Well, it is somewhat normal to react this way– It’s the same as the wrath of a mother bear protecting her baby out of love. We don’t want anything to take away from the perfect sacrifice of Jesus. Any hint of needing to add some kind of work makes those who love Christ and appreciate His sacrifice respond with a knee-jerk reaction –they are being loyal to our Messiah.

I had a similar reaction. For me the desire to protect my belief led me to deeper study and eventual realization that Jesus was a Hebrew and I could know more about Him by studying the customs of the Hebrews in Bible times.

After much study I learned about the dramatic turn from our Hebrew roots in the early church and how deeply man’s tacked-on traditions and Anti-semitism have affected mainline denominations today. Years of misunderstanding make people afraid to learn simple truths about God.

False Assumptions

I didn’t know I was seeing through years of mistranslation until I spent a lot of time studying and praying (please don’t take this as pride in studying—there is no other way to explain it) and working through ASSUMPTIONS from years of teaching. Once you put things into the Hebraic context and read Scripture with new eyes it all falls into place.

Always remember it is not a way to earn salvation or to be better than someone else. The concern that the Hebrews have to earn salvation is a false assumption. (Read a free excerpt from Assumptions That Affect Our Lives)

Quite the opposite–we don’t do ANY thing to earn salvation. Understanding the Hebrew language (how they use verbs for example) showed me it’s not even OUR faith that saves us. In the passages we interpret “faith” as “OUR faith” it is actually “God’s faith” or God’s faithfulness to provide a sacrifice or Jesus’ faithfulness to death on the cross that provides for our salvation.

The deeper I get into the Bible in this way the more I appreciate what God has done for us. I can say that this study has only brought me to a deeper appreciation and desire to be like Christ—never to rely on customs.

Those who have had been blessed to study and learn need to be very careful to never appear as if learning these things would ever take away from the perfect holy sacrifice.

Do You React With Opinion or Study?

I used to react to anything I had not studied with my strong OPINION. I have been humbled with this approach. We must all react to different views by studying what God’s Word says (hermeneutically) before reacting with personal opinion. In Romans 14, Paul is instructing and rebuking weaker believers to keep views to themselves, not to use them as a standard by which to judge others, and to truly study the matter so he will be “fully persuaded” (Paul is actually and presently teaching them so they can be fully persuaded and not remain ignorant, see Romans 14: 22, 3, 5).

No one wants to believe they are “weak,” but we ALL are weak in some areas. I certainly am–I am weak in MANY areas that I have not fully studied yet (such as the return of Christ). Someone else may be strong in this area and weak in others. If you haven’t fully studied the subject, pray about it. Don’t rely on pulpit teaching or opinion. Be a Berean–study and pray and then you can defend your belief.

Which brings us full circle to the main goal of Heart of Wisdom methods–for parents and children to learn to study God’s word for themselves and not rely on man’s teachings–a Hebrew method of teaching your children!.

Fruit Test

A quick way to judge any new teaching (actually, in this case, very old) is to ask “Does it focus on love?” —because Jesus taught that His ways can be summed up in two commands –loving God and loving others.

Walk Softly and Keep Your Eyes on Christ!

If you have been studying the Hebrew roots it is important to remember to use spiritual discernment when talking to Christians that are not aware of our rich heritage. Walk softly. Don’t get defensive –stay humble. If you must disagree do it in a sincere loving manner in prayer. Dr John Garr, author of Restoring Our Lost Legacy: Christianity’s Hebrew Heritage wisely said,

“We whom God is using to advance the radical restoration of taking the church back to its Jewish roots must ever remember that ours is not an elitist, exclusive, judgmental society. We must keep our eyes focused on the ever-moving Cloud of Glory; however, we must build bridges behind us while reaching out to new horizons of faith and truth.

Flexibility adds to our strength. It is never a sign of weakness to reach out to someone else in love and affirmation, even if we do not understand all they believe. Let us continue to work at Hebraic restoration, but let us also mirror the spirit of Christ who came into the world not to condemn but to save.”

Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.

Historians concur that the Greeks were destroyed by moral decay. Pursuing knowledge without God is a recipe for disaster. We simply cannot survive without clear moral direction. Look at the differences in education goals:

To understand the Early Church we must dig through layers of a mountain of man’s influences shoveling off and discarding man’s traditions, theories, interpretations, and philosophies from Greek and Roman civilizations, Aristotle, Constantine, Marcion, etc., to be able to examine the Early Church.

During the Reformation, men such as Wycliffe and Calvin were digging in the right spot. They dug up and discarded many theological errors and found a view of God’s plan of salvation by grace, but anti-Semitic layers remain and now there are new layers of tradition, interpretations, western thought (a return to the Greek and Roman philosophy) and conditioning that need removal. Only then can we have a clear view of the Early Church.

Greek philosophy between Aristotle and Augustine is the foundation of Western thought (Aristotle tried to merge the Bible and Plato = Hellenistic Philosophy). This is the reason for so much Greek philosophy in the church. Explore the differences between Eastern and Western thinking and how it affects each culture with this Interactive data file at FollowtheRabbi.com – Jesus, our Rabbi and Savior.

For more on Greek vs Hebrew Education see

• My Big Fat Greek Mindset by Tim Hegg, homeschooler speaking on Worldviews.

• The Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach: Bible-Based Homeschooling

The Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach is for all homeschoolers who want to make the Bible the center of their school day. This giant 500+ page book provides you with the methods, program, and resources for a course of study where students spend half the school day studying God’s Word and the other half studying God’s world (academics). Students study history chronologically and science in the order of the days of Creation. This book will encourage, motivate you and instruct you, step by step, how to give your child a Bible-focused, comprehensive education from preschool through high school; one that will train him or her to read, to study, to understand, to love to learn and, most importantly, to desire and seek true wisdom. This approach can be used for all grade levels.

When homeschoolers are asked about this book, one word continues to come up over and over–Wow! Read the excerpt today to see what all the wow is about.

• The Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach (FREE 60-page excerpt PDF File)
• Start reading the Ebook today! $17.00 Add to cart
• Order the bound book. Retail $34.95 NOW $27.95 Add to cart

Once you view the intellectual depth of the Heart of Wisdom curriculum you’ll understand that we want your children to learn academics, but more importantly, we want them to learn about life. We want them to be prepared to face the challenges of the world.

We want them to learn all about God’s great Creation, not merely to pass a test, but for greater understanding.

We want them to learn:

• Science—All about God’s Creation
• Math—About God’s order
• History—About His-Story, His plan for the world and the redemption of His people
• Government—How God has established human government for specific purposes
• Language Arts—How to tell others about God’s truth (both writing and speaking)
• Literature—To read of how He has affected other lives
• Economics—To understand stewardship, God’s rules about money
• Arts—To appreciate God’s gifts of music, drama, dance, and art, as forms of worship to Him
• Health—To learn of God’s plan for nutrition and health

It is our personal responsibility to teach our children to read, study, research, and reason, including how to read, understand, analyze, and apply the Bible in a way that does not compromise or distort the intentions of the biblical author or the real meaning of the biblical text.

We, ourselves, must learn and then teach our children how to ground our reasons for doing what we do in a clear and sober analysis of what Scripture actually teaches.

Otherwise we will lack judgment; we will be blown about by every wind of doctrine. (Mulligan) Academic subjects can be taught in a way that helps us understand God’s Word and God’s world, and this should be the motivation for teaching academics. Unfortunately, however, the current motivation for including academics in Christian education is that they mean school to us—learning and education.

We continually slip into the mode of measuring with the world’s measuring stick. The assumption that we automatically know what real education is without pondering it constitutes the intellectual barrier we must cross to arrive at a wisdom-centered curriculum. God’s wisdom has practical aims. James says that God’s wisdom leads humans into a daily application of knowledge. He says, But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere (James 3:17). Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom” (James 3:13).

