s most of you know, Christy and I are homeschooling our son. I’m not ready to make the claim that homeschooling is the right choice for everyone, but for us, it definitely was the right choice.
One of the challenges with homeschooling is deciding what curricula to use in educating our child. Thanks to the increasing freedoms over the past several decades across our nation with regard to homeschooling, there are many, many choices and options available.
Over the course of this first year of homeschooling (our son was in the public school system up until the end of last year), we have already made several modifications in our curricula and looked at many different choices for various subjects.
Quite a few of the choices out there claim to be biblical in content, either directly based on the Bible or based on principles derived from the Bible. For example, we started the year with a grammar curriculum that used verses and passages from Scripture to illustrate different grammatical principles. The concept behind it was that the child would not only learn correct grammar, but get familiar with many passages of Scripture in the process.
We are no longer using that curriculum for several reasons. One reason is that it used the King James version, which is not a version we use much at all in our home, nor is it the way we speak in modern English anyway. The other reason is what I am about to get to in this post.
Recently, while looking at some curricula online, Christy came across a reading program that, again, used the Bible as the source of its material. Like with the grammar curriculum, the idea seems to be that children get exposed to the Bible as a side-benefit to their academic studies.
Now, in and of itself, I don’t have a problem with this. Obviously, I want my son to become familiar with Scripture. That’s why we take time every morning in our homeschool schedule to read from the Bible, reading straight through from Genesis to Revelation.
However, I have a concern about some of these ideas for Bible-based curricula that prevents me from embracing them 100% wholesale. That concern goes back to my days in Bible college and seminary. It is the idea of using the Bible as any sort of textbook.
When I was in college, it was not uncommon for a course to require us to read certain books of the Bible 4, 5, or even 10 times through. And often, 10% or so of our grade on a test was the simple question, “Did you complete the assigned reading for this test?”
You would think that reading through so much Scripture would be extraordinarily life-changing, right? Wrong. At least for me, it wasn’t. And for many of my classmates, it did not appear to be, either.
Why is that? And what is the alternative? Just not reading the Bible altogether? I hardly think so!
I think that the reason the Bible had so little impact on my life in those days (and the same was true in seminary), was because the Bible was a textbook. It was a place to find answers to homework questions. It was a source for a grade needed to keep moving through my studies. It was a means to an end that had nothing to do with Jesus Christ.
The most frequently given basis for viewing the Bible in this way is the familiar command to “Study to shew thyself approved unto God” (2 Tim 2:15, KJV). However, as I have pointed out several times before here on this blog, the translation of “study” has no basis that I can find. For this reason, almost every translation apart from the King James translates that word as “be diligent” or “do your best” or “work hard”, etc.
See, the problem with using the Bible as a textbook is what that ultimately leads to. It leads to viewing the Bible in small, disconnected fragments (the basis for “prooftexting”), and it leads to seeing the Bible as a means to knowledge alone.
It also can lead to what I see as some unbalanced views of Scripture. For example, some people turn the Bible into a scientific textbook, using it as the “proof” for certain scientific concepts. Others turn the Bible into a legal document, using it as justification or condemnation of certain activities or choices.
What was Jesus’ view of the Bible of his day (what we now call the Old Testament)?
You do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He sent. You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life. (John 5:38-40)
The point of the Old Testament, according to Jesus, was to point people to Himself, the source of eternal life. Hebrews 1:1-2 seems to confirm this notion, as well.
It took me quite a few years to “detox” from my view of the Bible as a textbook. And what I have found in the time since then is that a relationship with the One to Whom the Bible points is so much more fulfilling, so much more exciting, and so much more life-changing than merely studying the Bible in and of itself.
One of the buzzwords currently used by some who have the same idea I have here is “narrative”. The Bible is a narrative. This recaptures the notion of seeing the Bible as a whole, not a bunch of smaller parts. It doesn’t minimize anything about Scripture, nor its origin, nor its value to our lives. But it seems to me to put it into a more proper perspective. I like that.
So, in our homeschool, we have chosen not to use the Bible as a textbook, but rather to give it the place it deserves — as a written record (or revelation) of who Jesus is, and how to have a relationship with the Father (and by extension, each other) through Jesus.
It is my hope and prayer that my son will grow up to know the One revealed in Scripture, and not just know the Scripture itself.
Until next time,
steve 
This was a very interesting post. I’ve not heard that reasoning before, but i can see the point.
