| | |  | Books for Parents | Home » » Telling God's Story: A Parents' Guide to Teaching the Bible (Telling God's Story) | | | | | | | Description: | | A new religion curriculum from the team that brought you The Story of the World. In this accessible and engaging book, Peter Enns (author of the controversial and best-selling Inspiration and Incarnation: Evangelicals and the Problem of the Old Testament) provides parents and teachers with a straightforward and intelligent twelve-year plan for teaching the Bible. Written for lay readers but incorporating the best scholarly insights, Telling God’s Story avoids sectarian agendas. Instead, Enns suggests beginning with the parables of the Gospels for the youngest students; continuing on with the more complex stories of the Old and New Testaments for middle grade students; and guiding high school students into an understanding of the history and culture of biblical times. | | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| Peter Enns | | Paperback:
| 140 pages | | Publisher:
| Olive Branch Books | | Publication Date:
| February 22, 2011 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 1933339462 | | Package Length:
| 9.2 inches | | Package Width:
| 6.3 inches | | Package Height:
| 0.4 inches | | Package Weight:
| 0.45 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 13 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 13 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
23 of 25 found the following review helpful:
 I am really enjoying this book.Apr 03, 2011
By momteacherof3
Enns begins by reminding us that we should come to the Bible with the question "What does this tell us about God?" rather than "How does this apply to me?" Enns outlines an approach to teaching children that begins with Jesus rather than Bible stories or characters. I found this to be a very logical approach. My kids are too old to use the curriculum that is being written by Enns, so I've ordered Kay Arthur's Bible studies about Jesus in the book of John to use instead.
A previous reviewer said that Enns believes the Bible to be a book of myths. I have to wonder if the reviewer has actually read the book. About the Bible, Enns says, "The Bible is the Word of God and we are supposed to read it and obey it... It bears witness to who God is, what he has done, and who we, as his people, are." (page 13) In discussing other ancient creation stories, Enns says, "Genesis 1 is a strong argument against such stories as these. The intent of the creation account is to keep Israel from falling into the trap of worshiping someone other than the true Creator... Continually, the reasons given for why Yahweh should be worshiped are that he is not only (1) the Creator, but also (2) the deliverer... This dual theme continues into the New Testament: the Creator is the Redeemer." (page 61).
22 of 25 found the following review helpful:
Another delightful installment from the Publishers of The Story of the WorldApr 04, 2011
By Anne Blythe
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Peter Ennis' book and look forward reading more from him. I am so thankful to find a book/books that address talking with children about the Bible with Jesus at the center of the teaching. As the parent of teens, he recognized that for many teens the Bible can seem less than relevant in their modern, fast-paced world. He lays out a paradigm for staying connected with your teen, studying God's word, talking and learning together about God's path for us. This book sets up an understanding of what he will do with the entire 12 year series. It challenges the parent to thoughtfully consider how they will share the Bible and God's Story at home. It is not, however a Bible study or teaching materials for you and your child. For that you will need to purchase the books for each year. Thus far, he has just published year one.
Telling God's Story: The First Year, looks just delightful. There is well-researched background information for the parent, and fun coloring pages and activities for the children. I will be enjoying these lessons with my children this summer. I look forward to future installments for older children. For those of you familiar with The Story of the World Activities Book, it follows a similar format. My children LOVE doing the coloring pages and activities.
I read other reviewers who felt that Mr. Ennis is heretical. I respectfully suggest that the reviewers have not read his book. His devotion to God and following of Biblical teachings is quite apparent throughout his book.
14 of 16 found the following review helpful:
Please read book before judgingApr 03, 2011
By S. Schweitzer
I am currently reading Telling God's story. As a committed, bible reading Christian I DO NOT believe anything in the book heretical. At the same time Christian parents should always refer to the Bible as the source for teaching the bible to children. I believe Peter Enns book is a helpful tool, not a false teaching. I hope any parent who considers reading or using the curriculum will give it a fair assessment before making judgements.
7 of 8 found the following review helpful:
Excellent!Apr 14, 2011
By mary
This book is exactly what I was looking for even when I didn't know I was in need of it. My husband and I (actually with a PhD in Old Testament) have struggled to find the right way to approach teaching the bible to our 4 children. Many discussions with them have left us searching for words and with a sense of loss as to how (and even if we should) explain many Bible stories in a way our young children can understand and will encourage them to grow in their faith. This series is excellent and highly recommended. I have even told friends without children to read the parent's guide to teaching the bible, as I think it is supremely helpful in even an adult's struggle to read and understand the bible (particularly the OT) in the right way.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
A nice approachFeb 08, 2012
By K. Johnson
First, let me say that so far I've only bought this book and the instructor's guide, but so far I really like what I've read. I especially like the approach. I plan to buy the student guide soon. Peter's approach is to teach about Jesus for the first four years (or through grade 4) and then move on to the bigger picture of The Bible in the Middle School years and into the depth and details of that big story in high school years. I very much like and agree with this approach.
Another (negative) review seemed offended by this approach, saying, "Enn believes children should not be confused by stories of Creation, the Flood, sin, nor grace, according to Enns, these are "adult concepts" not to be taught to children."
I do think that these concepts can be very difficult for young children. I think The Flood story can be difficult for adults. Enns doesn't ignore the flood and creation. They are dealt with as the children grow older. The first task is to introduce them to the centrality of the Christian faith: Jesus! And certainly the concepts of sin and grace are woven into the story and so I assume they are not completely ignored.
It should be important to point out why this series has received some very negative 1-star reviews. It seems to me it has nothing (or very little) to do with the actual content of these materials, but instead about the author himself. Why? Peter Enns is an Evangelical Christian Bible scholar who has challenged some of the beliefs held by other Evangelicals. He wrote a book called, "Inspiration and Incarnation" which challenged a rigid inerrant view of scripture with a more nuanced view -- that still holds to a text inspired by God. Also, he believes in evolution and writes for a conservative/evangelical Christian website called biologos that promotes evolution as compatible with the Christian faith. So the more conservative Evangelicals and fundamentalists are threatened by these ideas. And so in their view, Enns is seen as more of a threat to their faith than liberal Christians or atheists.
These ideas are challenging to a lot of theologically conservative Christians. They're meant to be. But, at least for the Year One program, none of his views on evolution or his theory of inspiraton should have any on effect what's presented in these materials.
See all 13 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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