KUCHING — Are you a Form 5 student considering Bible Knowledge (BK) as an SPM subject? Graduate students of St Joseph’s Private School (SJPS) Year 2020 offer their insight to those who are interested and/or feel conflicted with the choice.
Many would be thinking “Hah! Easy, one less Sejarah paper to study” or “I’m doing pretty well in this, so why waste the grade.” Personally for me, the subject is like a storybook with different characters and personas that come into play as you progress into the story. It helped me relax my mind from all the heavy subjects, and you’ll know what I mean once you get into Form Five because you won’t be given any library periods. However, if you’re hesitant to continue your studies in BK because you want to focus on your other subjects for SPM, by all means, go for it. The Word of God will not stop there, for it continues to thrive in all aspects of our lives. All you have to do is to recognise God in it. Whichever it is, I wish you all the best and have fun!
• Andrea Wong – SPM BK 2020 (B)
One of the great experiences of my life was taking Bible Knowledge as an extra subject for my SPM. Through BK class, I truly felt closer to God and gained a better understanding of the Bible. At first, I was unsure whether to take RE (Religious Education) or BK as an extra subject. But, after much thought and encouragement from my parents, I decided to take BK when I was in Form 5. I would say that BK is not an easy subject as it requires accuracy in answering the questions and it requires a lot of memory work like Sejarah. To me, taking BK was more than just about gaining an extra A+ in SPM. It was all about delving deeper into the truth of God’s Word and sharing the Gospel with others. I’m grateful to God and to Mr Ben for helping me to achieve an A for BK in my SPM. Although it’s challenging, I strongly encourage more juniors to take BK. You’ll discover that, in the end, it is not the grade that makes you happy, but the journey you have while learning it.
• Bethany Chan – SPM BK 2020 (A)
Truth be told, I wasn’t sure why I decided to take BK as an extra subject. Many people, including my own parents have questioned me about my decision. My parents, especially my father, were rather upset at me because we were Buddhists, and he didn’t agree to me taking a paper about Christianity. I am not a believer, and I have heard how much work needs to be put into this subject. I guess the biggest influence was due to peer pressure, but I was also rather intrigued by the stories of how Christianity came to be the fastest-growing religion as of today. These were the two main factors that led me to take BK as an SPM subject.
BK is a very story-based paper. It requires attention to detail which is something I can appreciate because I like analysing little details and behaviours. Throughout Luke and Acts, there were some preaching and actions which I did not agree with, but if viewed from the standpoint of the “protagonists” of those two books, I could come to understand why they did what they did. The joy of analysing these human behaviours and interactions was one of the things that inspired me to take Psychology as a subject while pursuing A Levels.
What worked for me was treating the subject as a storybook. Knowing the plot line of the story helps to create a cohesive timeline of events which will serve as the answers during the exams. Also, paying attention when Mr Ben is teaching was a great help. It will seriously help reduce the amount of extra effort you need to revise. Most important of all, learn to enjoy the process instead of fretting over the outcome. This will make things much easier and enjoyable.
Good luck to those taking SPM Bible Knowledge 🙂
• Cheryl Chee – SPM BK 2020 (A-)
To those reading this right now, I will directly address the question that most of you have in your mind: “Was it worth taking Bible Knowledge as an additional subject?” In my experience, it all comes down to your aim for taking up this subject. Are you doing it for that one extra A/A+ or are you doing it because you actually have some form of interest in the content that Bible Knowledge contains?
Truthfully, it was the former for me at first which transformed the subject into an endless chore for me. Endless reading and memorising, countless note taking, an entire book’s worth of past year questions to go through, etc…
However, as time went on, things gradually got easier and easier for me due to one thing: The lessons were never boring. Mr Ben will always try to make each class as engaging and entertaining as possible. Even if the subject is one that heavily relies on the student to read and remember the details, Mr Ben’s methods of delivering information and content practically does it all for you. The only thing you need to provide is cooperation and attention since everything else is prepared for you.
All in all, I highly encourage all of you to take up Bible Knowledge not only because of having a chance to score an additional A/A+ but also the journey of studying Bible Knowledge in Mr Ben’s class is an experience no one should pass up on.