Dr. John Garr explains that the spirit of improvement is biblical:

Continual improvement in the earth is the goal of a biblical education as man works in partnership with God for the improvement of his environment—physically, socially, economically, and spiritually. When one understands this holistic approach to life, he cannot have one set of ethics for the “spiritual realm” and another for the “secular realm.” He cannot abuse his environment, his society, his government, or his religion.

The dedication to improvement of the human lot is in [the] context of God’s command to Adam and Eve to subdue the earth. This is an ongoing work that is generational and universal. Working in concert with God is such a massive job that no one person or no one generation can ever accomplish his plan. Working continually to improve is the essence of the spirit of perfection, which is enjoined upon believers. Be ye perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect, is the command of Jesus. This perfection is not the achievement of some plateau or apex; it is the continual walking with God to make improvement, which requires continual study.

God has called man into a partnership with himself to work at [the] improvement of the planet to which man has been assigned. If continual improvement is to be made by each succeeding generation, then the knowledge acquired in each generation must be passed on to the next. This was one of the primary reasons for which Yahweh had chosen Abraham, the first Hebrew, in the beginning: For I know [Abraham], that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment (Genesis 18:19). Biblical perspectives on learning, then, involve both the acquisition and transmission of knowledge.

The word education comes to us from the Latin ex ducere, which means to be led out. It is a simple fact that learning leads us out of ignorance, out of darkness, out of superstition, out of misery, out of suffering. Learning the wisdom of God leads us out of darkness and into His marvelous light.

We are not working for the school board, or even for the children, but for God. Our first desire is to inspire students to become hearers and doers of God’s Word, and to encourage students to search the Scriptures and apply them to everyday situations. Our second goal is to teach them a love of learning that will last a lifetime.

Creation reveals God! Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them (Genesis 2:1). At the end of six days of creation, the world was finished.

To this day, the amount of energy expended to keep the planets rotating properly has been the same. What God set in motion, He did not leave to spin itself out.

God still watches carefully over our universe, and continues to provide the correct amount of energy—not more, not less—each second. If God did not do this for our good, the sun would burn itself up, the earth would spin out of its gravitational force, and we would die.

The study of various forces which God has created in nature helps us to realize just how incredible the creation of our universe is. It is quite an accomplishment.  If we could sit in the farthest corner of it, and watch all that God does each minute to ensure our good, we would no longer be caught up in the trivial worries of each day, nor would we ind a reason to listen to the advice of the world concerning evolution.

At the heart of the enormous variation in creation that we see around us is aset of physical laws set in place by God. Having realized such common law, secular science makes an erroneous attempt to explain these variations by evolution.

On the contrary, these variations around a similar blueprint which gives abundant life on Earth and sets the heavens in motion simply reflect the limitless genius of our Creator. Any student trained in the physics and chemistry can easily point out the obvious flaws in evolutionary science, flaws which are clearly known and clearly hidden in the typical class-room education. (Bryan J. Ennis, Ph.D.)

Discover how central God’s creation of energy is to how we live today. Energy is all around us. We derive energy from food, we use energy to heat our homes, and we find energy in the power of moving water. Energy provides the opportunity to accomplish something, such as driving a car, moving a box, or running hot water from a showerhead.

In most energy-related resources, the important aspect of God’s creation of energy is left out. Not only did God create living beings, He also created for us the ability to further our civilization industry, travel, food production, and livingstandards.

In this unit, we will discover how central God’s creation of energy is to how we live today. Energy is one of the most basic ideas of science. All the observed occurrences in the universe can be explained in terms of energy and matter. Energy occurs in many different forms, and it is not always easy to tell how these forms are related to one another and what they have in common. One of the best-known definitions of energy is the classical definition used in physics: Energy is the ability to do work. Physicists define work in a way that does not always agree with the average person’s idea of work.

This physical science unit is a thematic and inquiry based study, certain process skills are woven throughout. These include making hypothesis, observing, drawing, creating and testing models, experimenting, recording and graphing data, making inferences, and forming conclusions. Bible, social studies, language arts, and fine arts are integrated they apply.

What You Get!

This organized yet flexible Bible focused unit study includes:

• Overview
• Objectives
• Timeline
• Vocabulary
• Annotated Resource Lists (books, Internet sites, videos, software, etc)
• 14 Four-Step Lessons

Fourteen Lessons

1. Above All Power
2. Types of Energy
3. Energy Sources
4. Potential Energy
5. Kinetic Energy
6. Heat Energy (Thermal)
7. Heat Transfer (Thermodynamics)
8. Energy Conservation
9. Steam and Geothermal Energy
10. Energy for Transportation
11. Nuclear Energy
12. Solar Energy
13. Energy from Wind and Water
14. Energy from Food
15. Energy from Fossil Fuels

Four Step Lessons

There are four basic steps in each Heart of Wisdom Unit Study lesson based on the four major learning styles. Studies show this four-step method motivates students to comprehend the material better and retain the information longer.

• Step 1 Excite: Create an interest
• Step 2 Examine: Find out the Facts
• Step 3 Expand: Do something with what was learned
• Step 4 Excel: Pull everything together and share with someone.

Internet-Linked Lessons!

Each Heart of Wisdom Ebook contains active links which will take you:

• Bible Study Tools
• Video Clips
• Free Online Books
• Craft Instructions
• Biographies
• Worksheets
• Experiments
• Relevant Articles
• Writing Instruction
• Illustrations
• Maps
• Quizzes
• and more!

Ebook Benefits!

• You can access your EBook immediately. Once you buy an eBook, you can read it instantly; you don’t have to wait for delivery.
• You can find what you need fast. You can use “search” and “find” functions to pinpoint the material you need more easily than in a print book.
• You can find what you need fast. You can use “search” and “find” functions to pinpoint the material you need more easily than in a print book.
• HOW Ebooks are extensively hyperlinked. You open the EBook in your browser and click your way to the section or chapter you need.
• HOW Ebooks are hyperlinked to the Internet. You open the EBook in your browser and click the underlined text for instant additional information: worksheets, free online books, audio, video, articles, illustrations, experiments, and more!

You can print out Ebooks! Print only the pages that you need for the lessons that day or print the whole book and place in a note book.

Is it working? Is the homeschool movement fulfilling its goal? Homeschoolers are avoiding the public school agenda, but are they replacing it with the truly biblical way of learning? We know what to reject; do we know what to pursue in its place?

Education (and all human activity) must be defined in God’s terms. There is a danger revealed in Romans 1 for those seeking knowledge without God “. . . because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened” (21). They let their imaginations run wild and began worshiping things apart from what God had revealed of Himself. Their imaginings, Paul says, led them straight into idolatry.

We are challenged to search out God’s purpose and standards for education. It is not enough to simply borrow a curriculum of the western tradition and sprinkle it with Christian words. God, in this world, has appointed wisdom to be the structure, method and goal of our learning.

Wisdom is far above all of these. All other educational goals, even a good-paying job or socialization are casting a shadow of vanity. We must return to the biblical standards for education if there is ever to be a holy generation, set afire by truth, and inspired in our daily lives.

What makes Christian Education Christian?

What is the real purpose of education? Why do Christian schools insist on using Greek and Roman standards for education? Does the Bible give a pattern of learning? What is wisdom, and what is the Christian community?

It may be difficult, at first, but it is essential that we compare our educational goals to God’s Word. Education affects every area of human experience. The way we see our world, the values we hold important, the skills we feel are necessary, our opinions of the past, present, and future—all are clearly affected by our education and our educational philosophies. Education is a process that forms one for life.

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. (Romans 12:1–2).

Wisdom First

Man should begin his journey to obtain knowledge by first acquiring wisdom. By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures. (Proverbs 24:3–4).

Wisdom comes from God’s word. Consistently Christian education (and this means consistently throughout education) must be built up, line upon line, from a foundation of Scripture. The tools of categorization, logical demonstration, and communication skills are to be used to identify systematically and put to proper use all things according to the interpretation given in the Word. All human skills and educational abilities are to be subjected to the authoritative revelation of Scripture. These must have but one foundation.

