Teaching Bible

Bible is in some ways both the easiest and most difficult class to teach from a Christian worldview. It is easiest for the simple fact that the lessons throughout the year are centered on the Christian Scriptures: what they say (Old and New Testament Survey), how to interpret and understand them, (Bible Interpretation), what is to be believed from them (Basic Christian Doctrine), and how they affect our worldview and our approach to evangelism (Apologetics). The students are given time to read the Bible in class, more or less time depending on the subject being taught; and they use it as a foundation for all that they study in class. In short, the Bible is the textbook for Bible class; all that is discussed, taught, and tested has a biblical, Christian focus.

But with this apparent ease comes a variety of associated dangers. The class may fall into the trap of assuming that because the Bible is being taught by a Christian teacher to (usually) Christian students, it is automatically being taught from a Christian worldview. This is not the case. It is easy to teach the Bible as simply another textbook, or to approach it, as many state universities do, as simply “literature.”

On the other side, there can be a temptation for Bible class to become a worship service, with undue time being spent in fellowship, prayer, and singing. These are not bad in themselves, of course, but they can be used to distract the class from the material the course is designed to cover. The students may even assume that the lessons, prayer, and fellowship that they enjoy in Bible class are an adequate substitute for worship in a Bible-believing church. They are not. The students should be warned of this danger.

Another danger is the tendency for the class to focus on secondary doctrine, beliefs which divide real Christians. This can occur when the teacher is not careful to distinguish in his own mind and for the class whether or not what he is teaching is primary or secondary. The students often ask questions which are secondary or divisive by nature; in fact, these are usually the questions that the students are most interested in pursuing. The teacher must deliberately guide the students back to the Bible and to their designated spiritual leaders, parents and pastors, for their answers.

The approach to take in teaching the Bible is this. First, begin with the foundation that the Bible is the Word of God, inerrant and authoritative. “All Scripture is God-breathed, and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” (2 Timothy 3:16) As God's Word, truths which are clearly taught in the Bible are not to be debated, but rather believed and submitted to. Keep in mind that God gave the Bible, not primarily as a textbook, but to reveal the saving gospel of Jesus Christ to lost and sinful men, and to bring them into a right relationship with God the Father.

Second, when teaching doctrine, stick close to the school's Foundational Documents. These are truths that the parents and the students have understood will be taught without warning or apology as primary doctrine. When treatment of the Foundational Documents leads to secondary doctrinal issues, the instructor should teach the various views of orthodox Christianity from an objective, unbiased point of view. With these foundations in mind, the Bible should be taught as a light to illuminate all the other fields of study. Every teacher should help the students to see how the Bible relates to math, history, philosophy, language, and science.

Teaching the Bible is a dangerous privilege. We who teach must approach this responsibility with prayer and caution, asking God to reveal His truth in the minds of the students.

Grammar School

In the Grammar School (K-6), our Bible curriculum has four components:

1) Bible reading – Students read the text for themselves. They are led in a discussion of the central characters, ideas, and themes by the teacher.

2) Hymn/Psalm Singing & Memorization – We sing joyfully to the LORD in each class, memorizing many of the great hymns and psalms that spiritually nourished our fathers and mothers in their walk with God.

3) Bible Memory – We memorize large portions of Scripture in order that we might teach the children to make the Word a large part of their lives.

4) Bible Questions and Answers – We believe that having children memorize the “Children’s Catechism” is a wonderful way to instruct them in the fundamentals of the Christian faith.

School of Rhetoric

In the School of Rhetoric (7-12), we continue to memorize Scripture but the focus is a more intensive look at the Bible itself, moving toward a godly application of basic biblical knowledge in grades 11 and 12. It looks like this.

• Old Testament Survey (7th)
• New Testament Survey (8th)
• Biblical Interpretation (9th)
• Doctrine (10th)
• Apologetics (11th)
• Worldview Capstone (12th)

All of our Secondary Bible courses use the Bible as the primary text. We want our theology to be a biblical theology. The emphasis, in keeping with our larger educational goals, is on questions of “why” and “how,” rather that who, what, when, etc. In grades 10 through 12, formal research papers will be required, along with oral presentations, debates, and other special projects.