The Myth of Adolescence: Raising Responsible Children in an Irresponsible Society

by David Alan Black

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 a social theory and it is seriously flawed. Dr. Black says the concept of 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.

Genres: Parenting, Christian

150 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1999

Reviews

[Blake]

In the book, The Myth of Adolescence, author Dr. David Alan Black addresses the growing phases in child’s life, addressing parents, challenging them to understand, “…the basics of human growth and development.” More specifically, in the crosshairs of Black’s writing is the Western hemisphere’s categorization of adolescence, arguing correctly that such a category is not found in Scripture. Black points out that the concept of adolescence flowed out of the Industrial Revolution and is a concept that promotes an era in a child’s life that thwarts growth into being a responsible adult, simultaneously promoting a time where rebellion, sin, immaturity, irresponsibility, immorality, etc., are all to be expected and accepted. Black offers what he considers a Biblical picture of growth as planned by God, wrongly using I John 2:12-1. He rightly uses the life of Jesus to make an argument that one moves from childhood into adulthood and not into “a psychological moratorium, a delaying of adult commitments.” In the last section, he offers practical things parents can do as a child moves into adulthood.
Strengths of the book are: a focus on the Hebrew culture and the life and development of Jesus; his concern regarding the concept of adolescence; the warmth he exemplifies in relation to his son; and his caution about using Piaget or Erickson’s theory of moral development.
Weaknesses of the book are: use of I John 2:12-14 to bolster his points; implies that Jesus sinned on page 73; a lack of sources for an explanation of a child’s development in the Hebrew culture; referencing recognizing the voice of God, seemingly detached from Scripture; and to psychology throughout leading one to conclude that he embraces an integrationist philosophy.
The use of this book in Biblical counseling would be helpful in giving insight into parenting of teenagers and how to help them move from childhood into young adulthood.

[Alfie Mosse]

This is an often unrepresented view of adolescence from a historical/sociological and Christian perspective. The idea that adolescence and many of the pitfalls associated with it is a modern cultural construct seems to go against everyday perception and experience. However, Black makes a strong argument from historical, New Testament, cultural and sociological perspectives that gives one pause. He also give much good practical advice on how to mitigate the "unavoidable" difficulties of adolescence. Worth the read.