We cannot stand with one foot on the Bible and the other on human mystic tradition or we will be torn asunder. We must build foursquare on Scripture alone.

Suggested Memory Verses

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding (Proverbs 9:10).

Know also that wisdom is sweet to your soul; if you find it, there is a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off (Proverbs 24:14).

Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom; though it cost all you have, get understanding (Proverbs 4:7).

Fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in understanding. (Proverbs 9:10)

If you need wisdom—if you want to know what God wants you to do—ask him, and he will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking. ( James 1:5)

My child, don’t lose sight of good planning and insight. Hang on to them, for they fill you with life and bring you honor and respect. They keep you safe on your way and keep your feet from stumbling. Proverbs 3:21–24

Pride leads to disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. (Proverbs 11:2)

Adapted from portions of The Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach and Far Above Rubies: Wisdom in the Christian Community by David Mulligan

Homeschoolers sometimes get so wrapped up in academics they forget the one needful thing.

Remember the story of Mary and Martha

Martha was very busy with preparations as Mary sat at the feet of Christ. When Martha complained about Mary, Jesus answered and said unto her, “Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:40–42).

Only One Thing is Necessary!

The lesson is simple: only one thing is truly necessary. Everything else that does not promote that one thing is extra. A willingness to sit at Jesus’ feet and hear His Word is the most important thing we can ever teach our children. Sensible Martha had many accomplishments, but worry and trouble were her rewards. Mary, on the other hand, was praised for choosing that good thing which was itself her reward and which would not be taken away from her.

Martha’s preparation work was not wrong; in fact, it was important. It was Martha’s focus that was wrong. It is your focus that makes the difference. Social achievement, which the world stresses so much, is important; but it is nothing without Christ.

“But what about academics—math, language arts, history, and science?” Of course these things matter, but only as they sharpen your focus on the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. Academic subjects are important tools, but they are only tools, not the goal. The moment academics cloud your view, to whatever degree they slow your pursuit of God’s will, they then move from being helpful tools to what Jesus calls “cares of this life.”

Do Not Let the Important Keep You from the Necessary

Do not let the important keep you from the necessary. And, in Jesus’ words, only one thing is truly necessary. It is a message both simple and profound: simple because the truth of it is not complicated, but perfectly evident, and profound because the truth in everyday life cuts across everything that habit and fleshly indulgence have trained us to accept as important or even necessary. A godly person who is determined to know Jesus above all else will find all academic studies based in the simple reality of all things work(ing) together for good to them who love God and are the called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).

Homeschoolers are blessed with time to study God’s Word. Take the time to set strivings and anxieties aside . Discover and understand who Christ is. Sit at His feet and feast at the table of His mercy, forgiveness, and peace. Learn the unseen things of God. The spiritual life is that good part, which shall not be taken away from you! Or from your children!

True wisdom is the ability to judge correctly and to follow the best course of action, based on knowledge and understanding. If you really want to teach true wisdom, spend a significant amount of your homeschool time studying and teaching God’s Word. For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12).

Related:

• The House that Jack Built: Homeschool Parable
• A Wisdom Parable
• One Needful Thing
• Heart of Wisdom Overview
• God’s Wisdom vs Man’ Wisdom

The Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach: Bible-Based Homeschooling

The Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach is for all homeschoolers who want to make the Bible the center of their school day. This giant 500+ page book provides you with the methods, program, and resources for a course of study where students spend half the school day studying God’s Word and the other half studying God’s world (academics). Students study history chronologically and science in the order of the days of Creation. This book will encourage, motivate you and instruct you, step by step, how to give your child a Bible-focused, comprehensive education from preschool through high school; one that will train him or her to read, to study, to understand, to love to learn and, most importantly, to desire and seek true wisdom. This approach can be used for all grade levels.

When homeschoolers are asked about this book, one word continues to come up over and over–Wow! Read the excerpt today to see what all the wow is about.

• The Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach ( 60-page excerpt PDF File)
• Start reading the Ebook today! $17.00 Add to cart
• Order the bound book. Retail $34.95 NOW $27.95 Add to cart

]]> http://www.heartofwisdom.com/homeschoollinks/bible-first/feed/ 6 http://www.heartofwisdom.com/homeschoollinks/what-is-teaching-biblically/ http://www.heartofwisdom.com/homeschoollinks/what-is-teaching-biblically/#comments Fri, 17 Apr 2009 15:04:03 +0000 Robin http://heartofwisdom.com/homeschoollinks/?p=4125 What does it mean to teach Hebraically? The Hebrews have always placed God’s Word at the center of their education. Modern religious Jews (especially Hasidic Jews) continue to focus on God’s Word.

The book The Chosen, by Chaim Potok, is an absorbing novel about two Jewish boys, Reuven and Daniel, which takes place in New York in the late 1940s just after World War II. It’s a deep, heartfelt novel about the struggles of overcoming religious differences, with several lessons on Jewish history and traditions skillfully woven in along the way.

The novel begins with Danny and Reuven as high-school boys and concludes with their graduation from college. God’s Word was consistently the priority in the boys’ education. Throughout the book, both boys regularly studied the Torah with their fathers, especially on the Shabbat, usually for several hours at a time. Once they entered college, they studied the Torah from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and then they began academic studies at 3:15 p.m. to 6 or 7 p.m.!

What a lesson in priorities—and what a story of fruit! The Hebrew education method of diligent Bible-focused study has been passed down over thousands of years. The unbelieving Jews don’t have the Messiah nor the Holy Spirit, but they focus their study on God’s Word. Compare this fruit with the fruit from the Greek classical methods used in Christianity.

How many hours a day do we devote to God’s Word?

The American Jewish community is famous for academic attainment. Twenty to forty percent of students at Ivy League schools are Jewish.13 In the 20th century, Jews, more than any other minority, ethnic or cultural, have been recipients of the Nobel Prize, with almost one-fifth of all Nobel laureates being Jewish. Twenty-two percent of Nobel Prizes in all categories awarded between 1901–2003 were Jewish. This is an astonishing percentage for a group of people who add up only a twenty-fourth of one percent of the world’s population. 14

Marvin Wilson explains in Our Father Abraham:

There is no shortcut method to a sound education. If spiritual training is to be a priority in your children’s education, you will be required to make a major commitment of your time and your resources. As the psalmist wrote: His delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night (Psalm 1:2). Although ancient Israel had no formal system of schooling, learning and knowledge were considered the greatest goals in life—parents today would be wise to make the spiritual education of their children just as high a priority.

So strongly did the early rabbis feel about the priority of education that they said it should not be interrupted, even for the rebuilding of the Temple. Israel was to acknowledge the Lord’s authority in every circumstance and turn of the way (see Psalm 16:8 and Proverbs 3:5–6). The ultimate prophetic vision in the Bible was that all peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God and that there is no other (1 Kings 8:60).15

Dwight Pryor explains the Hebrew’s view of learning for life:

Shortly before his death, the exemplar Moses reminded Israel that the Torah’s guidance and instruction are not just idle words for you—they are your life. By them you will live… (Deuteronomy 32:47). To study God’s Word so as to obey it was the greatest joy and chief duty of any son of Abraham. Study was supremely important because Torah (teaching) was supernaturally given. The process of diligently engaging and wrestling with the sacred text enlivened and sanctified all of one’s existence. Learning was for life and life was for learning…. Study leading to obedience was an act of devotion that engaged the whole person—heart, soul, mind and might—not just the intellect.12

William Barclay describes methods of instruction in Educational Ideals in the Ancient World:

Methods of instruction were largely by repetition; the Hebrew verb “repeat,” came to mean both “learn” and “teach.” Mnemonic devices such as acrostics were therefore employed. Scripture was the textbook, but that other books were not unknown is evidenced by Ecclesiastes 12:12. The value of rebuke was known (Proverbs 17:10), and an emphasis on corporal chastisement is to be found in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, but discipline was much milder in Mishnaic times.

