I guess I’m still on the Tyndale House Publishers’ mailing list from the old days when I was still waiting with bated breath for news on the latest and greatest “Left Behind” novel. A little while ago I received an e-mail ad for a children’s video series entitled “What’s in the Bible?” The series is created by the same folks who brought us VeggieTales. The following was part of the introductory e-mail I received:
What’s in the Bible? is, in a nutshell, an attempt to address declining biblical literacy in the North American church. VeggieTales was an amazingly effective way to teach individual Bible stories, but not abstract concepts like sin, redemption, or God’s grace. Yet these concepts are the core of a meaningful faith. Christian colleges report that incoming freshmen—even those from Christian homes—know less about the Bible each year. And partly as a result of a lack of meaningful knowledge about their faith, 65 percent of Christian kids are walking away from the church as soon as they leave high school.
So, What’s in the Bible? is a new 13-part series that will walk kids all the way through the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. Call it “Christianity 101”—a crash course in our faith, presented with the same wit and whimsy as VeggieTales.
A number of introductory videos can be found here: http://whatsinthebible.com/
I was curious as to what you all think of this sort of thing.
My first inclination is to think that, despite their good intentions in trying to address widespread Biblical illiteracy, this sort of thing actually contributes to that by trivializing the Bible and putting it on par with the latest whimsical animated Disney movie. It seems to me to be the product of a philosophy that says kids can’t learn unless they are being entertained/amused. The problem is – how does this prepare kids for serious instruction when they are older? How does one transition to something as ordinary as the Small Catechism, or serious topics like apologetics, after a steady diet of stuff like this? I’m having a hard time imagining kids taking the subjects of sin, redemption, suffering, death, and hell too seriously with this kind of presentation.
Maybe my fears are unfounded? Any thoughts?
First the general disclaimers that might cause you to throw the baby out with the bathwater (or in this case, all my ideas):
1. I am a Lutheran currently in the ELCA but I was raised in the LCMS.
2. I read the confessions and the Bible from an Evangelical Catholic viewpoint with an eye toward reaching out to those who never have heard the Gospel.
3. The majority of my education and work experience is in the field of engineering.
4. I was ordained in the ELCA in 2006.
During seminary, it surprised me that seminary students must pass the so-called “Bible Proficiency Exam” before processing with the second year of class work. After quickly working through a few practice tests that the Seminary has to help people master this multiple-choice test, I soon realized that this exam was nothing more than what I learned during confirmation with a bit of trivia thrown in for good measure.
On the one hand, it is great that the seminary recognizes the type of students that the colleges and churches of this world present to them. On the other hand, it is frightening to think that this test is actually needed. It points to the “target market” that groups like Tyndale House Publishers are attempting to reach.
Certainly, we need methodologies to instruct all those who do not know the truth contained in the Bible. The question before us is, “What ways are most effective?” The ancient Church provides us with one illustration that can be summarized in the word superabundance.
For me, this concept means that our ancestors in the faith took seriously two ideas. The first is they understood that people interact with the world in different ways. Some people primarily observe the world through observation. Art in the form of stained glass, tapestries, and statues are ways that the Church reaches out to these individuals. The auditory learner’s primary method of learning is through hearing. The liturgy, hymns, and sermon are tools that the Church uses to educate these people. The primary sense used by the tactile learner is touch. Water, oil, and prayers beads are some of the items that the Church uses to teach people who learn through touch. The kinesthetic student learns through movement. Processions, kneeing, standing, and sitting all help educate this person.
The art and architecture of the building used for worship along with the shape of the liturgy and all of its elements contribute to the learning experience. The Church provides a depth of information that always is available. Of course, the people need to be taught why things the way they are but this education is handed through the ages using the tool of worship.
This brings us to the second idea. The people of the Church often combine concepts in ways that highlight or bring out details that were hidden in the shadows. One example is the church cemetery. Today, you would be hard pressed to find a “modern” building that has a cemetery on the property. We have removed this part of our life to some place off the grounds. All alone, this movement of the dead out of our presence deserves our attention but this topic must be left for another time. The cemetery used to be on the far east side of the property. To its west was the eastern wall of the chancel and to the west of that was the altar. Continuing moving west, we have the altar, followed by far western edge of the chancel, and then the most eastern edge of the nave. Something like this:
^
East
Cemetery
Cancel Wall
Altar
Nave
West
v
The richness becomes apparent during Holy Communion. We teach in the Formula of Concord, Epitome, Article VII, Affirmative Theses, #10 that the Lord’s Supper is a “heavenly meal.” The liturgy speaks of a “foretaste of the feast to come” (http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=803). The Church gathers around the altar for the Meal. The living make up one half of the circle and on the other side are all the saints that have gone before us.
The Church fathers and the apostles before them continue this tradition using the Holy Scripture. They hear or see some commonality in the Biblical record and they join them in ways that make our head spin. Specific examples will have to wait but you can find illustrations in early teachings of the Church.
It seems to me that reducing the accounts found in the Bible to “whit and whimsy” disregards the gifts of our specific learning style that the Holy Spirit bestowed on us. It also appears to consciously limit the richness of the truth into a pale reflection.
I have a broader-evangelical experience, but am a Calvinist who likes the LCMS gospel emphasis.
I work at Family Christian Stores and have seen a clip of said film. I found it to be extremely engaging and would encourage you to view it before throwing it out. The stores in the St. Louis area at least are showing clips of it on the TV in the children’s dept. of the store, so you don’t even have to purchase it to get an idea about it.
My qualms are not delivery. It’s actually very well done. Lots of content for kids…and they actually go into things like what the Septuagint is…and why the Catholics & Eastern Orthodox have different numbers of books in their bibles. It’s probably one of the few thorough treatments for kids I’ve ever seen.
I do have a problem with the way man’s will is pitted against God, reducing the Calvinistic argument to “God didn’t create robots with a ‘love button’” (the phrase used in the film). It seems to be a gross misrepresentation of irresistible grace at best and outright misleading on Phil Vischer’s part at worst. Even if one isn’t a Calvinist, one can’t fairly represent a Calvinistic understanding of God’s election in that way. He spends a bit of time talking about God’s “powerful and dangerous gift…free will!” No talk of imputed sin through Adam, which would seem to be an opportune time to do so.
Despite this criticism, I found much of it to be informative and entertaining. Again, all I’ve seen is clips that are shown in the store…but that’s a start, I guess. It’s better than MOST of what we sell there…which may not say much.
Maybe I’ll go back to reading Thomas Watson and Jerram Barrs now…