• Christopher Ting – SPM BK 2020 (A)
I admit that, at first, I only took BK because of two reasons: all my friends took it, and I had already bought the books. My BK marks up to that point were not the best (60–70 marks), and I even considered dropping it, but seeing how dedicated Mr Benedict was in teaching the subject inspired me to try my best too.
My personal tip for anyone struggling in BK is to always revise using past year papers. Read the entire chapter first, then try every single question relying solely on memory, and check what you missed. As I continued, I could see my grades slowly improving, and to my surprise, I eventually got A+ in SPM. This just proves that getting good grades is all down to hard work and perseverance.
Don’t think about how you aren’t good at something, and instead just focus on finding a way to improve that suits you. Good luck to any future BK students out there!
• Dickson Phua – SPM BK 2020 (A+)
BK teaches how Christianity came to be and the rocky path it took to spread throughout the world. The Bible provides us a picture of how Jewish society runs and teaches us Jewish culture, like how shepherds and widows were looked down upon by Jewish society. BK lets us experience the story of Jesus and later his apostles in a more detailed fashion. We may know more details of the story that many people would not know. As an example, many people would know the death and resurrection of Jesus, but some would not know him feeding the five thousand in Bethsaida, or healing the blind beggar in Jericho. Through Jesus and his apostles’ actions, we learn many virtues, namely fairness, compassion, bravery, and many others. All in all, BK not only guides us fully through the story, but also teaches us ways to be a better person in the future.
• Eugene Leong – SPM BK 2020 (A+)
When I was given the chance to choose between Religious Study and Bible Knowledge, I immediately chose the latter without hesitation. As I was studying Bible Knowledge along my secondary school years, my interest for the Good News of God slowly grew day by day. In the end, I was keen to study Bible Knowledge and further enhance my understanding in the story of God. Some might find the two books hard to memorise, but trust me, it isn’t all about memorising. In fact, understanding the journey of God in saving his people is the real key to achieve good results. Lastly, I would like to thank Mr Ben for his patience and guidance as I work through my journey in studying this subject, and finally excel in SPM.
• Joelle Lim – SPM BK 2020 (A-)
In my five years of studying the subject, there has never been a time where I’ve known something in scripture for sure. There’s always uncertainty in understanding. What’s unique about this subject is that every phrase shocks you with its hidden meaning. You may think “Ah, I think I know what it means” at first, but then you realise, “Wow, I’m so far off from the actual meaning”.
From there, you understand the text so much clearer, and things begin to make more sense. I’ve been taught to study it as scripture, rather than as a subject, and so it feels as if God is talking to you. With that in mind, every single time you read a particular line in the subject, it will strike you in a different manner. And that alone is something to behold. It just proves how real God is. Thus, the yearning for more leads one ever closer to our Creator.
With a teacher by my side, or what they call a “Rabbi”, I have always found this subject interesting. I have had wonderful teachers who are so knowledgeable and would walk the extra mile to help us relate the scriptures to our lives. I’ve learnt something from my SPM BK experience and that is, without hard work, you’ll not reach what you desire. The only way to study this subject according to Mr Ben is to “Read, Read, Read”. For a wise person once said, “Nothing great was ever achieved by only sitting still”.
For those who are struggling to decide whether or not to take the subject, may God enlighten you so that you can make the decision to go for it. I hope that what I’ve shared will inspire you to take up the subject and experience the yearning for God.
• Marcus Wong – SPM BK 2020 (B+)
When I first chose to take up BK, I was slightly worried at the fact that I have to study more for SPM and whether I will be able to handle that extra work, but I honestly do not regret it one bit. Studying BK has made me deepen my faith in my religion and be more self-aware in my everyday life. Mr Ben also makes the learning process super fun and easier for us. I hope more students will be motivated to take up this paper. It’s hard work, but it’s also really rewarding in the end.
• Natalie Foo – SPM BK 2020 (C+)
Honestly, taking BK was not a walk in the park for me. I did struggle quite a bit to memorise all the little details in both Luke and Acts. Having some friends who took BK with me and understood the pain did help a lot. We would sometimes link the facts and stories to something we found funny as a way to help us remember them, and it did help to a certain extent.
