Is the Bible Reliable? Mock Trial Activity for Bible or Sunday School Class

Is the Bible a reliable historical document? Can we trust it? I don't know about you, but I know that my students ask these questions a lot. Many of them have doubts about whether or not the Bible is true. Many of them claim to be a christian, but aren't sure about the answers to some of these questions. That is what sparked the idea to have students literally put the Bible on trial with a mock trial.

With this activity, students will have the opportunity to step into a courtroom role and go through trial proceedings, similar to how they are conducted in an actual courtroom. Students can play the role of a judge, attorney, witness or juror:

• The JUDGE needs to be able to communicate with the whole classroom and keep the trial on track within timeframes and focused on the subject at hand. The judge (or judges) will do research on a current judge and objections They will also write a summary of the case and an introduction statement.

• The ATTORNEYS have the most work and research to do. They need to work with others (their witnesses and judge) to form their case. They will write an opening and closing statement, questions they will ask all the witnesses and evidence for their case. There will be defense attorney(s) (defending the Bible) and prosecution attorney(s) (prosecuting the Bible). Each side will research evidence for BOTH sides, so they can more accurately put forward their case.

• The WITNESSES will work with the attorneys to create the attorney statements and questions. They need to be able to act like their character and be able to improvise their answers to the questions that the other side asks them. There will be at least one witness for each side (prosecuting and defense) and students can choose who they will be. (I.e. some have chosen Peter (Jesus' disciple) or Apostle Paul for the defense and Stephen Hawking or Richard Dawkins for the prosecution).

• The JURY is everyone else. Anyone can fulfill this role. They will do research on other cases that are related to the Bible and its teachings (I.e. Lee v. Weisman). They will create a profile for themself as a juror and they will take notes during the trial to decide on their verdict at the end. They are deciding which side better presented their case.

This activity can go either way, so it's important to have a conversation afterwards with the class. The goal of the case is to see which side presented their ideas better, in the opinion of the jury.

This is a different and interesting way to approach these questions and gives students a way to express, process and work through some doubts they may have. Again, it's important to discuss some of these things after the trial, if the defense didn't present their case well.

This activity includes:

1. Teacher Directions-including materials needed  
2. Teacher Procedure Directions
3. Teacher Preparation Directions
4. Teacher Tips
5. Role Assignment Sheet
6. Randomized Role Sheet
7. Summary of trial
8. Order of trial
9. Trial proceedings
10. Objections in court
11. Judge Role Responsibility Packet
12. Judge Rubric
13. Attorney Role Responsibility Packet
14. Attorney Rubric
15. Witness Role Responsibility Packet
16. Witness Rubric
17. Jury Role Responsibility Packet
18. Jury Rubric

Materials Needed:

• Pencil
• Research devices (i.e. chromebook, laptop, etc.)
• Copy of student packet (INCLUDED) for each student
• Copy of judge packet (INCLUDED) for each student judge
• Copy of attorneys packet (INCLUDED) for each student attorney
• Copy of witnesses packet (INCLUDED) for each student witness
• Copy of jury packet (INCLUDED) for each student jury member
• Copy of judge packet (INCLUDED) for each student judge
• Optional: Copy of role assignments (page 7) and randomized cut-out role assignments (page 8), Printer, Gavel and robe (for the judge)

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If you have any questions, feel free to email me at edventureswithmrsd@gmail.com.

Thank you!