Until comparatively late times, it was customary for the pupil to sit on the ground at his teacher’s feet, as did Paul at Gamaliel’s (Acts 22:3). The bench was a later invention.

Jewish education’s whole function was to make the Jew holy and separate from his neighbors, and to transform the religious into the practical. Such, then, was normal Jewish education; but undoubtedly there were schools after a Greek pattern, especially in the closing centuries b.c., and indeed Ecclesiastes may have been written to combat deficiencies in such non-Jewish instruction. Hellenistic schools were found even in Palestine, but of course more frequently among Jewish communities elsewhere, notably in Alexandria.

In the infant church, child and parent were told how to behave towards one another (Ephesians 6:1, 4). Church officers had to know how to rule their own children. There were no Christian schools in early days; for one thing, the church was too poor to finance them. But the children were included in the church fellowship, and doubtless received their training there as well as in the home.

The Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach: Bible-Based Homeschooling

The Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach is for all homeschoolers who want to make the Bible the center of their school day. This giant 500+ page book provides you with the methods, program, and resources for a course of study where students spend half the school day studying God’s Word and the other half studying God’s world (academics). Students study history chronologically and science in the order of the days of Creation. This book will encourage, motivate you and instruct you, step by step, how to give your child a Bible-focused, comprehensive education from preschool through high school; one that will train him or her to read, to study, to understand, to love to learn and, most importantly, to desire and seek true wisdom. This approach can be used for all grade levels.

When homeschoolers are asked about this book, one word continues to come up over and over–Wow! Read the excerpt today to see what all the wow is about.

• The Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach ( 60-page excerpt PDF File)
• Start reading the Ebook today! $17.00 Add to cart
• Order the bound book. Retail $34.95 NOW $27.95 Add to cart

]]> http://www.heartofwisdom.com/homeschoollinks/what-is-teaching-biblically/feed/ 10 http://www.heartofwisdom.com/homeschoollinks/balancing-the-3rs-and-the-bible/ http://www.heartofwisdom.com/homeschoollinks/balancing-the-3rs-and-the-bible/#comments Thu, 16 Apr 2009 04:18:31 +0000 Robin http://heartofwisdom.com/homeschoollinks/?p=4405 Telling a home- schooling parent to teach with a Bible focus is easy. Accomplishing that goal? That’s entirely different.

It’s so easy to get caught up in the 3Rs (Reading, wRiting, and aRithmetic) and leave out the Bible. We want our children to learn in a Christian setting, and we believe that these subjects are what they must learn. But what about the Bible? Isn’t that why we are homeschooling? How important are the 3Rs when establishing a Bible-based education?

If you ask a homeschooler about balancing subjects, many without realizing it, would look at the situation as assigning weights by periods of time something like the image above: Bible on one side with academics on the other.

We begin mentally scheduling how much time should be spent in each “subject.” Using this analogy, how much weight should the 3Rs get? How much weight should the Bible get? Who decided on the time period of one-hour subjects? And who decided that all children learn in the same way with the same exposure? Who decided all subjects should be taught one hour a day? If the Bible is a one-hour study time, should 3Rs be three more hours? Would it be the same for a four-year-old and a 17-year-old?

The problem with this mentality is we usually think about the state’s requirements concerning education instead of God’s requirements. We are putting the wrong items on the scales! It should NOT be Bible on one side and the 3Rs on the other. They are not in competition with each other. The 3Rs are the tools to help you reach the goal.

Our Goal

God’s will should be on one side and everything we can get our hands on to prepare our children should balance the scales.

How do we change this mentality? How do we renew our mind? We need to ask God to lead us. We must stay in prayer and have faith that the God that created the universe, that knows the number of hairs on our head will show us what we need to train our children for Him.

Taking a look at the world around us, it doesn’t take long to decide that the 3Rs are necessary. Language arts and math skills are basic fundamentals that everyone needs in order to live and work in America today. Children from preschool to grade three should focus primarily on these skills, in fact. This gives them a solid foundation from which they can learn higher-level concepts.

In all stages of education, the 3Rs are critical tools—like a compass—for life’s journey. How important, then, is the map that shows you where to go? or the light that shines the way? After all, what good is a compass when you don’t know whether to go east or west? And how would you use a compass for a journey in the dark?

God’s Word is the map to guide us on our journey and the light to show us the way.“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Psalms 119:105

In a collection of 66 books we call the Bible, our God of the universe gave us instructions on how to live our lives. This is the context within which all other learning must happen; it shines light on the world around us and teaches us how to use skills like the 3Rs to sharpen our focus on the ultimate goal of a life in Christ.

As Christians, we know how fundamental the Bible is to daily living and to daily learning. How often, however, do we get so tied up in academics that Bible study–God’s Instruction for how to live life gets pushed to the side because Mom’s so worried about fractions!– or becomes a quick 15 minutes in a workbook? We have to become conscious that forgetting the map or the light makes the trip futile! HAVE FAITH!

Five years after establishing the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the Puritans started in Boston the first elementary school supported by tax money. In 1647, they passed an ordinance which marked the beginning of the US Public School system. Among other things, the ordinance required at least one qualified teacher for every 50 householders, and a grammar school in every town of more than 100 families. It also put the Bible in the center of its curriculum, asserting that it is “one chief project of that old deluder, Satan, to keep men from the knowledge of the Scriptures.”

Taking the Time “Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine?” them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little. (Isaiah 28:9-10)

Homeschoolers are not teaching a class of 30 students that need to get to another class in 45 minutes. If you simply spend time in prayer asking God to show you what to teach when–He will show you. Lean on Him! ”

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

Proverbs 3:5 “A little here, a little there” was a method used in teaching the Hebrew children, inculcating a little at a time. Doing the same during school time ensures that your children will understand that the Bible is not something meant just for church, but for daily living as well.

Remember as you teach that all things stem from God. Pulling His Word into the basic concepts of the 3Rs then becomes much easier.

This does not mean that Bible reading should only be interspersed within the other school subjects. As we just determined, the Bible is the basis of all education, and we can’t afford to ignore it. This means devoting time specifically to Bible study every day.

He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered. Proverbs 28:26

Jesus taught that all the commandments in the Bible can be summarized in two precepts: loving God and loving others (Matthew 22:37-40).

These should be our goals. Like a runner whose goal is a marathon, however, we need to train and fuel ourselves for our goal. Studying God’s Word is the food and practice we need to accomplish these two tasks. Living in and through His Word should be our purpose; the 3Rs should be used to help accomplish that purpose—not to supplant it.Arguing that there’s not enough time is not acceptable. There is time for TV, time for soccer, time for support groups, time for chores, etc. Most books in the Bible are shorter than two or three newspaper columns. These can be easily read in one sitting.

The entire Bible can be read nonstop in 63 hours. Over a year, reading the Bible easily can be done in less than 30 minutes per day. Compare that to the four hours of television each day (1460 hours a year) that the average American watches. All of a sudden, a half-hour commitment seems almost trivial, doesn’t it?

Practical Application

Several weeks years ago, I read the Bible story of Jonah to my children. We used an illustrated Bible story book and made whales and tiny paper Jonah’s out of envelopes as a follow-up craft. My three-year -old, David, was delighted with this story and has me read it a dozen times. Hardly a day has gone by that he hasn’t talked about Jonah–how Jonah ran away from God because he was being “bad”–then how the whale spit Jonah out when Jonah said he was sorry.

The “angry” people in Nineveh made a big impression on him. He remembered how on one page the people were “angry” and after Jonah’s sermon, on the next page, the people were kind. This one story has come up often in daily training (Deut 6). We discussed how the people of Nineveh (David says, “Ninahbuh”) could be angry and mean because they didn’t listen to God and how they were nice and kind when they followed God’s ways. It was their choice to have a good day or a bad day. Now, I often use the phrase, “Are you choosing to have a good day or a bad day?” I get an immediate positive response.

