{"id":2803,"date":"2011-09-07T23:12:28","date_gmt":"2011-09-08T05:12:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/?p=2803"},"modified":"2011-09-07T23:15:09","modified_gmt":"2011-09-08T05:15:09","slug":"4-more-reasons-why-biblical-catechesis-rocks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/2011\/09\/07\/4-more-reasons-why-biblical-catechesis-rocks\/","title":{"rendered":"4 More Reasons Why Biblical Catechesis Rocks"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
The storyteller with her children<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

[This is a part of the\u00a0Fundamentals of Effective Catechesis<\/a>\u00a0series.]<\/p>\n

So you’re still not planning to use Bible stories in your teaching?<\/p>\n

Not convinced it works after the last post in this series<\/a>\u00a0on biblical catechesis<\/a>?<\/p>\n

Biblical catechesis was\u00a0the teaching method of St. Augustine,\u00a0the apostles and even Jesus himself.<\/p>\n

You can’t go wrong following in their footsteps!<\/p>\n

However, there’s another reason why biblical catechesis is important. It uses story<\/a><\/p>\n

and that’s a powerful way to teach.<\/p>\n

Here are 4 reasons why biblical catechesis, and teaching from stories in general, should be one of your primary tools–especially for younger students.
\n<\/p>\n

1. Bible stories gain attention<\/h2>\n

Let’s face it, everyone loves a story<\/a>.\u00a0As human beings, we’re hard-wired for stories. It’s been the main method of conveying information since the stone age.<\/p>\n

Everyone perks up when you tell a story. I’ve been totally bored out of my skull at a lecture, not sure how I was\u00a0going get through it\u00a0without falling out of my chair asleep, when the presenter told a story and perked me right up!<\/p>\n

If you want to gain your student’s attention, tell them a story<\/a>.<\/p>\n

2. Bible stories are memorable and give meaning<\/h2>\n

Stories are memorable. In Tell to Win<\/a><\/em>, Peter Gruber describes how narrative story activates the parts of the brain that process meaning.<\/p>\n

He says this is important “because humans are meaning-seeking creatures. It’s not just about taking in information. We can’t remember anything\u00a0without giving meaning to it.”<\/p>\n

When we make connections<\/a> between different pieces of information, we have meaning. Link that\u00a0with the attention-getting power of stories and you have a powerful combination.<\/p>\n

3. The Bible makes connections<\/h2>\n

The biblical catechesis is perfectly suited to this methodology. Christian revelation is the story of redemption, and our doctrine is drawn from this story. Catholic doctrine is already contained within the story–it just needs to be drawn out.<\/p>\n

Additionally, stories are concrete. However, through metaphor and analogy, they allow you to make abstract connections to doctrines and life applications.<\/p>\n

One other point on this, the\u00a0mystery of\u00a0Christ<\/a>\u00a0is all about\u00a0connections<\/a>! Much of Catholic doctrine is drawn from the connections between the Old and New Testaments centered in Christ. Biblical catechesis draws\u00a0the doctrine from these connections and makes it\u00a0understandable. It perfectly utilizes\u00a0the power of story!<\/p>\n

4. Biblical narratives develop religious feeling<\/h2>\n

Stories are important for developing true religious feeling.<\/p>\n

Stories have the power to move\u00a0students emotionally. If you want to influence someone and change their point of view, you have to appeal to them emotionally. Marketers say customers buy\u00a0with their hearts and rationalize that purchase\u00a0with their minds.<\/p>\n

The place of emotion<\/h3>\n

I know there’s a big bother over the place of emotion in Catholic spirituality and worship.<\/p>\n

Emotion is not reliable. Conversions based on emotion might not last.<\/p>\n

The problem is when the emotional high lets down, people also doubt their decisions and their religious feeling might go away as well.<\/p>\n

Why stories are powerful for\u00a0the head and\u00a0the heart<\/h3>\n

I don’t recommend appealing solely to emotion. But catechesis is a head and heart proposition! You want your students to love Jesus and feel a genuine affection for him. How will you accomplish that? Certainly not with facts and formulas and the details of doctrines, as necessary as they are.<\/p>\n

Stories have the power to convey drama. You can communicate\u00a0the gravity of events, set the mood\u00a0for what’s happening, immerse your into the biblical world, and help them understand what’s going on.<\/p>\n

Things like why it’s so important for Israel to have a Messiah, what slavery is, and why it’s so incredible that Jesus sets us free. Instead of just giving\u00a0the facts, stories allow you to transmit gut-level,\u00a0visceral\u00a0understanding that has power and is memorable.<\/p>\n

Catechetical takeaway<\/h2>\n

Biblical catechesis should be one of your primary catechetical tools. It’s essential not only because it was the primary method of the Church Fathers, the apostles, and Jesus himself. It is a totally effective way to teach–especially for\u00a0the younger students.<\/p>\n

Stories gain and hold attention. They are memorable and appeal to the need for information to be meaningful. Biblical catechesis in particular makes concrete connections with sometimes difficult to understand\u00a0doctrines. And finally, stories have\u00a0the power to develop religious sentiment and devotion.<\/p>\n

With all this in mind, I think biblical catechesis is an indispensable method to win your student’s hearts for Jesus.<\/p>\n

This is part of the\u00a0Fundamentals of Effective Catechesis<\/a>\u00a0series. \u00a0I’m laying out the basics of the catechetical system I learned at Franciscan University of Steubenville. Check out the other\u00a0posts!<\/p>\n

Image Credit: hoyasmeg<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

4 reasons why biblical catechesis, and teaching from stories in general, should be one of your primary tools–especially for younger students.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-catechesis","post-wrapper","thrv_wrapper"],"yoast_head":"\n4 More Reasons Why Biblical Catechesis Rocks - Marc Cardaronella<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/2011\/09\/07\/4-more-reasons-why-biblical-catechesis-rocks\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"4 More Reasons Why Biblical Catechesis Rocks - 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