 |
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Glossary Definition of word.
Bible study
Bible study, when used as legal or educational academic vocabulary, divides into two major classifications: (1) devotional study and (2) academic study. These special distinctions crystallized for the academic world through the U.S. Supreme Court case Abington School District v. Schempp 374 U.S. 203 (1963). The Court ruled 8 to 1 that school-sponsored Bible reading in public schools is unconstitutional. Prior to 1963, Pennsylvania and some other states required publicly educated students to regularly hear portions of the Bible read and to recite the Lord's Prayer. The left-leaning Court, contrary to all of America's history since 1607, ruled that public schools were permitted to fund academic study of the Bible, but were not permitted to fund devotional study of the Bible. The judges labored through their opinions to explain the perceived difference. The following chart offers overly simplified differences that have artificially developed between devotional study and academic study.
Can the Bible be studied objectively? Judge Stewart, in his dissenting opinion, observed that if schools taught the Bible apart from or devoid of faith, then government schools would be merely adopting an alternative religious view ... "a religion of secularism." In truth, all people see every subject theistically or atheistically. Theists consider every pebble as originating from the Creator; atheists consider every pebble as originating from nothing.
Another problem with the above distinctions is that those who study the Bible devotionally can and should study the Bible academically and vice-versa. Jesus commanded: “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart [i.e., devotional reading], and with all thy soul [i.e., being], and with all thy mind [i.e., academic reading], and with all thy strength [i.e., practical doing]: this is the first commandment” (Mk. 12:30).
The Court's 1963 ruling and subsequent rulings have clarified that homeschooling parents and Christian schools are free to teach the Bible both academically and devotionally. Likewise, in every educational setting, students are free to study the Bible for both academic and devotional benefits. The 1963 ruling pertained to government funded schools, books, administrators, and teachers---not students.
The questions in Balancing the Sword narrowly focus upon the words of the Bible. Interpretations and application of the Text are left for individuals, parents, pastors, and teachers. The quotes at the bottom of the pages extol faith and confidence, but are also actual quotes (without commentary) from historical figures. Balancing the Sword fosters rigorous academic familiarity while harmonizing with devotional intent. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
