Dramas
Some have suggested that drama teaches us about life in a way that is clearer and more vivid that we normally live it. It tends to sort out complex problems in human lives, not by simplification, but through selection. Drama can make stories and ideas come alive, and, because of its vital and creative nature, it is often a significant educational technique.
When we are thinking about the educational context of church and Sunday School, we are thinking almost exclusively about “religious drama” and more specifically “Christian drama.” Kaye Baxter defines religious drama as dealing with significant and vital themes of life. It “presents characters in action—in situations where faith and belief are tested”.
Remember we are thinking here about effective methods for the communication of an absolute message. One must not be swayed by the fallacious argument of guilt by association and thereby conclude that because drama and theater have been improperly used to convey error and sin, the method is corrupt and ought to be avoided. Drama as a technique is amoral; it has no inherent characteristics of good or evil in itself. How we use it makes the difference.
The Old Testament provides ample precedent for this kind of teaching. Consider the prophet Ezekiel designing a model of the city of Jerusalem and then laying siege to it at the command of Jehovah. Or the behavior of Elijah on Mount Carmel as recorded in I Kings 18. It was not necessary to call for all those extra buckets of water or to taunt the prophets of Baal about the vacation patterns of their gods. But all of this added to the climactic moment when Elijah drove home the point of the exclusive power of the God of the Bible. Dramatic demonstrations on the part of the prophets were a basic format of instruction during those days.
We should not confuse drama with role playing, which as presented in an earlier chapter, can be utilized in less than a half hour period with virtually no preparation on the part of the participants. Such is rarely the case with drama. Here we are talking about a method we might employ only once or twice a year. The long rehearsals, costuming, stage layout, and other preparations tend to make us think that drama as a teaching method is really “not worth it.” But we should not be too hasty to condemn any teaching methodology—at least until we have tried it. The impact which effective drama can have on the lives of the participants as well as the audience may be well worth the time invested.