This is tremendously well said:
It is my hope and prayer that my son will grow up to know the One revealed in Scripture, and not just know the Scripture itself.
I hadn’t thought of this along home school lines before–we don’t home school. But with Geoff and Jen above, I appreciate your thoughts about your prayer for your son, that is our prayer for our boys as well.
I firsthand appreciate what you say in regard to the dangers of Bible-as-textbook both as a (former) Bible College student, and even as a pastor. It’s too easy to use the Bible to get things that you need to get done, whether studying for a New Testament exam, or preparing a sermon–rather than allowing Scripture to speak to you.
One of my favorite sayings that I learned last year was this:
The purpose of reading the bible is not to know the bible. The purpose of reading the bible is to know God.
Geoff and Jen, thanks for stopping by. We are looking forward to seeing you all this week!
John, glad to have you here, too, my friend. I didn’t mention it in the post, but I definitely carried my Bible college experience into the pastorate with me as well.
K-Bob (can I call you “K-Bob”? hehe) That is a great thought that really goes along with this post. Thanks for contributing to it.
Steve,
I know that this is not exactly the subject of your post, but I taught from 2 Timothy 2:14-19 this morning. Here is my translation of 2 Timothy 2:15 – “Eagerly make every effort so that when you stand in the presence of God, he approves of you, as an unashamed worker, by correctly teaching and living according to the gospel.” This means something different than “study to show thyself approved… rightly dividing the word of truth.”
You can teach your son Scripture all day long, every day of his life, but until he lives it, it makes little difference. How will he learn how to live it? By studying? Perhaps a little. But he will learn much more how to live it by watching you and Christy live it.
-Alan
Alan, that goes along with the post quite nicely. And your final statement is not only quite correct, but right in line with where I’m at on this.
Interestingly, I think the same application could be made to discipleship in general, not just parent/child relationships. Would you agree?
Steve,
That’s exactly where my study on discipleship is taking me. Your post fell into my study perfectly.
-Alan
Morning Steve, I to agree that as little ones grow up that the most things they remember is how the parents-grandparents-uncles-aunts- demonstrated while they were growing up ! As in the stories that I have told I was taught in lifes journey to follow the teachings of the Bible but they were actually showed in our walk in lifes journey by a community of believers that loved God and loved their neighbor as thyself. When taught from the scriptures, Gods greatest commandment was Love ! Blessings To All. Ron
Ron, thanks for stopping by. You are very correct that the greatest commandment is love. Great addition to this discussion. Thank you, sir
This is a great post, Steve, and something that has also long been a thought of ours — as you said, “It is my hope and prayer that my son will grow up to know the One revealed in Scripture, and not just know the Scripture itself.”
I like Alan’s translation … makes more sense to me
It is my hope and prayer that my son will grow up to know the One revealed in Scripture, and not just know the Scripture itself.
This should be the highest goal for every parent.
Good post.
Hey Steve, I am glad to see a post loosely connected to homeschooling! I have been hoping for a post from you some time or another about your homeschooling after the lengthy discussion we were in out at my blog a couple of weeks ago.
For reasons you have already succinctly stated, and I won’t reiterate, we do not use the Bible in our homeschooling as a textbook at all. We don’t even read it during school!
We use it in language arts and history when appropriate and I sometimes draw math problems from biblical stories, but as far as an actual Bible course, we don’t!
Rather, I use a devotional approach loosely tied to how the Maxwell’s do their devotions. We do Bible studies in the evening, after baths, and do a round robin style of reading and sharing. Lasts about 15-30 minutes and the kids love it!
Another good post!
I’m glad to see my comment about my desire and prayer for our son struck such a chord with you all. It just goes to show how sometimes the point of a post isn’t necessarily the best part of it!
hehe
Tony, I’ve actually hesitated to talk about homeschooling much on this particular blog. The (ahem) “discussion” with your readers a couple of weeks ago is an example of part of the reasons why.
I usually tried to keep the homeschooling topic to my largely-neglected homeschoolblogger blog. But I just haven’t felt like posting on that blog in a long time, and am not sure if I’ll even go back to it.
So, you got a little touch of some of my philosophy here!
We do our Bible reading in the morning at breakfast, and that seems to work well for us. Sometimes, there are interesting discussions. Sometimes, I’ll be quite frank, I don’t even quite know what to do with what we’ve read! More often than not, I find myself reminding our son that there’s a whole lot more to the story (since we’re in the Old Testament in our reading, and will be for a long time to come, I’m sure).