Teaching Systematically

Teaching the Bible should be as systematic and immediate. As Barbara Richmond stated in the Bible Study article in this newsletter, “The accepted and effective way to teach biblical truth is to begin with the simplest issues and progress systematically toward the more complex.”

Let’s look at how we teach the 3Rs. You certainly don’t open a novel and expect a four-year-old to start reading. We begin with simple concepts and build systematically.

To teach a child to read and write, we begin when he is very small—from the time his chubby hands can grasp a fat crayon. He begins to learn the modality and dexterity needed to write (hopefully on paper, but sometimes on the wall and furniture). Usually children are taught the alphabet song many months before they are prompted to learn the names and sounds of the letters. Eventually, the children are taught the names of the letters. It’s not hard to teach a child the names of each letter; it can be done with a stick in the sand. But we have many different methods to teach letters: alphabet puzzles, games, cut-outs, letter tracing, computer games, and tactile methods (sand, clay, etc), to name a few. We begin teaching math to children by teaching them to count simple objects. Next, we teach the names of the numbers and how to write them When that concept is mastered, we move on to teaching how to compute simple addition and subtraction with different manipulatives.

Teach simple concepts before moving on to complex concepts. To teach a child to appreciate and follow God’s Word, present simple biblical concepts at an early age–Bible stories. Make Bible stories a part of everyday life through recall, storytelling or reading a children’s Bible. Gradually move into reading the Bible aloud. Eventually, you can read the Bible through in a year—to give the child the whole picture. Word and topical studies are great teaching tools, but first give the child the story.

Use different methods to make the process tangible and enjoyable. Interact–play games, color, and sing. God commanded we have Passover every year to retell the deliverance story (Ex13:8). During the story, food items symbolize parts of the story. This type of teaching gets deep into to a child’s heart and mind.

And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

The classical method that was developed in ancient Greece and Rome, and established in the Middle Ages, was used almost exclusively in the Western world until the nineteenth century. The main focus was reading the Greek and Roman classics. To be in touch with literary arts marked one as accomplished.

There can be no doubt, literary education is more whole, more human, and more satisfying than scientific technological education. But is even literary education enough? Good literature-Scott, Milton, Virgil-promotes courage, insight, high morality, and imagination-but it can never do what the Bible does.

Why Go Back to Ancient Greek Ways? Why Not Return to Biblical Methods?

We understand this desire to return to a better way, but believe that, instead of returning to the ancient Greeks’ ways, we need to return to the biblical model. Our only hope for a stable, ongoing, integrated culture is placing the Word of God at the center of our thinking, speaking and acting. Literature and all literary arts must give place to mastery of the Bible. And they themselves become servants to the Word of God.

The Greek model is comprised of three phases of learning:

1. grammar
2. dialectic
3. rhetoric

It is similar to the biblical model except for the main ingredient: true wisdom cannot be gained by unaided human reason. The Greeks wanted to conform to the good and natural things of the world, but without God this is not possible.

We must do more than rail against godless education. We must identify a distinctly Christian curriculum-one that takes its identity, its motion, from the reality of our redeemed condition-one that begins with the authority of the risen Christ speaking through His Word. It is not enough to know what we are against; we must know what we are for. Dismantling the world is one work; building the kingdom is another.

If we fail to make a positive contribution to education, if we keep the same old public school agenda packaged in Christian dress, our children will not prosper as they should. Without fundamental changes, we are only straining out a gnat while swallowing a camel.

We cannot let the wolf of antichrist values in because he is wearing sheep’s clothing.

The biblical model is also comprised of three phases of learning

1. knowledge
2. understanding
3. wisdom

Without knowledge there can be no understanding, and without understanding there can be no wisdom. The wise man is able to acquire even more knowledge and understanding, thus becoming even more wise-he has learned how to learn.

There is a long tradition in this country of resistance to the wisdom of the Greeks: Thomas Paine, Benjamin Franklin, and Noah Webster all judged the classics to be of scant use. (Learning from the Greeks, Commentary Magazine, Valiunas, 1998)

Literature is a blessing, but should never be the purpose or center of learning. When we return to Scripture-centered education two things occur:

1. We can view language in its splendor without the danger of it replacing religion. We can appreciate it as God’s gift to us.
2. Considering language as a skill, we can study it in a deeper way.

David Mulligan, author of Far Above Rubies, explains that when we hear the phrase “returning to traditional methods” we need to ask “whose tradition?”

In reacting against modernist educational failure comes an instinctive turning to traditional schooling. What does this mean? Does the bare use of nineteenth century educational material safeguard the essential Christianity of our school? There is a nagging sensation that we have not yet gotten down to the bottom of things. What is traditional education? What is the tradition? It isn’t modernism. We know that traditionalism offers another way to look at the world. We know that, but what is it? Where did it come from? Is it just a haven for Christians playing modernist Babylon?

We just want to be sure, lest we be like the man who, to escape the lion, ran into the house and was bitten by a serpent. An essential element of this truly Christian education is discovering what we mean by traditional or old-fashioned education, and to that question we have now turned.

Teachers of philosophy give their lives to examining convictions by which people can live, in order to develop a consistent worldview and way of life based on reliable evidence.

The Bible warns against philosophies whose highest realities and concerns are atoms, energy, cosmic laws-or even humanity-those founded on the basic principles of the world and not according to Christ.

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. (Colossians 2:8)

Defining Education in God’s Terms

As it is for all human activity, so it is with education. It must be defined in God’s terms. Consistently Christian education (and this means consistently throughout education) must be built up, line upon line, from a foundation of Scripture.

The tools of categorization, logical demonstration, and communication skills are to be used to identify systematically and put to proper use all things according to the interpretation given in the Word.

All human skills and educational abilities are to be subjected to the authoritative revelation of Scripture. These must have but one foundation. We cannot stand with one foot on the Bible and the other on human mystic tradition or we will be torn asunder. We must build foursquare on Scripture alone.

To build a thoroughly Christian educational system, we must begin with a thoroughly Christian definition of education. What does the Bible tell us about education? What is it? What is it for? As we have stated, nothing is self-defining or of absolute value except God, so how can education be thought of as having intrinsic value?

The value we usually give to education is the value imputed by man. Is that really valid? The intrinsic value of education is so taken for granted in our culture that our institutions of learning are intellectually considered to be common ground between the believer and the unbeliever.

Related Posts

• Greek vs Hebrew Methods
• Diligently Teach Them to Your Children
• Should Homeschoolers Teach Logic?

The Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach: Bible-Based Homeschooling

The Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach is for all homeschoolers who want to make the Bible the center of their school day. This giant 500+ page book provides you with the methods, program, and resources for a course of study where students spend half the school day studying God’s Word and the other half studying God’s world (academics). Students study history chronologically and science in the order of the days of Creation. This book will encourage, motivate you and instruct you, step by step, how to give your child a Bible-focused, comprehensive education from preschool through high school; one that will train him or her to read, to study, to understand, to love to learn and, most importantly, to desire and seek true wisdom. This approach can be used for all grade levels.

When homeschoolers are asked about this book, one word continues to come up over and over–Wow! Read the excerpt today to see what all the wow is about.

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Education in the Home

The family home was set apart for something special. The Hebrew word me`at (meh-atґ) (Strong’s 4592) means “little” (Ezekiel 11:16). God made the home the “little sanctuary.” The home was a house of prayer, worship, and study (all study—academic and spiritual).

Today’s Christians have it backwards. The primary sphere of religious activity should be in the home, not the Church. The dinner table was a place to gather, not just for food (Deuteronomy 8:3), but also to study God’s Word, to pray, to praise, and to worship. The home was more important than the synagogue. The center of all training—religious, academic, and family—was the home.

