This is the final question in the interview between Mrs. Ruth J. Smith and a homeschool blogger.
The first two questions can be found here: 1. The Bible In English, Do We Treasure It? and 2. Without the Bible, Truth will be Hidden
The Question asked of Mrs. Smith was, “
“If you were to teach just three things about the Bible in English link on the Chain of Christianity what would they be? What is the “big idea” we should be teaching our children in this link?”
Here is Mrs. Smith’s final answer:
3. The History of the Bible is the History of Liberty!
II Corinthians 3:17 teaches us that “Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” “History reveals that liberty for the individual in the civil sphere is predicated upon spiritual liberty. Spiritual liberty begins internally, as the individual receives the gift of salvation provided through the death of Christ on the cross. Individuals realized the simple truth of salvation as the Bible was place in their hands and available for personal study.”6
No man or nation gives liberty to the individual. As our founding fathers identified in the Declaration of Independence, liberty is an unalienable right given by our Creator. Men and nations must preserve and protect that liberty.
“Since the time the Bible was published in English and made available to the individual, there have been greater and greater and greater expressions of liberty—first spiritual liberty and, then, its correlative, religious liberty – protected by laws limiting the power of men in civil government. ‘The liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free’ gave rise to liberty of conscience where men resolved ‘to obey God rather than men.’ Conscientious Christians, led to worship together, also covenanted together religiously and civilly to enjoy religious liberty—the liberty to worship God as God gave them light. But, there could be no religious liberty without civil liberty – where laws not only condemned and punished lawlessness, but protected the free exercise of religion by limiting the power of kings and legislators.”7
The three ideas which I have selected for teaching the Bible in English are taken from the series, The Mighty Works of God. The underlying theme of this series is to teach the children of America the truth that the Word of God in the hands of the people is causative to events in history. To teach these ideas, I recommend the three volumes that are currently available in The Mighty Works of God series. All of these ideas are expanded in the Teacher’s Guides, along with a number of student pages which will confirm the ideas for the student.
- For further study, please consider the materials and courses offered by Pilgrim Institute. www.PilgrimInstitute.org
The Providential View of History – Ruth Smith
Christianity and Liberty – James Rose
Perpetuating the Legacy of Liberty – Ruth Smith
- The Mighty Works of God Series
- Online Course: Rudiments of America’s Christian History and Government
Footnotes:
1Ruth J. Smith, The Mighty Works of God: Liberty and Justice for All – Teacher’s Guide, (South Bend: Bradford Press, 2003), page 61
2Ruth J. Smith, The Mighty Works of God: Self Government (South Bend: Bradford Press, 2002), page 44.
3Ibid., page 47.
4Ibid., pages 49-50.
5Ruth J. Smith, The Mighty Works of God: Self Government – Teacher’s Guide, (South Bend, Bradford Press, 2002), page 61
6Smith, The Mighty Works of God: Liberty and Justice for All – Teacher’s Guide, page 61.
7James B. Rose, Spiritual Liberty is Causative to Religious and Civil Liberty, in The Mighty Works of God: Liberty and Justice for All – Teacher’s Guide, page 84.
1Ruth J. Smith, The Mighty Works of God: Liberty and Justice for All – Teacher’s Guide, (South Bend: Bradford Press, 2003), page 61
2Ruth J. Smith, The Mighty Works of God: Self Government (South Bend: Bradford Press, 2002), page 44.
3Ibid., page 47.
4Ibid., pages 49-50.
5Ruth J. Smith, The Mighty Works of God: Self Government – Teacher’s Guide, (South Bend, Bradford Press, 2002), page 61
6Smith, The Mighty Works of God: Liberty and Justice for All – Teacher’s Guide, page 61.
7James B. Rose, Spiritual Liberty is Causative to Religious and Civil Liberty, in The Mighty Works of God: Liberty and Justice for All – Teacher’s Guide, page 84.