Monday, November 2, 2009

Thinking about the Prophets

Well I just read through the Godly Play booklet on the prophets. It is a long and complex history lesson with a few twists and turns I would probably not be comfortable with. Whether I believe there were 3 Isaiah's or not, I would not introduce children to the scroll of Isaiah that way. I have five days to prepare - what would you teach children about the prophets?

7 comments:

Tim Bulkeley said...

Not prediction (that's just sanctified astrology) but protest.

Not politics (that's just power play) but loving of God.

Bob MacDonald said...

Tim - thanks - that's a memorable poetic fragment

Sharon Pearson said...

Volume 6 of the Complete Guide to Godly Play(in which this story of Isaiah is found)is meant to be an enrichment story for OLDER children who have had years of experiencing the core stories of Godly Play. So presenting the symbols of the "3" Isaiah's taps into symbols that have been introduced in previous stories (most in Volume 2). I would never use this story on its own without referring to what came before. I have however, used this story separately with adults and they have been amazed to finally "get it."

Bob MacDonald said...

Sharon - thank you. I am glad to hear from a more experienced teacher of this curriculum. I have not taught the full curriculum and I appreciate that I am looking only at a bit of the information. I think I will take a few of the prophetic words that I used in one of last year's 5 minute Hebrew lessons to this multi-age class. I will also present again the 'books' of the Hebrew Bible and pull one or two from the shelf to deal with the prophet's call. Then perhaps the wondering section will get to thinking about how we are called. You might be interested in the experience I have recorded with teaching Hebrew to children. You can see the record of these classes here.

Tim Bulkeley said...

For some reason this reappeared in my reader, so I'm back for a second go ;)

If I had time I would teach some kids Is 40 against the background of the Babylonian New Year Festival, reading the chapter in that setting just lets it sparkle even more with meaning... but only if you have time and not really young kids...

Bob MacDonald said...

thanks Tim - what I actually did was just get across the idea of go-between as part of the prophetic roles (here). Does anyone teach Is 40 in these terms - it seems a stretch to me! So maybe you should do a podcast or maybe you have some recommended notes so I might learn something about this festival (Internet not safe in this case since my knowledge is next to 0).

Bob MacDonald said...

Found this link - is it a good review?