Day 17 Bible Text

Still Life with Bible, Van Gogh

“Children between the ages of six and nine should get (for themselves) a considerable knowledge of the Bible text.” 

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“It is a mistake to use paraphrases of the text; the fine roll of Bible English appeals to children with a compelling music, and they will probably retain through life their first conception of the Bible scenes, and, also, the very words in which these scenes are portrayed. This is a great possession.”
 
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“The method of such lessons (scripture) is very simple. Read aloud to the children a few verses covering, if possible, an episode. Read reverently, carefully, and with just expression. Then require the children to narrate what they have listened to as nearly as possible in the words of the Bible. It is curious how readily they catch the rhythm of the majestic and simple Bible English. Then talk the narrative over with them in light of research and criticism. Let the teaching, moral and spiritual; reach them without much personal application.”
 
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“For 1700 years, roughly speaking, the Bible has been the school-book of modern Europe; its teaching, conveyed directly or indirectly, more or less pure, has been the basis upon which the whole superstructure of not only religious but ethical and, to some extent, literary training rested.” 
 
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                  “…it is to the Bible itself we must go.”

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“We have seen that there is but one source of illumination, the Bible itself. It is true that the divine Spirit is a light in every man's soul; but if a lamp is to be kindled, there must be the lamp; and it would seem as if the process followed by the Holy Spirit were to teach us by an arresting illumination, from time to time, of some phrase written in the Bible. Hence, our business is, before all things, to make ourselves acquainted with the text.”

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“‘The Bible is the most interesting book I know,’ said a young person of ten who had read a good many books and knew her Bible.”
 
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“One of the greatest of the early translators of the Bible into English, William Tyndale, said that he was translating so that “the boy that driveth the plough” would be able to read the Scriptures.”                       
                                                   ~ Eugene Peterson
 
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Examen: Mason is adamant throughout: offer children the Bible, progressively and straight up, in discrete story portions.  Am I willing to trust her?  What are some obstacles to this approach? How can I overcome them?  What is my own relationship to the Bible?

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 Children between the: Charlotte M. Mason, Home Education, 1:248.
It is a mistake: 1:249.
The method of such: 1:252.
 for 1700 years: Charlotte M. Mason, Parents and Children, 2:104–5.
...it is to the Bible: Charlotte M. Mason, School Education, 3:175.
We have seen:  Charlotte M. Mason, Ourselves, 4:83 Bk.II.
The Bible is:  Charlotte M. Mason, Towards a  Philosophy of Education, 6:64.
One of the greatest: “Eugene Peterson Explains Why He Wrote The Message,” NavPress, accessed June 5, 2024, https://www.navpress.com/stories/give-a-gift-full-of-surprises.

Day 17 Bible Text meditation/100 Days copyright Laurie Bestvater 2025

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