Bible Study?

[OTMomma]

I'm not a religious homeschooler- as in religion is not one of the reasons I homeschool. However, it recently occurred to me that being well educated does include having a certain amount of knowledge of the Bible- there are just so many references to it in literature and art and I want my dd to understand those references.

So I'm looking for some kind of Bible study I can do with my 7 y.o. dd. I want especially to work on reading the Gospel stories. I know we could just read the Bible itself, but that feels a little overwhelming.

TIA,

[Theoretica]

Hmm. I guess I disagree with the premise that equates 'well educated' to 'having studied the Bible"

I'm interested to know more about your thoughts on this, if you don't mind?

I have a friend IRL whose children study the bible voluntarily, and they are staunch atheists so I just find the idea interesting.

IMHO there are MANY other works of quality literature that speak to various times in history and have much less misunderstanding attached to them.

Anyways, I'd love to hear more of your thoughts

The short answer to your question might be to connect with some christian homeschoolers in your area

[OTMomma]

Well, my thought is just that when reading other literature, there are tiny references to Bible stories that are completely unexplained in the text, there is an assumption that the reader comes to the text with certain knowledge. For example an author might say "She looked back, but did not turn to salt"- knowing the story of Sodom and Gomorra gives that sentence more meaning.

We also just started doing art appreciation as a subject, and while it hasn't come up yet for us, many wonderful works of art are based on Bible stories- and knowing what the story behind the picture is, gives it more meaning to the one viewing it.

[nitemarehippygirl]

If you are looking for explanations relating to Christianity and art, I'm sure you could find some books along those lines. (Sorry, I don't know of any off the top of my head.)

If you are wanting to familiarize your kiddos with frequently referenced bible stories, you could probably start with a good children's Bible. It would be written at a level your children could understand, without a lot of obscure language or historical references, (which I'm assuming you don't want, for a 7 year old.)

I guess a lot would depend on your family's religious beliefs. In our family, we read the Bible as the actual word of God, but I know that people of other faiths read it/teach it as a piece of classic literature.

[MyLittleWonders]

We are liberal/progressive Christians (well, I am ... dh is agnostic but fully supportive of me). We feel it's important for the boys to have Biblical literacy and to know the stories and what they mean, not only from a faith point of view but also so when they are navigating through Western literature, art, and music, they know the references. That said, I decided to try Bible Study Guide for All Ages. I bought only the student pages (I asked on another board if the TM was necessarily and the response was split 50/50). (Oh, and if you do get it, be sure to use the little drop down menu on the "shipping" page to choose USPS - the automatic option is UPS, which is quite expensive.)

The study looks like it would fit a range of Christian beliefs - it is not a devotional, but just strives to teach the Bible. The sample pages has application questions - but at least based on the one sample they give, it looks fairly open ended. I have not used them yet - I hope the get here soon though as I'm curious to go through them. But, it seemed a fairly inexpensive way to get started, and seemed to fit my bill in not wanting something with a particular "bend" to them or something designed to be "devotional."

[sarahlynne]

The Childrens Story Bible is an excellent Bible story book that is enjoyable to read even as an adult. It covers both Old and New Testament, but focusing on the stories, history and events. It reads as literature as opposed to sing-songy or super watered down.

[greenthumb3]

Tomie dePaola, DK, and Usborne all have picture books of Bible stories. My kids have liked those. They tell the story in a condensed way for children to understand easily and the pictures have given some "scope for the imagination" while also bringing the stories to life for my little ones.

I understand your reasoning for exploring the stories of the Bible with your kids; there are so many references, many times in the form of allusions, to it in literature and art, it makes sense to be familiar with the stories.

[lach]

Originally Posted by Theoretica

Hmm. I guess I disagree with the premise that equates 'well educated' to 'having studied the Bible"

I'm interested to know more about your thoughts on this, if you don't mind?

Virtually all Western art, literature, and music from the past 1500 years or so has its roots in Christianity. I agree that being well educated means being familiar with the Bible and its stories.

Originally Posted by Theoretica

IMHO there are MANY other works of quality literature that speak to various times in history and have much less misunderstanding attached to them.

