Theology of pronouns

If you care about babies (and grammar) you might enjoy this piece by a missionary in Zambia. The Singletons were formerly with the Mt. Morris, IL Evan Free church and are now missionaries in Zambia.

"I had noticed that Zambians have difficulty with pronouns~they will sometimes refer to males as “shes” and females as “hes.” And, I’d observed that babies and children are referred to as “its” and called a “he” or “she” when the child is older. My short answer? A child is never an “it.” This important grammar question also afforded me an opportunity to mount my soap box and share a lengthier viewpoint."

If you've done much genealogy, you see a hint of this not too far back in our history--many babies didn't survive, so it might be some time before they were named.  Also, younger children were often given the same name as one who died.  And in our modern age, a baby is a fetus or a clump of cells.  An it.

The Singleton Story