The Use of the Bible in Home Education

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The Use of the Bible in Home Education

• Michael Goheen
• Burnaby, B.C.

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Three Roles of Bible in Home Education

• Worldview context
• Devotional book
• Academic subject

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• Worldview The basic religious beliefs embedded
  in a shared story, which integrate and shape the
  whole of our individual and communal lives.

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A worldview will . . .

• Shape every part of family life including
  education
• Provide the bigger context for the educational
  task
• Shape purpose of education, curriculum, pedagogy,
  disciplines, etc.

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• The Bible . . .
• . . . must shape every subject.

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• The place of the Bible in our task of studying
  the creation is not to give answers, but to guide
  us in our search for answers, to be the light by
  whose illumination we find answers in the
  creation itself.
• -Stuart Fowler

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Two Dangers

• Dualism Scriptural authority is reduced to
  spiritual or theological or religious or moral
  issues
• Biblicism Seeks data for sciences in Scripture

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Authority of Scripture for Academic Disciplines

• Shapes worldview
• Gives relevant themes and norms

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Themes and norms that give more specific direction

• Natural sciences world as cosmos ordering word
  of God
• Political sciences sovereignty of God God-given
  authority of government justice liberty peace
• Sociology norms for family, marriage

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Themes and norms (contd)

• Psychology humankind as image of God fundamental
  unity of humankind as religious
  being
• History kingdom of God human origin, purpose,
  destiny cultural mandate
  antithesis
• Economics justice, stewardship ownership, work

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Bible as Devotional Book

• Pressure of immediate gratification
• Empowered for task

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• Spiritual battle in educational task
• Power of sin
• Sin a seductive power, a damning power,
  an active dynamic and destructive force
• Sin is a power that seeks to rule and ruin
  everyone and everything. (Berkouwer)
• Power of the gospel
• Rom.1.16 1 Cor.1.18

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Bible as Devotional Book

• Pressure of immediate gratification
• Empowered for task
• Need to refocus confessional eyesight

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Role of chapel or devotions(or family worship?)

• To provide an opportunity for the educational
  community to gather together as an academic body
  to refocus their confessional vision in worship
  of Jesus Christ and his kingdom as the goal,
  source, and standard of their academic work.

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• The primary purpose of chapel is to nourish the
  faith life and refocus the confessional vision of
  the educational community. The kingdom of God is
  the ultimate horizon and context in which we
  carry out our academic work. We do not
  automatically pursue that kingdom in our work it
  is vision that needs to be nourished.

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• The context of this worship is an academic
  community. That determines will determine the
  worship experience of the educational community.
  Chapel worship is to deepen our common commitment
  to carry out our academic calling in the light of
  the gospel.

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• Such listening together to Gods Word, singing,
  praying, and unitedly confessing our faith
  should take on an academic form as a liturgy for
  learning. These convocations should not be
  regarded as spiritual mountain-top retreats
  from the mundane realities of the classroom, but
  as a communal rallying-point, summoning students
  and teachers together to renewed dedication to
  the eye-opening experience for returning to
  readin, writing, rithmetic with renewed
  vision. It is a time for putting on the
  spectacles of Scripture anew so that in its light
  we may see more clearly in every branch of
  learning. (Gordon Spykman)

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The Bible as Academic Subject Two
Misunderstandings

• Biblical studies is automatically Christian
• Bible is easier to teach than other subjects

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Bible as Academic Subject

• Theological reflection What is the Bible?
• Hermeneutical reflection How do we interpret the
  Bible?
• Pedagogical reflection How do we teach the Bible?

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Theological Reflection What is the Bible?

• Divinely authoritative message in human words
• Redemptive intent

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• The Bible is the Word of God,
• record and tool of his redeeming work.
• It is the Word of Truth,
• fully reliable in leading us
• to know God and have life
• in Jesus Christ
• (Our World Belongs to God)

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• Record Narrates, recites Gods redemptive work
  and response of his people.
• Tool Incorporates us into that redemption
  nourishes salvation gives us guidance in living
  out redemption.