I don't think I quite understand what this means. But I will say that while, yes, there are some books out there where a basic familiarity with the Bible isn't necessary, there are many others where it is. As well as about 1400 years worth of European art, music, culture, and history. Ignoring the predominant religion of any culture that you're studying means that you're missing huge parts, perhaps even most, of that culture.

To OP, we are in the same boat and I think that you're totally right. I plan on buying a children's bible and using it the same way I would use a book of Greek myths or Aesop's Fables.

[Smokering]

IMHO there are MANY other works of quality literature that speak to various times in history and have much less misunderstanding attached to them.

Those misunderstandings are a very good reason to have at least a passing familiarity with the Bible.

I remember a lecturer at Uni who had us read a story that was a retelling of the story of Lot and his daughters (a rather icky incest piece from Genesis). She insisted it was a "feminist retelling" because in the retelling, Lot's daughters made the decision to sleep with their father to get children, whereas "in the Biblical story, of course, they were raped by their father". I was the only one in a class of 40+ students who seemed to know that wasn't the case... and when I pointed out that no, the retelling actually followed the Biblical story point-for-point on that score, she refused to believe me. That incident solidified a growing disgust I had at her teaching methods - not that everyone needs to know the story of Lot and his daughters, of course, but if one is going to be teaching literature that relates to the Bible (even much less directly than in my example), one should know the freaking source material.

I can't imagine studying American slavery without knowing the Biblical justifications used for it and whether or not they were an accurate representation on the Bible's stance on the matter... or studying Darwin and the history of evolution without having read Genesis 1-3... or reading Toni Morrison's Beloved without knowing the significance of the title... or studying LOTR without bringing up Tolkien's Catholicism... or, or, or! Biblical themes, language and concepts inform SO much of Western literature. You don't have to like it or approve of it, but you do have to acknowledge it - and critique it, if you like - to really engage with thousands of books, plays, movies and songs. Think how many references you miss in life if you haven't seen Star Wars, and then multiply that by a million.

[dotnetdiva]

I was planning on posting this same thing (but for all religions)! I am somewhat familiar with the Bible, but I am have been super secular the past 20 years. I totally see the benefit of having my daughter learn the Bible and other major religious works. Literature borrows upon itself. Just reading The Epic of Gilgamesh, written 2700 BC or so, tells about the Mespotamian Noah and his ark. So we got Jan Brett's picture book to see the Bible's version. Now I understand that in order to appreciate literature, a knowledge of religion is needed. So I'm looking for ideas!

Marduk the Mighty is a great book that covers all creation stories from all of history and around the world.

There's a 10 page (and counting) thread on WTM. They've given excellent recommendations so far!

[dotnetdiva]

After careful consideration, this is what I decided to purchase tonight:

Children's Illustrated Bible (DK book, be careful, there is a miniature version too, this is the link to the large book)

God's Kingdom: Stories from the New Testament and God's People: Stories from the Old Testament both by Geraldine McCaughrean

Ancient Israelites and their Neighbors already arrived today.

[OTMomma]

Thank you all for responding. And thank you also to those of you who explained so much better than I why this is important.

I had honestly not thought about just getting a great Children's Bible to read from- what a wonderful idea! I plan to check out all the suggestions.

If any of you have kids who need something more hands on- I found a book at rainbow resource Art and the Bible that involves reading a retelling of a Bible story and then drawing a picture to go along- I'm not sure if my dd would like that or not, but it seemed like a cool book.

Peace,

[dotnetdiva]

Here's more! Even though I'm secular, I think these books will do a great job teaching the stories to my family.

• The Bible and It's Influence (snagged this one for half price and free 2-day shipping!)
• Demi books Jesus and Mohammed and will be getting all her books eventually
• God's People: Stories from the Old Testament
• God's People: Stories from the New Testament
• Timeless themes: Stories from the Hebrew and Christian Bibles for grades 3 and 4
• DK The Children's Illustrated Bible

[phathui5]

Hmm. I guess I disagree with the premise that equates 'well educated' to 'having studied the Bible"

I think that in our culture, if you don't have a certain degree of Biblical literacy, there are a lot of things that you'll miss or not understand, such as references in literature.