The booklet is sprinkled with Scripture passages. The names of early church fathers follow many of the quotes. Historical documents, ancient artifacts and modern research fill the pages. This thing has way more information than most of the Sunday School curriculum I am handed at church. The booklet tells me I should reject a man-made idea and go with the wisdom of God found in Scripture.
I don't.
After studying the booklet for several weeks with some Jehovah's Witness friends of mine, I still believe in the Trinity.
Despite strong Scriptural support for beating your children, some families reject this practice.
Going against the "plain teaching" of geocentricism in the Bible, not too many people still accept this idea either.
Why?
Put another way: How did we come to these conclusions?
And what drives our decisions about a great number of other contested ideas, such as speaking in tongues, tithing or the efficacy of Christ's death and resurrection? And, given that, how do we teach our children the truths found in Scripture?
I certainly don't have it all figured out. But here are suggestions based on my experience from life thus far:
Read the Bible with your children. Summaries, lessons and devotions are great and can be incredibly helpful. But don't forget to go to the source itself. I grew up memorizing NKJV verses for Awana. If I could handle that, your children can learn to follow along with your translation(s) of choice. ...especially as you talk them through the passages and answer their questions.
Pray for wisdom. Enough said.
Consider the lives of others. One of the benefits of reading biographies of great Christians is you can see how they lived out their faith. As we examine the lives of great men and women of God, we can see what produced good fruit and what did not.
Study the Scriptures. When you encounter a difficult passage or teaching that doesn't feel quite right, make use of the Body of Christ. Read commentaries, talk to friends and teachers, consider the context and the rest of Scripture, look up articles and, again, read the passages themselves.
What about you? How do you teach your children the Bible? What difficult questions have you had to answer/are still trying to figure out? What tips have you found helpful as you study Scripture?
~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Empty Nester
5 Comments