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• Historical narrative narrates the history of
  redemption and calls for response revelation and
  invitation
• Poetry nourishes our covenant faithfulness
• Wisdom and law guide us in our covenant walk
• Gospels witness to Jesus and call for faith
• Epistles open up significance of gospel for life

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Theological Reflection What is the Bible?

• Divinely authoritative message in human words
• Redemptive intent
• Christological key

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Hermeneutical Reflection How Do We Interpret the
Bible?

• Theological context
• Literary context
• Historical context

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Skeleton of the Bible Historical Books

• Tell one story of Gods redemptive acts in
  history

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• . . . the Bible provides us with an
  overarching narrative in which all other
  narratives of the world are nested. The Bible is
  the story of God. The story of the world is
  first and foremost the story of Gods activity in
  creating, sustaining, and redeeming the world to
  fulfill Gods purposes for it (Gerkin).

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Bible as One Story

• Act One God Establishes His Kingdom Creation
• Act Two Rebellion in the Kingdom Fall
• Act Three The King Chooses Israel Redemption
  Initiated
• Scene One A People for the King
• Scene Two A Land for the People
• Interlude A Kingdom Story Waiting for
  an Ending The
  Intertestamental Period
• Act Four The Coming of the King Redemption
  Accomplished
• Act Five Spreading the News of the King The
  Churchs Mission
• Scene One From Jerusalem to Rome
• Scene Two To the Ends of the Earth
• Act Six The Return of the King Redemption
  Completed

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Danger!

• Breaking up the Bible into little bitsmoral,
  sermon, theological, historical-critical,
  devotional
• If we allow the Bible to become fragmented, it
  is in danger of being absorbed into whatever
  other story is shaping our culture, and it will
  thus cease to shape our lives as it should.
  Idolatry has twisted the dominant cultural story
  of the secular Western world. If as believers we
  allow this story (rather than the Bible) to
  become the foundation of our thought and action,
  then our lives will manifest no the truths of
  Scripture, but the lies of an idolatrous culture.
  Hence, the unity of Scripture is no minor matter
  a fragmented Bible may actually produce
  theologically orthodox, morally upright, warmly
  pious idol worshippers! (Drama of Scripture, 12)

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Skeleton of the Bible Historical Books

• Tell one story of Gods redemptive acts in
  history
• Ultimate context for other books
• . . . the Bible is essentially narrative in
  form. . . . It contains, indeed, much else
  prayer, poetry, legislation, ethical teaching,
  and so on. But essentially it is a story.
  (Newbigin)

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Story of Gods Mission

• The Bible renders to us the story of Gods
  mission through Gods people in their engagement
  with Gods world for the sake of the whole of
  Gods creation. (Chris Wright)

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Story of mission

• Gods mission Long term purpose to restore the
  whole creation and all of human life
• Israels mission Embody Gods original
  creational purposes for the sake of the world
• Jesus mission Reveal and accomplish Gods final
  redemptive purpose for the creation
• Churchs mission Continue Jesus mission to make
  known the kingdom of God to the ends of the earth
  in life, word and deed

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Redemptive-History Narrated from Four Standpoints

• Mosaic (Genesis-Numbers)
• Exilic (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings)
• Post-exilic (Ezra-Nehemiah, Chronicles)
• Post-resurrection (New Testament)

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Authors

• Select (e.g., Jericho and Ai)
• Arrange (e.g., David and Saul)
• Interpret (e.g., Why cant Israel take the land?)
• Emphasize (e.g., Omri and Ahab)

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Literary Context

• Literary structure
• Literary genre

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• Understanding genre . . .
• . . . will provide a reading strategy

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Historical Context

• What is the intent of the author?
• How would the original audience understand the
  text?
• What is the historical-cultural context?
• How is my historical-cultural context shaping my
  interpretation?

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Pedagogical Reflection

• What can children handle at what age?
• Story telling
• Visual enforcement

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Percentage of Content We Remember