Which book do I use?

We get a number of questions from people each week asking us how to use our tools. We want to share some of the most helpful questions and answers with you.

Hi GoodSeed,

I am beginning a work with a group of First Nations people. Some in this group have expressed interest in doing a study about the Bible. I am going to use either The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus or By This Name but am undecided as to which would be more effective.

The audience will be mixed in age with some Catholic background, but also with some animistic background. I am leaning to using By This Name because of this background and because of the “religious” influence that may be lingering over their beliefs. What do you think? Any feedback is appreciated.

Raymond*

Hi Raymond,
Thanks for writing. We would recommend using By This Name with people who have an animistic worldview, whether it is syncretized with Catholicism, a Protestant background, Islam, or another major worldview or religion. By This Name has about 40% of the same content as The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus and in addition, it answers many questions that naturally come up from people with the above-mentioned backgrounds. “By This Name” follows the chronological progression from Creation to the Cross but the book starts with Moses and shows how God proved himself to be the God above all gods. The book continues to make this case as you go through the biblical narrative, showing how God is above nature, spirits and so forth. The book uses many comparison charts to help people sort out their thinking, since they have a tendency to embrace opposing information.

One thing we are working on is a teacher’s guide for “By This Name”, but it will be about a year before it is completed. However, if you were to attend a TERM Seminar we teach how to use By This Name more effectively. You can see the schedule for TERM here. (Editor’s note: The full By This Name Worldview Rethink curriculum is now complete and available.)

We also have visual aids that greatly help in guiding people through the book. Our Worldview Rethink curriculum (currently based on “The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus”) has three sets of visual aids which can be used with “By This Name”. We have found visual aids to be very effective in helping not only First Nations people but also other adults, youth and children understand the message. You can check out the visual aids on our site.

(* All names changed as per GoodSeed policy.)