Integration of Faith and Learning: Teaching the Bible from a Christian Perspective

Teaching the Bible from a Christian perspective (while it seems like a no-brainer) is actually a challenge. It is easy at any level, whether a young Sunday school student or a seasoned biblical & theological studies professor, to let the study of the Bible be merely an academic exercise. Teaching the Bible from a distinctively Christian perspective, however, means taking seriously the notion that it is God’s Word; living and active. This would affect the way I present my classes and lectures by encouraging my students to find the piece of exegetical fruit that can apply directly to their lives and ministry. This also means that, as Christians, we do not need to be afraid to deal with difficult issues that might come out of critical scholarship from this or other disciplines. Two slogans used frequently at Gordon College are: “freedom within a framework of faith” and “faith seeking understanding”. The underlying philosophy of these statements would govern my teaching of the Bible from a distinctively Christian and biblical perspective.  For example, while we can and should examine and debate certain theories coming out of higher critical scholarship, and evaluate them either as adequate and accurate or not, having the presupposition that the Bible is indeed God’s Word frees us as interpreters knowing that there is a reality about the Bible that is beyond our own study of it. In addition, while I would teach the Bible from a broadly evangelical/Protestant standpoint, it would be important to use the Bible itself, as well as the history of interpretation to cause students in my classroom to be self-critical of their own theological history and presuppositions to develop their own understanding of Christian theology in the light of the biblical material that we examine in class.