Most people tend to view life as quartered: partly religious, partly educational, partly professional, and partly for leisure. Yet everything we do, regardless of our occupation, whether homemaker, businessman, ditch-digger, or dentist, we should do unto our King. We should be praising and acknowledging Him in learning, work, recreation, and worship—in all things. In the same way, our children need to see all their lives revolving around our King, including their reading, writing, daily routine, studies, experiments, and friendships.

The Hebrew word for parent is similar to teacher. It is horeh, which is from the root word yarah, meaning “to cast, throw or shoot.” The Bible commands the father, the priest of his little sanctuary, to instruct the children (Deuteronomy 6). The father is to diligently impart wisdom and knowledge to his children.

Teaching the Whole Child

Collier’s Encyclopedia explains that education during Abraham’s times taught the whole child:

The keynote of biblical education appears as early as Genesis 18:19 in the revelation made to Abraham: For I know him that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment….This same note runs throughout the Old Testament in various injunctions: Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6), and Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10).

The aim of education was ethical and religious. The education of youth was an obligation of the parents, and was intimately associated with the performance of ritual observances and with learning the Mosaic law, both of which were regarded as essential to the survival of the Jews as a people. In the educative process, both father and mother were equally concerned, and both were to be equally honored (the fifth commandment). For a long time, the method of instruction in the home was oral, and learning was accomplished by practice. These methods were continued outside the home in gatherings and assemblies held for both worship and instruction.

Corporal punishment was regarded as an essential element in training. He that spareth the rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes (Proverbs 23:24) is a precept frequently repeated both in Proverbs and in Ecclesiastes.

Visual aids, including monuments as records of history, were employed. The setting up of “great stones” with inscriptions on them implies an early knowledge of writing (Deuteronomy 27:2, 3, 8, and elsewhere). The scribes were not only copyists but also teachers and interpreters of the Law of Moses. There existed a knowledge of arithmetic and astronomy; music, dancing, games, and sports were cultivated; and moral instruction was an essential part of education.

Study as an Act of Worship

Marvin Wilson explains in Our Father Abraham:

People seek education for many worthy reasons: some desire to broaden horizons; others wish to develop skills; still others want to satisfy their intellectual curiosity. The Bible, however, teaches that study ought to be, above everything else, an act of worship, one of the highest ways by which a person can glorify God.

As a Pharisee, Paul was a learned product of Judaism, a man well versed in Jewish thought and biblical theology. (Philippians 3:4–6) Paul made no distinction between the so-called sacred and secular areas of life. He taught—as his Hebrew forebears did— that all of life was God’s domain of activity. Every detail of life therefore, must be set aside and consecrated to the glory of God. So, Paul wrote to the Corinthians, Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). He later wrote to the Colossians, And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him (3:17). As David Hubbard reminds us, “There is an intimate connection between work and worship. For to work is to give glory to God…We work with God’s goods, and we use God’s talents to perform the work, and we serve God’s people through our work.”

Since the Bible period, Jews have considered the quest for knowledge to be one of the great desiderata [desires] of life (Philippians 3:4–11). Learning, learning, learning—that is the secret of Jewish survival. (Hacker, ed. p. 21). So strongly did the early rabbis feel about the priority of education that they said it may not be interrupted even for the rebuilding of the Temple. Israel was to acknowledge the Lord’s authority in every circumstance and turn of the way. (Psalm 16:8; Proverbs 3:5–6). The ultimate prophetic vision was that all the peoples of the earth know that the LORD is God and there is no other. (1 Kings 8:60).From early in history the center of education was the home. Both parents shared responsibility in this task (Proverbs. 1:8; 6:20), though the Father bore the chief responsibility for the instruction of the children (Deuteronomy 11:9).

In biblical times it was the father who taught—not textbooks, audiovisuals, or brightly colored classrooms—and the main instruction was the learning process itself. As teacher of his children, the father served as a living dynamic communicator of divine truth. A Bible could not be substituted because there were no Bibles at that time.

There is no shortcut method to a sound education. If someone wants to make spiritual training a priority, they must make a major commitment of time. Thus the Psalmist says, …His delight is in the law [instruction] of the Lord; and in His law [instruction] doth he meditate day and night (Psalm 1:2).

Ancient Israel had no formal system of schooling; however, learning and knowledge were considered one of the most important goals of life.

We can so easily get anxious about the academics that we miss wisdom. Education must contain more than facts, theories, and objectives. God’s written Word provides the principles and wisdom we need to live lives that are pleasing to Him. True wisdom rests in our knowledge of and relationship with Jesus Christ, God’s incarnate Word. A focus on studying God’s Word will transform both the teacher and the student by the renewing of their minds.

No matter how solid the methods of Bible study, you should purpose to study every single day. “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word in all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (Acts 17:11).

Our important objective in homeschooling should be, as Jesus summed up the entire Law and the Prophets, to encourage every person to love God passionately–with all of his heart, soul, and mind–and to love his neighbor as himself.

A.W. Tozer said, “We are called to an everlasting preoccupation with God.”

What’s Your Focus?

Emphasizing the external may bring an appearance of godliness but it actually denies its power. Any time our focus takes precedence over focusing on Christ we have lost our focus. When we depend on Him, not a church, a man, or a doctrine, then our faith begins to grow. ONLY in Him do we begin to love.

Our goal should be to live effectively by seeking His wisdom, and becoming hearers and doers of His Word. It is my prayer that all who read my writings will, at a minimum, take away this advice: Commit to begin each school day in God’s Word. Make a promise to yourself that you will make God’s Word your first priority, and never even open another book before you have spent time in prayer and Bible study.

A Command from God

We worry about state requirements but what does God require? God commands you to diligently teach your children His Word. Deuteronomy 6 says, And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart.And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

Read the Amplified version of these verses: And these words which I am commanding you this day shall be [first] in your [own] minds and hearts; [then] You shall whet and sharpen them so as to make them penetrate, and teach and impress them diligently upon the [minds and] hearts of your children…

Do you see how efficient God’s plan is? While you are teaching the Word to your children, you are learning. Once you begin to read the Scripture for yourself (instead of relying on a pastor to teach you) you will understand more and more of the Biblical truths on a deeper level.

Daily Bread

The Word of God is nourishment like milk or meat (Hebrew 5:12). To help you really grasp the importance of this truth here is a disturbing photo of a poor, starving child’s hand. Now imagine that there is a bottle of rich nourishing milk on the table that would save his life and comfort him, but his mother leaves the bottle sitting on the table because she thinks it’s too much trouble to give it to him.

Would you skip feeding your child a meal? Visualize that image every time you feel tempted to skip Bible study.

Paul told Timothy that we are nourished by words of faith and good doctrine (1 Timothy 4:6). God’s Word contains nourishing life-giving power–don’t withhold it.

Imagine the Potential

you imagine the potential results if every Christian homeschooler in America began devoting the first part of each school day to studying God’s Word?

Time spent in God’s Word can produce a spiritual transformation. Christ’s prayer in John 17:16-17 was that His followers not follow false loves or the values of this world, but that they would be holy. It is possible for us to produce an entire spiritually mature generation comprised of young men and women trained and equipped to feed themselves the Bread of Life–and to be able to discern the sacred and spiritual from the profane and carnal–a generation that would know Truth and be able to boldly answer a false teacher by saying “That’s not what that verse means. You are taking it out of context.”

You should also have the necessary Bible tools so your entire family can learn about biblical culture, historical settings, and language in order to fully understand God’s instruction for life. There are some that won’t hesitate spending $25.00 on a video or game but won’t invest in a good Bible atlas or Bible dictionary (useful for a lifetime).

Seek and be Filled

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Mathew 5:6

Comments

1. Comment by truevyne :

   I think the article is not so true for my family. We do have Bible time, but I am afraid we fall short in another way- not creating a hunger for the Word. A friend and I have resolved to try something new this year for Bible in our homeschool. We intend to teach our children to become Seekers of Jesus through guiding them to ask deeper questions (ask,seek,knock) and wait on the Lord.

