Slow Schooling Chapter 13: Teaching the Bible

First Things First

Tuesday, January 8, 2008 12:45PM

The most needful thing I teach my children is how to read and study God’s Word. There is so much promise of blessing for knowing and obeying God’s voice, why on earth would I not want them to know how to read and understand the Bible for themselves? It is the most important time of our home school.

It wasn’t so long ago that every literate person had a basic knowledge of the Bible. It didn’t matter if you were a believer, an unbeliever, or a make-believer (hat tip to J. Vernon McGee), knowledge of the Bible was taught in the public schools and was foundational for a culture of common experience and good morals. Furthermore, this literary masterpiece was studied not only for the variety of genres, but for its history and scientific observations, and many would not know where phrases such as “the writing on the wall” came from, or even meant, without knowledge of the accounts within.

All of that is interesting, but has no bearing on why we teach our childre…