Unearthing the Bible Review: Proof For Your Faith!
Need an Unearthing the Bible review to give you some peace of mind before you buy?
You are in the right place!
My family has been using Unearthing the Bible for weeks and I have so much to share with you!
For reference, we are a homeschooling family of 5 years and I have a 5th grader, 2nd grader, and kindergartener.
This Is What You Will Find In This Review:
- What is Unearthing the Bible?
- Why I Wanted to Try the Course
- What My Kids Thought of Unearthing the Bible
- Exactly What to Expect In An Unearthing the Bible Lesson
- What We Loved About the Lessons
- What We…Didn’t Love About It
What Is Unearthing the Bible?
If you’re not in the know, Unearthing the Bible is a unique curriculum from Science Shepherd.
This video-based course takes kids (recommended ages 3rd grade – High School) through 39 lessons of archaeological evidence that proves the reliability of Biblical narratives.
The whole family can learn together as video after video digs deeper into the archaeological sites of the ancient world!
You will see that the Bible is not a book of fairy tales or a book of myths as many scientists would like your children to believe.
There are dozens of indisputable archaeological discoveries that your child can learn about to build a rock-solid faith in their Creator. These discoveries are of course not widely shared…because the people doing the digging are not looking to support the historical reliability of scripture.
Luckily, the team at Science Shepherd took the time to compile a list of the top 25 archaeological facts that prove the Bible is truth – and they did it in short, video-based lessons, that a child can understand.
Why I Wanted To Try Unearthing The Bible
My middle child is my skeptic.
She has asked me on more than one occasion how we can know that the Bible is true.
How can we know that God is real?
Did Jesus really rise from the dead?
I have had some pretty good answers for her, but I can still see her looking at me like, “Um…I’m still not really sure.”
I am also painfully aware that she will run into countless things in her life that will try to point her away from God.
As a homeschooling parent, I need to do what I can to equip her with rock-solid faith that is hers – not mine.
So, when I saw Unearthing the Bible on the Science Shepherd website, I jumped at it! It looked like the perfect, kid-friendly curriculum to help my child see that she doesn’t need blind faith to follow Jesus.
He left clues all over the earth that point to Him!
What My Kids Thought of Unearthing The Bible
I usually leave this section of my reviews for the end – but this is so important that I wanted to put it towards the beginning.
In case your kids distract you and you never make it to that part.
Been there.
Anyway, I asked my kids what they think of Unearthing the Bible so far.
They always know that they should be completely honest – the homeschooling community in the blogosphere is depending on them to speak the truth!
My oldest daughter (age 10) had the sweetest words:
“I like it because the artifacts prove that the Bible is real. It makes me feel passionate about God and Jesus being real.”
I loved that she used the word “passionate!”
Remember, my middle daughter (age 8) is the skeptic. She is the one who I really wanted to do this course for.
Here is what she said:
“I like it becasue it shows that the Bible is true. I had a lot of questions about that!”
I am praying that God continues to work on her heart and use these archeological facts to bring about a true faith in her heart. Not just a faith that she thinks will please her parents.
My youngest daughter is 6. This course was not at all meant for her age bracket, but I love that she can still understand and follow along with most of it. When I asked her what she learned she said,
“I learned that people said the Bible couldn’t have be written the way it was, but they were proven wrong.”
Right after that, she said she didn’t like how long I spend talking after the video.
Noted, 6-year-old.
Exactly What To Expect In An Unearthing the Bible Lesson
I know it’s helpful to have a blueprint of a regular lesson to make sure it fits your homeschool style – before you buy the curriculum.
It is pretty straightforward, open and go, Homeschool Mama!
One of the first lessons we watched was on the Ebla Tablets.
I just popped in the DVD (there are streaming options) and pushed play.
We watched the roughly 3-minute video together and I was fascinated to learn about how people used to think that it was impossible for Moses to have written the first five books of the Bible.
Archaeologists and scientists believed that the language it was written in and complex writing style were not even around at the time of Moses’ life.
And then the Ebla Tablets were unearthed.
The Ebla Tablets proved that the language and complexity of written language actually were around in Moses’ time, and he very well could have written it.
I loved pointing out to my kids that even when scientists come out with “proof” that the Bible is wrong, it may take a few decades, but more evidence will eventually prove otherwise.
Anyhow, after the video, there are several workbook pages to do to reinforce the information in the video. You can do the workbook pages individually, together as a family, or just orally.
And that’s it!
Depending on the lesson and how long it takes to go through the questions, expect it to take about 15-20 minutes.
What We Loved About Unearthing the Bible
1. The Whole Family Can Learn Together
A huge reason that I wanted to jump in with the Unearthing the Bible course is that all of my kids could learn together. In fact, it is encouraged for the whole family to watch it together and discuss what they learned.
As homeschoolers know, group learning and discussion is one of the best ways to help kids solidify and remember information.