2. 

   Comment by barbara :

   after reading all morning about disturbing trends in the homeschool community, that was a great thing to get off this machine and start the day with…Thanks Robin! Blessings!

3. 

   Comment by Sharon Sue :

   I think I am going to love this new magazine. Quite frankly, most of the paper magazines for home schooling are kind of “tired”, in my opinion. After 23 years of home schooling I would like to see articles that go beyond the fluff and how to home school or how to begin home schooling!!!!!!! Same old, same old!!!!! There is a place for all that but I yearn for something more. I think this e-magazine will be refreshing and helpful. Thanks for letting us know about the new magazine and for being a contributing writer.

4. 

   Comment by Deanne :

   GREAT article Robin! After 10 years of homeschooling, we have ALWAYS found that when we let the Bible “slide” for academics, we totally lose our focus and vision (and desire to keep on homeschooling!) I wanted to also say that we started the Wisdom study last month (with a 16 and 13 year old) and are absolutely LOVING it! I already had the fiction book, “Wisdom Hunter” on the shelf and my teens are enjoying seeing “wisdom in action”. Thank you Robin.
   Love Deanne

5. 

   Comment by Lin :

   Wow–What a wakeup call, Robin! You made me realize that I had gradually slid away from having a structured Bible time to a whenever Bible time as the requirements for academics became stricter for older children. It was easy when they were little. Then the Bible was the full basis for their education. But as I saw math skills lagging, my major focus has been on the math struggle and I tend to let the important things recede in the midst of the math battle. Thank you for the wakeup call. We will be back to the Bible today….

6. 

   Comment by Penney Douglas :

   Very inspiring article. We’ve been reading novels about the time of Noah and Nimrod, but it’s time to get back to the Bible itself. Thanks for the inspiration.

   Love,
   Penney

7. 

   Comment by Bobbie-Jo :

   I commented on the article at it’s site, but wanted to say here that I love Heart of the Matter blog (so far) and will keep reading!

   Thanks.

8. 

   Comment by RebeccaC :

   Robin, thanks for stopping by my blog. I believe that this was a “divine appointment”, as reading your article really confirmed some things God has been telling me over the past weeks/months. Even full-time missionaries struggle with balancing academics with real wisdom! The pressure to have “smart” kids is tremendous — you know! Thanks again for sharing. I’ll be back for more!!

   Blessings!!!

   RebeccaC’s last blog post..Where Are We Anyway?

God expects His people to seek earnestly for the truth. As the Apostle Paul faced the humanists of his day, so the faithful and aware Christian must, if he is truly to follow Christ, face the humanists of our day.

Our children will eventually be in company with those taught totally humanistic values in the public school system. If our young people have no concept of world views (and this is the case with the vast majority), they will be totally unprepared to defend their beliefs. It is of extreme importance that our children study and understand the different world views being taught.

Philosophy simply means a thought-out way of looking at our experience in the world—a seemingly logical explanation for “the way things are.” The way we live in the world, the sense we make of our experiences in it, and the way we teach our children are all very dependent on our world view.

Secular World View vs. Christian World View

There are two main world views—a secular world view and a Christian world view (it can be divided into more categories, but for now we look at the main two). American public schools teach from a secular, humanistic world view. Christians must evaluate the subjects in a given curriculum in a radically different way from that of secular humanists.

What we trust in shapes our world view. We can identify our basic faith commitments by answering four questions:

1. Who am I?
2. Where am I?
3. What’s wrong?
4. What will make things better?

Secular World View (Taught by Public School)

1. Who am I?

I am a human being; an accident.
My species evolved from monkeys.

2. Where am I?

I am on Earth, a planet that resulted from an accident called “the Big Bang.”

3. What is wrong?

There is a lack of education and a lack of money, therefore people are frustrated, disappointed, and defeated.

4. How can it be fixed?

By getting more money, more education, etc.

Christian World View

1. Who am I?

I am a human being created by an awesome, wonderful, loving God. He put me here for a specific reason.

2. Where am I?

I am on the earth created by God. This earth is so marvelously created that if it were hung differently in the universe, one inch more or less, it would not be able to sustain life.

3. What is wrong?

Sin—disobedience to God. When sin entered the world, it broke our relationship with God, our Creator. We need our relationship with God restored.

4. How can it be fixed?

Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son, came into the world in human form and gave His life as a sacrifice for our sins. We must accept His sacrifice and make Him Lord of our life and seek God’s will and instruction in His Word.

Dualism

Dualism is a problem when we try to separate our spiritual and academic lives. Dualism is an attempt to live by two different world views, with part of life subject to one master and the rest of life subject to another.

How can we teach students from a Christian world view when it concerns spiritual things, and teach from a secular world view for academics? God intends human life to be a whole—not split between mutually contradictory motivations and purposes:

1 Corinthians 10:31-Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

Colossians 3:17-And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.Matthew 6:24-No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Joshua 24:15-And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

Edwin H. Rain stated,”Christianity is a world and life view and not simply a series of unrelated doctrines. Christianity includes all of life. Every realm of knowledge, every aspect of life, and every factor of the universe find their places and their answers within Christianity. It is a system of truth enveloping the entire world in its grasp.” Today we are faced with a society that has rejected the Judeo-Christian tradition.

The secular world rejects the existence of moral absolutes and the idea of a Supreme Being who is the creator and sustainer of the universe. This world view is taught today through the media, the school system, and the government.

Humanistic teaching has led to permissiveness, pornography, the breakdown of the family, and abortion, to name just a few. This shift away from a Christian world view came about gradually and has changed the way people think and view life as a whole.

Resources to Study World Views

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1. Homeschool and Views of Knowledge
2. A Wisdom Parable
3. An Easy Way to Make Homeschool Decisions
4. God Has a Plan for Your Homeschool
5. Homeschool Planning: How Would Jesus Schedule?
6. Homeschool Statistics
7. Homeschool? What about Socialization?!
8. Spiritual Journey: Reaching the Promised Land

1. Comment by Leinani :

   I just love your posts Robin. They encourage and challenge me. Do you believe in teaching worldviews in the lower grades? Perhaps the better question is, how much worldview should we teach in the lower grades?

   The reason I ask is because I am focusing on teaching biblical worldviews using some of Worldview Academy’s train of thought (knowing the Word and knowing what you believe in). As they get older, they will be trained with questions to get the “world” to stick to what they believe without “borrowing” from the Word. Since I was not raised in a Christian home, I have much re-learning to do. I am personally studying a biblical worldview for every subject taught (ex: math, biology, creation, etc.) using some of David Noebel’s teaching.

   I have so much to learn. You have great resources available. My oldest is in the 4th grade, and we are doing HOW year one. I have no interest in teaching my children about mythology (whether it is Greek or Roman) or focusing on the legends from buddhism, hinduism, etc. I think they’re way too young. At this point, I am not totally against ever learning about mythology when they are older. Besides, there are so many teaching opportunities that arise in some of the “recommended” books we read and/or movies, etc.

   I’m still trying to figure out how much “worldview” to teach at these ages. My heart tells me I will build upon their foundation every year as the teaching opportunities arise and will not heavily focus on apologetics until they are ready – which may vary from child to child – some much older than others. What do you think?

2. 

   Comment by admin :

   There is a “Christian Worldview For Children” http://www.worldviewweekend.com/secure/store/product.php?ProductID=400

   You can teach a child the 4 questions in this post. I think most will grasp it.

   Focus on teaching Bible and then ask questions like “What do you think a non Christian might think? ”

   As you said, “build upon their foundation every year as the teaching opportunities arise” Pray–God will lead though his spirit.

   See
   http://heartofwisdom.com/blog/homeschool/homeschool-planning-how-would-jesus-schedule/

   IMHO, I think it’s important you explain many people believe in evolution before they face it alone.

3. 

   Comment by sprittibee :

   Love the photo you chose. Great post!

4. 

