Christian College as Catechesis

What to do when students aren't theologically (or biblically) literate

Holy Week makes all Christians into theologians. We might not use terms like atonement or Christology, but tomorrow we’ll ask why Jesus had to die, just as we asked on Palm Sunday what it means that Christ is king. We might not understand every side of our religion’s age-old debates about the Eucharist and the Resurrection, but we can’t come to church tonight without wondering why we’re eating bread and drinking wine, any more than we’ll be able to cram into full sanctuaries on Easter Sunday without pondering the meaning of an empty tomb.

So as Bethel releases students this afternoon for an Easter break, I hope that we’ve equipped them well to ask and answer at least some of those questions as they worship and celebrate.

In fact, I’m starting to think that’s one of the most important things we do, since more and more of our students come to us with hardly any understanding of Christian doctrine, or the scriptures upon which it rests.