How your teachers view the Bible will impact:
1) how they teach
2) how their students could perceive God
Some obvious distinctions:
truth versus fiction
If your teachers see the Bible as mere symbolic or allegorical, then their teaching will tend to be more theoretical or “fluff.” They will be presenting an anemic God. This is a God who doesn’t have the power to literally part the Red Sea. How can their students then expect Him to make a real difference in their own lives?
absolute versus relative
If your teachers view the Bible as relative, they and their students will get to pick and choose what to believe or follow based on their situations, making the lesson somewhat meaningless. They will be presenting an aimless God. This is a God who isn’t really sovereign. How can their students then trust Him to direct their paths?
Some other views:
Suppose your teachers do believe God’s Word to be absolute truth. Within that framework they can still hold to different views of the Bible that will affect the way they teach as well as the perceptions of their students. They could see it in primarily one of the following ways:
- a book of God’s rules and regulations
- an historical account of God’s work in the world
- a love story depicting God’s quest for relationship
In the next three posts, we will look at each of these views to consider how it affects the way teachers communicate God’s Word. (Subscribe to receive e-mail notices of new posts.)
You need to get an idea of how prospective teachers view God’s Word before placing them into a teaching position. Their view of the Bible does matter as it will affect the lives of those they teach.
Also Read: (For even more, follow the related posts listed at the bottom of these posts.)