   Comment by Sharon Sue :

   God is so good to us!!!!! In light of this post and the one about the boycott I found it quite interesting what our Pastor shared this morning from the Word. He has been lead of the Lord to teach us how to effectively witness. Not what we conventionally think of witnessing(example: Four Spiritual laws, and the like.) but how to share what Jesus has done in our lives and how He is available to do the same for others. Today Pastor taught about how we will be trying to relate to a world that thinks as hypocrits (example: laws against killing dogs but not abortion which is killing children.) We are trying to communicate with a world that is conditioned in situational ethics. How can we communicate in a way that is understood and not rejected out of hand?? Satan has been able to twist the thinking of man to a point where trying to communicate from a Christian perspective is totally foreign. I find the discussion and the teaching you have given as well as my Pastor’s, Spiritually “provoking”. I want others to know Jesus and all that goes with that relationship. I need to be able to communicate in a way the draws people not repels them!!!!!! Much to consider and pray about this week!!

   Blessings.

5. 

   Comment by cup beans :

   I feel that if we think there could be a difference between the seen reality to the deeper one, there should be no conflict between the secular teachings and those of religion.

The Heart of Wisdom plan includes a framework and objectives that requires both structure and flexibility. The four-year plan is a framework you can use as a guide as you schedule your curriculum and time by faith.

The basic structure derived from the suggested number of unit studies you’ll complete in a year. The unit studies are structured with lessons comprising four distinct, progressive steps. The flexibility is built into the amount of time you will spend in the units and lessons as you follow your child’s delight. Heart of Wisdom unit studies include an ample number of lessons to allow you to explore until you discover your child’s delight. (If you create your own lessons, you’ll be choosing the subject matter of your lessons based on your child’s delight.) Keep in mind that the name of our teaching approach came from Psalm 90:12.

Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.—Psalm 90:12

Teach us to number our days is a plea for God to help us recognize how brief our time on earth is so that we might discern the true meaning of life and use our time wisely. The most important part of your planning is giving your schedule to God. Day and night belong to God (Psalm 74:16). When you submit your ways to God, He promises to direct your paths. He will lead you. This is a wonderful opportunity for spiritual growth for your entire family. As you lean on Him, I promise that you will see obvious events in your schedule that you will know came directly from God. Marvelous things happen when you wait on Him!

Earlier I stated that reaching the Promised Land is not the end, but a new beginning. Reaching the Promised Land in our homeschool analogy is arriving at a place where you depend on God for all your schooling concerns, including your scheduling. We turn now to the book of Joshua for insight and encouragement about how to let God give you directions to plan your schedule.

Scheduling Lesson From Joshua

The book of Joshua is the story of how God led the Israelites in the conquest of Canaan.

The lessons in Joshua explain how choosing obedience brings victory and blessing, and how disobedience brings defeat. Joshua was commanded to rid the land of the Canaanites. After the battle of Jericho, the Israelites defeated Ai. The news of Joshua’s victories reached the Gibeonites. In their fear, the Gibeonites came up with a plan. They pretended that they came from a far away place (outside of Canaan) and wanted to make peace with the children of Israel. Joshua and his men believed them because of the way they looked (walking by sight/in the flesh), and because they did not ask for God’s advice—two big mistakes.

Joshua made a treaty with the Gibeonites and then had to keep his promise to not kill the Gibeonites (once an oath was taken, it could not be revoked). However, he made them slaves. Adonizedec, a Canaan king, heard that the Gibeonites had made peace with Joshua; so he sent word to the other kings and asked for help to kill the Gibeonites. The Gibeonites appealed to Joshua to deliver them from Adonizecec (Joshua 10:6–10). God reassured Joshua that He was with him and the Israelites would win (Joshua 10:7–8).

When the battle began, God sent hail stones to fall on their enemies. He granted Joshua’s request, and the sun stood still until they had defeated their enemies!

Joshua’s Plan for Success

Three elements combined to give Joshua success in this battle in Joshua 10. These are the same three elements you will use in scheduling your school day:

1. Believing God’s promise (v. 8),
2. Using sound strategy (v. 9),
3. Calling on the Lord in prayer (vv. 10–15).

1. Believing God’s Promise

The Israelites didn’t have to be afraid because God had already promised them victory—and you don’t have to fear either, because God has promised to direct your paths. Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths (Proverbs 3:5–6).

When we live by faith in God and in His promises, we can expect to receive God’s help.

2. Using Sound Strategy

I’m not suggesting that you run your homeschool on a whim, but to create your plan with prayer and submission to God. Leaning on God does not negate self-discipline or forming good habits. God has always been working in your life. From before the time you were first formed in your mother’s womb. He has been preparing you, just as Joshua was prepared many years for what would belong to him. You will need to plan, but allow time for a variety of unplanned activities; keep some flexible time in your schedule to meet your children’s needs and delights; in other words, schedule by faith.

3. Calling on the Lord in Prayer

D. L. Moody said, “Every great movement of God can be traced to a kneeling figure.” Prayer is your first step in planning, and the first step in daily Bible study. Use Colossians 1:9–12 as a guide. Ask God:

• To fill you with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom andunderstanding;
• That you would bear fruit in every good work;
• That you would grow in the knowledge of God;
• That you would be strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience; and• That you would joyfully give thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.

Worried about having enough faith?

Don’t worry—the building of your faith is incorporated into the Heart of Wisdom teaching approach because it teaches you to make God’s Word is your first priority each day, all day. Learning to lean on God will be part of your daily schedule. Your faith will grow daily because you will be in His Word daily. God will reward your desires when you trust Him and live obediently.

In his book, Learning to Walk by Faith, Charles Stanley said, “Faith is not a goal that we must work to achieve. It comes as the overflow of a personal relationship with God. It is as natural as taking a breath of air. Faith is the breath and life of our relationship with God and His Son. A life of faith is one that is dominated by Jesus Christ—not selfish desires. There are three levels of faith—little faith that says, ‘God can.’ Great faith that says, ‘God will.’ Perfect faith that says, ‘God has done it.’”

Faith Grows

Recently, one of my married daughters and I had a discussion about waiting on God. She commented on the strength of my faith and expressed to me her anxieties about how desperately she wanted faith enough to count on God to lead her in her homeschooling. I explained to her that our faith grows as we consistently walk with the Lord. Faith is a living thing that grows as we see the Lord at work in our lives, and become continually aware of His presence.

This year I will turn fifty, and I have gratefully watched God supply my needs and answer my prayers over and over and over for many years. I know I can count on Him because He never changes. This does not mean I am satisfied with the level of faith I now have. I fall very short of the faith God expects from me, as we all do. But I am satisfied with Jesus my Savior, and know that He is doing His work in me.

I wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor come from God alone. He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me. O my people, trust in him at all times. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge.—Psalm 62: 5–8.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus—Philippians 4:6–7.

Fear and faith cannot operate at the same time

Fear and faith cannot operate at the same time—they are mutually exclusive. You cannot wait on God to direct your path and then sit around and worry that He won’t. Fear comes from trusting in your own ability—faith focuses and depends on God’s promises and ability. Because I delight myself in Him, God has promised to direct my paths—and I know He will because He has promised to and because He has done so in the past. My husband pays our bills once a month. I never have to ask him and he never forgets. I know he has promised to take care of it and I don’t give it a thought because he has proved himself to be trustworthy—and he is only a man. God guarantees His Word and fulfills His promises. It is when remind ourselves of all He has done, and recognize all He is doing in our lives, that our faith grows.

Faith begets more faith. Developing faith is much like developing muscles; our muscles grow stronger as we use them, and become weaker when we don’t use them. Faith comes from prayer and learning about God’s ways through studying and obeying His Word; it is through these exercises that we receive the confidence and peace that God gives when we trust Him. Faith is something we must practice continuously. It is a continuing cycle. The more you turn to God, the more your faith is strengthened.

Related Blog Entry: God Has a Plan for Your Homeschool