Varied Resources for Religious Education

Abstract

serve to be widely known and used. Among such is Thy Kingdom Come for high school students. It deals vividly with the social meaning of the Christian Faith, describing social pioneers and evaluating some of the approaches to such problems as poverty, racial conflict, alcoholism, leisure, and the home. A new course for junior high school groups, Our Living Book, is an interesting study of the Bible, and provides the teacher with good plans. Like much of the traditional teaching of the Bible, more than half the time is devoted to the prehistorical period and but two sessions to the prophets and postexilic material. However, there is much to commend in this course. It seems pertinent to recall some books by Ethel Cutler. In One People Among Many are interestinglypresented some of the writers of Israel with vivid glimpses of the world of their time. Older young people's groups and private schools will enjoy this course. This can easily be followed by her other course, One Prophet and Another, which offers a rich experience in the study of the important prophets from Moses to Jesus. They Told About Jesus, is an unusual course which enables the student to know what many people once said and thought about Jesus while the church was growing. Here is a field of study that many laymen will appreciate. They will enjoy reading the quotations taken from early Christian sources. Older groups will be interested in a short but helpful course, That Grotesque Last Book in the New Testament, Revelation. author has consulted able scholars and aims to answer the questions, why, when, how, and by whom it was written and what its chief message is. How To Enjoy Studying Bible is devoted to novel ways of reading the Bible, but it fails to make provision for the historical r scholarly background greatly needed by the average layman. In Morning is a charming book of pictures for young children illustrating the modern meaning of some twenty Bible verses. miscellaneous choice of verses makes the content disconnected and therefore of lesser value as a child's book. Once There Was a Little Boy is an unusually attractive book for children between seven and ten, dealing with the way Jesus may have lived as a small child. colored pictures by Helen Sewell greatly enrich the text. Homes and church schools will find much use for this book. Pathways Through the Bible sets out to give the American Jews a simplified version of The Holy Scriptures which will be readable, ea y to comprehend, and even enjoyable. selections include those classic passages of the Old Testament which combine both literary b auty and the enduring ethical and religious values of Judaism. material is subdivided into units of thought, each with a suitable heading. different books are introduced with an appropriate historical setting. Illustrations add meaning and beauty to this lovely volume. Important events in history need to be locat d somewhat accurately in time and in order. This is not always accompolished in the teaching of history whether it be secular, church or biblical. Pegs of History is a picture book of world dates. It is valuable for junior high young people and also for those who teach it offers a valuable suggestion of an approach to the teaching of historical material. Let Us Give Thanks is a useful file of * EDNA M. BAXTER is Professor of Religious Education at the Hartford Seminary Foundation and Religious Education Editor of the Journal.