Childhood Fairness and the Church

Remember as a child how we were usually fully aware of when something was completely unfair? Whether it be a sibling getting a toy and you didn't, or even a classmate being recognized for an outstanding achievement, but you weren't. In our heads we would tell ourselves, "That's not fair!" This concept childhood fairness is worth a closer examination.

I recently got around to watching the film The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008). This film is a Holocaust drama that explores the horror of a concentration (extermination) camp through the eyes of two eight year-old boys, one the son of the camp's Nazi commandant (Bruno), the other a Jewish inmate (Shmuel). Through Bruno's character, the concept of childhood fairness can be closely examined and understood. And by this reading of fairness, I believe we can apply the same reading to the Church.


Throughout the film, Bruno has many questions about his surroundings. His father relocated their family from Berlin to the remote countryside, located adjacent to a Nazi concentration camp. One of the first questions Bruno asks is, "Why do all the farmers were pajamas?" He has a difficult time understanding why these people are so supposedly 'different' than he and his family. One day while he is exploring, Bruno meets a new playmate, Shmuel. Except there is one small caveat, they are separated by an electric barbed wire fence, and Shmuel also wears the same "pajamas" as the farmers.

Bruno learns that Shmuel is Jewish, but he still cannot understand what is going on, why there is a fence, and why his Nazi tutor keeps reminding him of how 'bad' the Jews are. In Bruno's mind, it is simply unfair that Shmuel is kept on the other side of the fence and can't play with him. When Bruno sees a Jewish man being beaten, he is confused and recognizes the injustice of this violent action. Through the eyes of a child, the injustice of the Holocaust is revealed and questioned. Bruno's questioning and naivete embodies this theme of childhood fairness.

Children lack a 'gray area' in their line of thinking. In other words, the world is not complicated, there is either right or wrong. Children are also the most willing to question why something is happening that seems unusual or unfair. This theme of childhood fairness is also found in children's literature. Children are taught that they should share, be kind to others, play nicely, etc. Yet when they see that this is not the case or being practiced elsewhere, they are the quickest to question why not.

Why don't we as adults have the same lens when it comes to the Church? Why aren't we questioning why there people standing on the other side of the fence? I am by no means comparing the queer Christian experience to the Holocaust, but it is an injustice for us to allow people being labeled 'outsiders', 'incompatibles', and 'abominations' without asking questions. We cannot teach our children to play fair on the playground, if we are not willing to play fair in our own lives and in the Church.