Talking About Biblical Faith
As a way of introducing apologetics into the curriculum at Mosaic Christian Academy, we ran an 8-week apologetics discussion series for high school students this quarter. And it was very well-received. Much of our discussion focused on helping students identify and analyze relativistic ideas that show up in current events, while talking with friends, and in the popular media.
Last time, I wrote about incorporating ice cream into a lesson on truth. Today, I’ll tell you about what I would have done differently to help kids remember the second phrase I first learned years ago from Greg Koukl: “Faith is not wishing.”
But first, let me explain this idea.
What the Bible calls “faith,” isn’t a blind leap in the dark. It isn’t like wishing upon a star. It’s the kind of trust or confidence that’s based on knowledge that comes from evidence.
For example, if I hoped with all my might that a new guitar amp would show up on my doorstep tomorrow, all the positive thinking in the world wouldn’t come close to what the Bible calls faith.
But if I actually ordered a new amp online, got the tracking number, saw it had been delivered to the front door, and then got a call from my wife saying my amp showed up, I’d have more and more confidence that a new amp was in fact delivered to my home even if I wasn’t physically looking at it yet. This is more like what the Bible calls faith.
Here’s how Scripture defines faith in Hebrews 1:11:
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
The phrase, “Faith is not wishing,” helps us remember that biblical faith is confidence based on evidence.
So anyway, if we did this again, I’d supplement the ice cream I talked about in my previous post with having kids blow out birthday candles on cupcakes to help us remember that faith isn’t wishing. The learning team had a lot of fun working on their project. I also think they overdid the glitter, but that’s just me!
Teaching tip: Incorporating cake and ice cream into your lessons can help students discuss relativism and clarify the biblical view of faith in a fun and memorable way.
I’m excited to be a part of this group at Mosaic. The student body now represents 15 churches around the Roseville and Rocklin areas and I’m planning to teach a full course using my Accessible Apologetics curriculum in January.
