TOS Review: Who Is God? (And Can I Really Know Him?)

I've been pretty impressed with all of the books I've gotten from Apologia so far.  They've been solid and accurate, and accessible for my elementary students, while not "dumbing down" the topics.  This book was no different.

 

Who Is God? (And Can I Really Know Him?) is not just another Bible story book, nor really even a "Bible study" book.  It's a Worldview curriculum, intended for ages 6-14.  And a solid Biblical Worldview is one of my main goals for my children during these years I have with them at home.  Not just to have a "quiz-knowledge" about the Bible, but to understand enough about the Bible and about God to view the world (and make decisions) through a lens of Biblical truth.

Who Is God is the first in a series of 4 books on Worldview, for $39 each:

Volume 1: Who Is God? (And Can I Really Know Him?) - Biblical Worldview of God and Truth
Volume 2: Who Am I? (And What Am I Doing Here?) - Biblical Worldview of Self-Image
Volume 3: Who Is My Brother? (And Why Do We Need Each Other?) - Biblical Worldview of Servanthood (Available Fall 2011)
Volume 4: What on Earth Can I Do? - Biblican Worldview of Stewardship (Available 2012)

This book is divided into 10 lessons.  The suggested schedule runs you through 1 lesson every 2 weeks, working on it 3 days a week.  If you wanted to move through it quicker (say, 6 days a week during family devotions) or slower (perhaps just 1 day a week, which is more the speed we're approaching it at this point, to give lots of time to soak in, especially for our "new" children, to whom all of this is very new), it's easily customizable, since the lessons are divided into sections rather than days.  The lesson titles are as follows:

Lesson 1: Where Am I Building My Life?
Lesson 2: How Can I Know What's True?
Lesson 3: What Is God Like? (Part 1)
Lesson 4: What Is God Like? (Part 2)
Lesson 5: Who Are The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit?
Lesson 6: If God Created the World, Why Isn't It Perfect?
Lesson 7: Why Did God Create Me?
Lesson 8: Will God Meet All My Needs?
Lesson 9: Why Does Sin Keep Me from Knowing God?
Lesson 10: Is Jesus the Only Way to God?

Within each lesson, there is presented a "Big Idea", short stories, Bible Verses (for memorization or copywork), vocabulary words, articles in the fields of art, math, science, history and more for integrated learning within the topic, thought-provoking questions, application through a character trait, prayer, and worldview study to allow your children to take notice of differing worldviews they may see on TV, in books, or in friends' families and understand why others believe what they do.

I was raised in a Christian family, we went to church and the importance of prayer and reading my Bible were emphasized.  But if I had to choose one area of faith that I felt lacking when I went out into the world, it was apologetics - What I believe, why I believe it, and how to defend and present those beliefs to the world.  Honestly, the "extra time" of a public school student is lacking - after spending their whole day in school, likely followed by an extracurricular activity, throw in homework, friends, chores... there's just not much time left in the day!  So I am so thankful that I have the time to discuss these things with my children as a part of their homeschool day, and resources like this certainly help in that aim. 

Though we aren't very far into it yet (like I said, we're taking a slow approach), I do recommend it, and forsee us buying the other books in the series as we complete each one.  You can go here to download a sample chapter to see if this is something that will work with your family.

Comments

[Paige]

I'm curious how they answer the question presented for Lesson 10. Is it a yes/no answer? Do they discuss the ideas presented by other religions? Do they recommend proselytizing or suggest that the children should discuss this with their parents? Let us know when you get there!

[Jessica]

I have read your blog for awhile after following a link on "A Baker's Dozen Blog." Today you hit a topic that I found very interesting. I grew up in a non Christian home, public school, chores, multiple extra curricular activities, and it was my choice to attend church. I would have to say apologetics is the strongest part of my faith. I was challenged daily by my family and I'm very greatful for that. Despite their different beliefs, I believe they taught me that I must have an understanding of what I believe before declaring it publicly.