Telling children that storks deliver babies is generally recognized as being worse than telling them nothing at all about human reproduction. But somehow many have not seen the spiritual equivalent of the stork story as being a problem. It is a problem.
One of the most difficult tasks for any teacher is to simplify without distorting. It is helpful to try to simplify new concepts when they are first introduced; but if a major distortion takes place in the process, long-term harm may be done. This is a serious problem in all fields of study but is especially challenging for those who are teaching matters of eternal importance.
It is easier to teach someone with a blank mind than to teach someone who has a false concept firmly embedded in their mind. I deeply regret some of the false ideas about God that became embedded in my mind at an early age. Even more deeply do I regret mistaken impressions that I may have left on my sons, or on other children that I taught.
Some think that it does not matter if we teach mistaken ideas to children. I once heard a church deacon, who was supposed to be supervising the Bible class program, excuse the fact that he had overheard one of the teachers giving false teaching to the children. He said, “I think the kids will forget what they are taught at that age.” If that is what you think, why teach them at all?
Even after more than fifty years, I vividly remember a horrible statement one of my Bible class teachers made when I was less than six years old. Children will remember. Their future teachers will have a very difficult time correcting wrong teaching that was given to them at a young age.
Admittedly, though, it is difficult. The great truths of the Bible are challenging to fully developed minds. How are we to teach them to children without distorting either the concept or the scriptures themselves?
Be Selective
Rather than distorting their understanding of the Trinity (to choose one example) wait. Do not attempt to teach that concept too soon. Follow the advice of Dorothy Sayers.[1] When children are at the “poll-parrot” stage (that age when they find memorization and sing-song easy and fun) help them to memorize biblical facts, and do not worry your head over the fact that they do not, at this point, understand what they are memorizing.
There will come a time later on for understanding but let them memorize while their brains are at the stage where memorization is (relatively) easy. In many ways it might be best if Bible classes for children under eight consisted entirely of songs, memory verses, and the repeating of Bible stories.
At this early stage, we should resist the temptation to always tell the “moral of the story” with the Bible story. Just let the children get the facts into their heads at this stage. The point of the story should be discussed as they grow older. Even that discussion must be led by adults who have understood the point themselves; and I find that often, because we have been doing it wrong for so long, the “moral of the story” as many adults would tell it has little to do with what the scriptures really say.
Use Biblical Illustrations
The erroneous illustrations of biblical doctrines are the ones we make up. If we would stick more closely with what the Bible actually says, we would not go so far astray. The Bible often supplies us with illustrations of its more difficult topics. All too often, we make little use of the biblical illustrations and switch to our own. The Bible compares the church to a kingdom or a family. It compares the relationship of the church to Christ to that within an ideal marriage. We compare the church to a sports team or to a business. We seem oblivious to the fact that when you change the illustration you almost always have changed the meaning.
The Bible states the fact of the godhead, and never seems to explain it. Since it is beyond human understanding, it is just stated, and we are expected to accept it by faith. Through the years, Christians come up with lots of human illustrations. These may be more satisfying to our (fallen and sinful) minds. That is just the problem. Better to admit “we do not understand” than to come up with an illustration that helps fix a false understanding in the mind.
In many cases, understanding of difficult subjects might come if we would just keep revisiting a subject – the way the Bible does. But we have been brainwashed to avoid repeating. So, we try to take a shortcut. Instead of repeatedly telling the story of Jesus, the way the Bible does, we try to come up with human illustrations to make clarity come quickly. The trouble is that the clarity we create is sometimes clarity of falsehood rather than clarity of truth.
Never Speak Falsely
It is not okay to lie to children. It is not okay to twist a text of scripture to get our point across – even if that point is true.
I believe that a person should be baptised as soon as they come to believe that “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.” I believe that it is a terrible mistake to delay baptism, or in any way to treat it as an optional extra. I believe that the Lord’s Supper should be central to our worship. I have never been, and never would be, a member of a congregation that did not serve the Lord’s Supper every Sunday. But I do not believe in deceiving people. I do not believe in misquoting or taking verses out of context in order to persuade people to be baptized or to argue for weekly communion.
I have seen the ill effects of this practise too often. Even if it seems to work, such a procedure sets the person up to be misled by false teachers. If we get our point about the Lord’s Supper across by citing Acts 20:7 out of context, what will happen when the person we have taught hears someone cite Acts 16:31 out of context? The answer is obvious, is it not? In some cases, I fear, the misuse of scripture in class material and in our teaching has actually been a major cause of people falling away from the Lord.
Yes, careful contextual teaching takes more time and progress may seem slow; but we must be honest in our handling of the word, or we might be doing more harm than good.