Tony -
Thank you for posting your thoughts on this. Since I am a new homeschooler (1st grade this year and we did K last year) I am still in the process of figuring out my philosophies, etc. about it all. As I have begun writing out my plans for next year (I am an over-planner
)I get stuck every time on “Bible”. Why? Because everything out there just seems somehow not right for us. It’s either too dull and technical or too childish with cartoons and the like. And virtually none of it has any practical application contained within. Yes, I am one who does better with lessons spelled out for me.
I think you’re right — the Bible is not a textbook, it’s God’s Word to us through which we can come to know our precious Father. This year we are reading through the Child’s Story Bible and I really like it … just reading through and I have learned a lot that I did not know. And that’s all we do. We talk about it, but that’s it — nothing formal, just reading through and treating it very much like a devotional rather than a Bible class. I think I would like to get my hands on the Maxwell’s devotional CDs. Thanks for the info and, again, for the thoughts.
~Heather
Gordon, what approach are you taking in your homeschooling, if you don’t mind sharing?
For those of you who aren’t homeschooling, does this post cause you to think of other ways in which this same concept could be applied apart from homeschooling? What about how we handle the Bible in our gatherings as believers?
Steve, some of our curriculum may use the Bible as a reference, but we do most of our Bible teaching separate from school.
I think we should teach children to have a desire for the Word of God. Given many children’s aversion to school, it may be counterproductive to make school the major platform for teaching Bible. It can produce negative feelings toward Scripture.
I think it is better as you and several commentors have stated to make the family Bible time a more relaxed, special setting.
I don’t think it is necessarily wrong to have the Bible included in the curriculum, but there are other approaches to teaching Bible that are more productive.
Hi!
Thought I might poke my head up again here…..let you know that I am still reading and enjoying your blog.
I used to give great value to Bible memorization in our homeschool….until Psalms 119:11 came to life for me. “Thy word have I hid in my heart” Not so that I or the children can look good….not for a reward of candy, not for the praise of men…..but “that I might not sin against thee” It changed my outlook as to the why we need His word in our hearts. We definately need and use the Bible in homeschool, but not to the exclusion of living it. My six year old daughter summed it up
for me yesterday during school. She said, “At school, they could teach me to read, but they wouldn’t teach me about Jesus.” I just say Amen!!
Steve, in case my screen name gets you tongue tied again….it’s my kids’ initials….I’m the Mom part!
Have a wonderful day!
Heather,
I have the Maxwell CD’s “Feed My Sheep” from their website I referenced in the upper comment, somewhere up there.^ I picked them up at their homeschool conference last fall. It is very good; two CD’s, one of Steve (Maxwell, not Sensenig!
) teaching the biblical precedent for biblical devotions in the home and a second CD of an actual recording of the Maxwell’s having their devotional time, which proved the most beneficial, though it got laborious after the first thirty minutes.
If you do not mind sharing your home address with me, I would be happy to put them in the mail to you and Brandon, my gift to you. My email is tcmlsisk(at)meckcom(dot)net.
Tony
two CD’s, one of Steve (Maxwell, not Sensenig!
)
Tony, do you have any of the Steve Sensenig CDs? If not, let me know.
After seventeen years as a Christian school principal, I can attest that the Bible as textbook does not achieve sons and daughters who know the One revealed in Scripture.
Loving our young like Jesus loves us, unconditionally, is much more effective.
Ultimately, however, it must be our son’s and/or daughter’s decision to put their faith in Christ.
They have the free will to do so or not. If we have connected his or her heart to ours by our love, and they find there our love for Jesus, their heart is likely to follow.
He, and He alone is compelling.
David, well said!
kkmhmom, thanks for popping up again! Not sure if you saw the post a while back that I wrote called “Hidden in My Heart: More than Memorization”, but it touched on the same types of things you mentioned here.
Steve,
No I don’t! Wanna work out a swap?
TOny -
How nice!!!! I will email you!
Steve -
I have one of your CDs and it’s awesome
!!! Love it love it love it!
~Heather
It is a story…dissecting the story and re-assembling it to suit our topic of discussion just isn’t gonna work.
I agree with you totally and find this post very interesting.
Good Thoughts.
Great post and good looking blog. Not sure why I’ve never run across your blog before.
Bryan, nice to see you here. I’ve enjoyed your comments on Alan’s blog. Welcome, and feel free to jump in here anytime!