Author: Dr. John C. Kwasny
Math was one of my favorite subjects in school. I was never in the majority who questioned why we needed to learn math. It always made sense to me. I loved how math built on itself, year after year. First you learn to count, then addition and subtraction, followed by multiplication and division. Number lines are taught before fractions and negative numbers. Pre-algebra, then algebra, then geometry, then trigonometry, then calculus. Yes, I know there are many more strange and abstract maths after that, but I still appreciated learning all of it.
It is clear that the subject of mathematics, like all academic disciplines, demands a curriculum. It would make no educational sense to just pick random math topics year upon year. One has to have the proper math foundations to even have a chance of understanding higher math. So, there must be a lesson sequence, a plan, a system that sets out objectives and then the content to meet them. A math curriculum matters.
So, why should it be any different for the teaching of the Bible, whether this instruction occurs in the home, church, or school? Is it proper and fitting to simply choose a random passage or story of Scripture each school day and call it “Bible class”? Is it okay to just piecemeal different Bible resources together for children’s Sunday School? Or, is it best for even parents to attempt to teach the Bible with no plan for that vital aspect of the discipleship of their children? I would say, no, no, and no it is not.
When we don’t choose and implement a curriculum to teach the Bible in the home, church, and school, we are essentially communicating that Bible is not as important as other knowledge domains. It makes the Bible class of lesser importance, or even of no real necessity at all for our children’s futures. Sadly, this can be the attitude of Christian school teachers and administrators, as the “true” academic studies can overshadow Bible class. But the lack of a well-designed curriculum in the church and the home can also be linked to a lack of urgency and priority in the minds of church leaders and parents.
The Bible, as the inspired Word of God, is not put together in a random way. There is an order to the way God chose to reveal Himself through Scripture. His special revelation is progressive: it moves from a beginning to an end, with Christ at the center. The stories also connect to one another and build off one another. Both Testaments rely on each other in a theological chronology that requires a system of teaching.
A Bible curriculum matters because all human beings need help to understand and grow in knowledge. Due to our sin and weakness, even the most intelligent people require content to be taught in ways that makes sense. Teaching the stories in some random order or skipping over entire narratives won’t help us learn. I have talked to so many adults who grew up in church and learned very little of the Old Testament! The Bible is not to be studied like eating at a buffet—picking and choosing the parts we find the easiest to understand or the most interesting to learn. It was designed by the Spirit as a comprehensive multi-course banquet that we get to feast on over and over again.
From the earliest of ages, we need to teach our children that the Bible is the most important, most treasured, and the most studied book they will ever know. Part of the way we communicate that truth is by giving them a serious system—a pattern, a course, a curriculum to study the Bible all their lives. Bible curriculum matters as much as math curriculum and any other academic curriculum if we truly want the next generation to be serious students of God’s Word!