Unfortunately, watching with the whole family wasn’t possible for us, but we enjoyed sharing what we learned with my husband at dinner!
2. Super Short Videos
In order to make Unearthing the Bible appropriate for many ages, Science Shepherd wisely made the videos short.
Most videos are only about 3-4 minutes long!
This makes it possible for even my kindergartener to watch and enjoy the videos. All attention spans can join in!
3. Discussion Questions
I am a giant fan of included discussion questions for curriculum.
It always enriches the homeschool experience to have a lively discussion!
Unearthing the Bible has a handy PDF printable workbook that includes several questions about the video and it also includes “advanced questions” if your kids love a challenge.
I usually call on my kids individually to answer questions that I think they are capable of answering. Usually, they enjoy showing off their knowledge, but sometimes they have to toss the question to their sibling, or we just rewatch the short video to see if they can find the answer.
The questions really help me to see what they learned from the video and what they may not have caught or understood.
****Technically the workbook was intended to be done individually with a pencil, but I sort of felt like that took the fun out of this curriculum. We get much more out of it by orally answering the questions together.
4. Cost
If Unearthing the Bible had been sold at 2 or 3 times the cost, I would have not batted an eyelash.
At the time of my writing this, the course costs between $25 and $55, depending on which format you chose (DVD, 12-month streaming, and Lifetime Streaming).
That includes everything you need for the course because the workbook is an included PDF download.
No hidden costs.
No extra teacher’s manuals to buy.
That’s it.
5. It’s Only 39 Lessons
Unearthing the Bible consists of 39 video lessons that are designed to be done daily.
That means you can use the course in so many ways!
You could do the whole thing in a summer (like we are!).
It could be a new staple during morning time.
You could use it as a science/Bible unit study.
You could only teach it once a week and have it for the whole school year!
I really, really like that it offers so much flexibility for the homeschool family that already has a jam-packed schedule.
6. Life-Long Knowledge For Their Faith
The value of this course for a Christian parent is almost immeasurable.
We all know parents who are grieving their kids walking away from their faith.
Growing up and embracing their liberal university’s view of God. Trusting what they see on social media more than what they’ve been taught in the church pews.
Seeing themselves as “wise in their own eyes” as they decide that the Bible is a storybook or crutch for weak people.
God is nothing more than a version of Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy.
Watching these videos has shown my kids that there IS proof for their faith! Archeological find after find has supported the veracity of the Bible – not diminished it!
Bolstering their faith is so important that I plan to have my kids redo this curriculum in their teen years – so it’s fresh before they launch out into the world.
What We Didn’t Love About Unearthing the Bible
Well, after that glowing review, you might be surprised that there are a few things that we didn’t love. Most things we found workarounds for, so be sure to keep reading!
1. Busy Work
To be fair, I hate busy work, and I always have.
The PDF workbook does include word search puzzles and crossword puzzles.
I cringe when I see those because it reminds me of public school busy work nonsense.
There must be some value to them though because I see the same type of thing in our current history curriculum.
It goes without saying that we just skip this part of the workbook and focus on the discussion questions.
2. The Videos Are A Little Dry In The Beginning
Kids are used to the fast pace, grab your attention of Youtube videos, and Unearthing the Bible is not that.
The videos feature a host sitting at a desk and talking. There are some screen changes behind him that show maps, pictures, and images to explain the lesson.
Some of the material can seem dry while he is talking, but that is mostly because some history and geography need to be explained before the significance of these archaeological finds can be understood.
Once the groundwork is laid, he can get very passionate and excited about explaining how God’s Word has yet again been proven true.
During the dry parts, I usually pause the video and make sure my kids understand (they are on the younger side of the recommended ages) what he is talking about.
Luckily, Science Shepherd provides a sample video on their website, so you can decide if it’s appropriate for your kids.
Check it out here and find out about the archeological digs at Jericho!
Unearthing the Bible Review: Final Thoughts
Years ago, a good friend (but not a fellow believer) posted something online about how the Bible used to portray women in dominant, strong roles, that God was really a woman, and many things along those lines.
She said that men had rewritten the scriptures over the years to serve their own purposes. Many people jumped online to agree with her that the Bible has been hijacked by men.
I very calmly dropped a link in the comments to the Dead Sea Scrolls and said that these women clearly didn’t know they exist. God’s Word has been perfectly preserved.
Silence.
Mike drop.
Those women couldn’t argue with the archaeological fact of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the unchanging dependability of scripture.
In our current culture, I feel like Unearthing the Bible should be part of the core curriculum of a Christian homeschool.
There is so much that our children will be called on to defend when it comes to their faith, convictions, and morals. Knowing that the Bible is a defendable document, will carry them so far!
So, if you want to grow your kids’ faith, raise them to be strong defenders of the Truth, and maybe grow your own faith, hop on over to the Science Shepherd website and find out more about Unearthing the Bible.
Have you already tried Unearthing the Bible? Share your experience in the comments!
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