S3E16 Reading the Tower of Babel to Kids: Reimagining Sunday School

This episode is dedicated to a question from a listener who works in Christian education. They ask: How do I help change the culture of a church so that it's life giving & not authoritarian? In other words, how does one practically apply some of the themes we care about at Protect Your Noggin for the wellbeing of our kids? After minute 30, we give our actual interpretation of the Tower of Babel, & we discuss why non-Christians should want the Bible taught in public schools as an important historical document that has had a profound influence on global culture. 

How do we change the culture of a church to be more life-giving?

We discuss the concept of catechesis as a genuine question and answer format, rather than mere memorization (from middle school on) in light of mystery author and Inkling Dorothy Sayer’s concept of educational stages and the medieval trivium, in her work The Lost Tools of Learning. Most of us who went to catechism classes focussed on the memorization but failed to enjoy the experience of what was intended: that students would internalize the message and engage with the conversation.

“If after a while of learning the tradition you are not convinced, you can stop going.”

— Stacie (On what to tell kids when you want them to at least try the educational resources in your community for a time.)

We argue that, regardless of one’s tradition, it is important to focus on the narratives of the the tradition rather than the dogmas at an early age. That way, they will gain biblical literacy and be better equipped to judge for themselves whether the pastors and teachers they encounter are indeed faithful to the text or somehow straying from the core themes. This may seem dangerous to some institutional leaders but it is at the heart of at least the Protestant tradition, with its typical concept of sola Scriptura and the related tenet of the priesthood of all believers. If you find this all too much to entrust to a student, go back to season two and let us make our overall case! In our experience, even well-meaning young pastors can screw things up if they do too much interpretation instead of letting the narratives sink in deep for students. If this is the case, how can we expect doctrinal sophistication and subtlety of care from untrained laity?

The default assumption with volunteers is that they probably are really sweet but totally misunderstand the role and the interpretation of the text. We can work with this: have them teach the kids to make leather wallets because they love and care for them. That’s what modeling theology is all about.

What we talk about on this show resonates with Jeff’s essay on teaching virtue ethics within congregations being best taught through the life of the congregation rather than pedantic sermons or nagging Sunday school lessons.

We mention DaFin fins and Dutch hardboards/hand planes for bodysurfing.