Many homeschoolers believe that having a daily Bible lesson is an essential aspect of educating the whole person. Though Bible isn’t a requirement, Christian homeschoolers feel its importance and count the Bible as elective credit. For many, Bible is the time of day that helps them focus on the things in life that really matter. It’s also a time to study the scriptures and give an opportunity to apply their meaning to everyday life. In fact, research has found that giving student’s a strong spiritual foundation will enable them to face the challenges of life with greater ease. A quote by the first National longitudinal study of student’s spirituality agrees with these findings.
It is our shared belief that the findings provide a powerful argument for the proposition that higher education should attend more to students’ spiritual development because spirituality is essential to students’ lives. Assisting students’ spiritual growth will help create a new generation who are more caring, more globally aware, and more committed to social justice than previous generations, while also enabling students to respond to the many stresses and tensions of our rapidly changing technological society with a greater sense of equanimity.~UCLA National Study of Student’s Spirituality
Of course, this article wouldn’t be complete without citing the Bible itself. “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” II Tim. 2:15 With this in mind, Bible becomes an essential aspect of life study.
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How to Teach High School Bible
You can teach Bible in the homeschool in many different ways. In fact, there are so many options available. Your student can pick and choose what they feel will really meet their own personal needs. Thus, incorporating Biblical studies into the homeschool high school can be exciting and fun!
The first, of course, would be a Bible course. To do this, homeschoolers could choose a variety of formats from video to Bible study texts. Second, the homeschooler may wish to integrate a Biblical study into other subjects such as literature, science, and even history. Much of our nation’s foundational ideas were established on Biblical principles. However, most U.S. students have very little understanding and applicable knowledge of them. Conducting a Bible course in conjunction with U.S. History can become an exciting way to integrate two courses. Indeed, like “National Treasure” they might find out things they never knew!
Science could be an additional way to incorporate a Biblical Studies/Apologetics course into how one views creation. Depending on individual world views, of course. All in all, as homeschoolers there are a multitude of ways to make Bible courses a fascinating and integral part of high school.
In addition, students desiring to continue their education at a Christian college or university will often have to complete many Bible courses as part of their higher education degree. Preparing for these courses through highschool Bible is a great way to get equipped. Conversely, it also serves to give the homeschool student a chance to research, examine, and understand their beliefs before heading out to public college. Normally where all beliefs are generally questioned. Having a solid foundation in Bible study/religion will undoubtedly help the homeschooler decide their own individual personal beliefs.
What Bible Courses are Recommended for High School?
Since Bible is as an elective. Which means the homeschooler is pretty much left to their discretion as to which courses they study. However, following the basic credit guidelines are important. Keeping in mind that students need to put in 120-180 hours of course work to gain one whole credit or 60-90 hours to gain a half credit. The work for electives credit is no different than for other high school subjects.
Typically, high schoolers approach Bible courses in a more organized manner than they may have in the earlier years of school. Student’s interested in a Bible/religion based college degree might want to approach these courses in an even more in-depth manner. However, here are a few general suggestions for a comprehensive study of the Bible. (Keep in mind that one’s religious preferences may be cause for further study in particular areas.)
| Year | Course |
| Freshman | OT Survey |
| Discipleship Course – basic Christian living | |
| Sophomore | NT Survey – free course |
| The Life of Christ – or this free course | |
| Junior | The Gospels |
| Catholic Home Study Courses | |
| The Temple and the Tabernacle | |
| Senior | The Prison Epistles |
| Apologetics | |
| C.S.Lewis Institute – Apologetics |
As you realize, there are several online colleges offering high-quality courses as video or audio lectures and e-texts for free. You can find links to many other courses not listed above on their online course description page. You will also find that many of these offer free complete college degrees in Bible. This would definitely work for an inexpensive version of dual enrollment!
