John Wells has a helpful article on teaching children the Bible. He gives 4 things to avoid and 5 things to embrace.
Don’t:
- Teach narratives as moralistic fables
- Use excessive extrapolation and subtext
- Imply prosperity theology
- Exclude non-narrative genres (letters, prophets, poets)
Do:
- Read and talk with your children about the Bible
- Give them the full Scripture, not just children’s Bibles
- Teach them to think through paragraphs in the letters
- In narrative, read the whole story and then ask questions
- Be okay with not knowing the answers to all their questions
I think Wells overstates his case at a few points. For example, his first “don’t” almost sounds like the Bible doesn’t teach ethics (but it does). And his second “don’t” misses an important part of interpretation: Putting yourself there, and using your imagination to picture the scene. In arguing against an extreme situation (ignoring the text in favor of one’s own interpretation), Wells might react too far the other way.
But that said, I heartily agree with most of what he says. Give your children the Bible, not just children’s Bibles. Give them the whole Bible. Teach them to read, think, study, and apply. Show them Jesus. You can read the full article for more explanation of each point.
