling, comfort.

Our pastor did a series on parenting over the summer, and he started off with
Proverbs 22:6: 'Train up a child in the way he should go . . ."  He said that
the background behind that phrase "Train up", could either refer to the
training of horses, which he didn't think necessarily applied, OR ****** to
Hebrew midwives training a baby to suck by sticking their index finger in
honey and massaging the palate to encourage the baby to suck!****
I could barely wait for him to finish the sermon, I was so excited, my family
kept patting me to try to calm me down!  I've always said that working with
breastfeeding mothers and babies was my ministry, my calling, and I had
always used the verse "whoever shall give a child a cup of cold water in my
name", and figured warm milk must be much better than cold water, and now I
have an actual Biblical foundation for my chosen profession!

I've used the Bible to justify long term nursing, not just the culture,
customs, but take a look at Samuel, whose mother stayed home from temple till
he was weaned 3 - 6 years later!  And Luke 11 shows Jesus talking about the
family bed, when he tells the parable of the man who who knocks on his
friend's door, and his friend calls out, I can't come to the door right now,
all my children are in bed with me!  Anyone who has had children in their bed
knows just what this man was talking about, not only is it near impossible to
untangle all the flopped arms and legs to get out of bed to begin with, but
you don't dare risk waking the children, and then if you do get up, you know
when you get back, you'll have to shift everyone just to find a spot to crawl
back into!  (The editorializing was mine, no Jesus'!)  Anyway, I've always
said that if there were something wrong with having your children in bed with
you, then surely Jesus would have said so!

And one more thing, . . . concerning the art of Mary nursing Jesus, is
everyone familiar with "Art of Motherhood" by Susan Bracaglia Tobey?  A
gorgeous book that covers art from pregnancy, birth, nursing, through the
family. I gave it to myself for Mother's Day a few years ago . . .  it's a
treasure you deserve!

OK, OK, someone else's turn.  By the way, I certainly hope I have not
offended anyone of non-Christian persuasions. My personal philosophy is that
no matter my own personal beliefs, I need to be aware of how various
religions approach breastfeeding and parenting in order to help my clients of
other faiths & beliefs.

Kathe Catone