Monday, August 3, 2009

Lesson 1: Question 7

Am I willing to rethink what I already know about Christian education and be retooled in Biblical methods of teaching and learning? [Ahh...I love this question!!]

5 comments:

Danika said...

My willingness to be teachable requires humility, which requires that I would be willing to be exposed in the areas of wrong thinking. Presuppositions are "beliefs without full evidence, or positions without proof." (1828) I am not completely transformed by the renewing of my mind, and I know that there are still areas of my life that I hold to my social/humanistic upbringing. My willingness to revisit my presuppositions regarding any subject, and allow God's light to pierce my darkness, will not only bring me into a closer relationship with Christ, but make me a better teacher. Proverbs 3:7 "Be not wise in thine own eyes; fear the Lord and depart from evil."

Michelle Heidemann said...

Excellent thought! God can't change us until we are willing to hold everything to the light and then follow up on it in obedience.

There is a little thing with the definition of 'presupposition' in your paragraph. Not a big deal, but it does need some clarification. Take a look at these definitions and the discussion of the word 'presupposition' below:

Presuppose "To suppose as previous; to imply as antecedent. The existence of created things 'presupposes' the existence of a Creator. 'Each kind of knowledge presupposes many necessary things learned in other sciences and known beforehand.' (Hooker)." Presupposition "Supposition previously formed. 2 Supposition of someting antecedent" [American Dictionary of the English Language: Noah Webster 1828, FACE (1995)

I entered to preceeding quotes from the 1828 dictionary to clarify the meaning of 'presupposition' because it is an important word that I will use from time to time in this study and others. A presupposition can be something that is unproven, but it can be something that is from good foundation as well. Ken Ham likes to refer to them as 'starting points'. What are the ideas from which your thinking in a given area start. That could be Biblical principle, but it could also be from assumptions of things you haven't explored--maybe you've just been raised with the ideas, or picked them up during your own schooling. We all have false presuppositions that we need to root out and change to those that come from Biblical foundation. This is a continuing process and is one of the necessary attitudes of having a teachable spirit.

So a presupposition is something that we 'suppose' to be true about a given area of thought at the point we begin to reason about it. For example, I have the presupposition that God created nature from the point I begin my studies in that area. There are things I assume to be true from that supposition as I study the subject. If my presupposition was evolutionary, my conclusions would be very different.

When I ask you (and I might at some point) "what are your presuppositions in regard to this line of thought", I'm asking what are you assuming to be true about this topic before you begin your reasoning.

Danika said...

I like the idea of thinking of a presupposition as a "starting point". We all have to begin somewhere, and if we have wrong thinking, we can be set right, and if we are beginning from a Biblical perspective, we can continue to study and walk more fully in those truths. A starting point is the building of our foundation. Let's build on the Rock of truth and stand steadfast and confident in God's Word!

Michelle Heidemann said...

I always immediately want to say, "Yes, I'm ready!!!" But I always have to take a step back and ask, "Am I?" What is there that could be in my way? Retooling infers that God is going to have to chip away at something in me. That may not be very comfortable. I might have to say I'm wrong about something (and I'm often wrong).

Danika said...

Desert experiences are the most challenging, and hardest on the flesh, but all who go through them will agree they come out feeling closer to Christ than before. I never seek desert experiences, for I know how humbling they are, but I never run from one. The Principle Approach challenges our fleshly nature, that daily we must decide if we will walk humbly with our God, or go kicking and screaming. Our prayers should always be,"Lord, what do you want to do today?" Obedience brings a blessing. I have never not been blessed!