However, it took a lot of perseverance on my end to keep studying the two books. Mr Ben was also a wonderful teacher. He always did his best to teach and guide us by helping us to interpret the parables, giving us videos that go line by line with the books and even Quizizz questions that test us on the important details. All in all, taking BK may not be easy, but you will gain good study ethics from it. Moreover, it’s a tiny bonus if you’re able to get an A in your SPM 🙂
• Rachel Eng – SPM BK 2020 (A-)
When I made the choice to take up Bible Knowledge as an extra subject in SPM, my only reason was that it would add an extra A to my SPM certificate. However, along the way, I grew to love the subject. I became intrigued with the stories and lessons in the Bible. Studying Bible Knowledge has helped me deepen my understanding of the Word of God and strengthened my bond with God. Most people have the wrong perspective of Bible Knowledge, they think that it is like an English version of Sejarah, where we have to memorise a lot of things in order to get good results, but Bible Knowledge is much more than that. It is about understanding the journey of God and why they did the things they did. Of course there were times when I felt like giving up because there were so many things that I had to read and remember, but thanks to Mr Ben’s guidance and creative teaching methods, I managed to preserve and achieve my target in SPM.
• Rachel Kong – SPM BK 2020 (A)
I have always enjoyed studying BK ever since I started my journey in SJPS. The main reason is because I find the storylines very interesting. I would admit that taking BK has been tough as there are a lot of information such as names and locations that we should remember. I struggled a lot and almost wanted to give up because I could not keep up with taking too many subjects at once. There was a point where I regretted taking BK because I felt that it was only dragging my results down. However, I continued to work hard by constantly reading both books, doing past year questions and by watching the videos that Mr Ben sent to guide us. At last, my harvest proved to be fruitful and I am constantly grateful to Mr Ben and my fellow friends who have helped me in this journey.
• Rachel Lee – SPM BK 2020 (A)
“If you want straight A’s, you must reconsider the extra subjects.” I got this very often from my Class Teacher and I am sure that those who took BK experienced the same thing. What I did was to challenge my teacher that I can indeed get good grades with extra subjects.
BK is not hard to score an A compared to like Add Maths or maybe Chinese Language. With the right studying techniques, it was only hard when I am not motivated to study. If you have a way to motivate yourself, then great, if not, I tried to force myself, but when I really can’t, I would just put the red or blue book down for a second, and come back to it later.
For essays, I strongly recommend using active recalling method and space repetition to eat up the sample answers (basically the whole text). For those who are too busy to study, well, it’s because your brain is telling you, “It is not important, don’t spare time for it”. Everyone has 24 hours, it’s just a matter of how you organise and use it. Lastly, here’s a Bible verse that encouraged me throughout my exams: “The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.” (Psalm 23:1) Work smart and trust in God, He will bless you abundantly 🙂
DO YOUR BEST IN SPM 2021!
• Renee Ling – SPM BK 2020 (A)
For me, I took Bible Knowledge all because of a project that the school planned during Form 4. That project was called Social Outreach Program where we were needed to produce a report in order to improve the school and society. My group ended up producing a great report about turning our school “greener” and eco-friendly. Since it was a really good report, we then were needed to implement this in the school the following year during my Form 5.
However, to me I rather spend my time studying hard for my SPM than implementing this tiring project which will waste my precious time. Therefore, in Form 5 I went and chose BK instead of RE as BK’s students are not needed to participate in the project. Since I chose BK, I decided to persuade my whole class to take BK together with me. Due to my convincing persuasion, almost my whole class decided to take BK together. This caused our Principal to visit our class to talk about this issue as taking BK might reduce our chance to get straight A’s. However, I managed to win a debate with the Principal about taking BK which caused the students to stay strong with their choice. Due to such win, we created a new record of having the highest number of students taking BK for SPM in our school’s history.
Unfortunately, studying BK is no joke as you are needed to memorise two books which are Gospel of Luke and Acts of the Apostles. However, don’t be afraid because big bro has tips and tricks for you. To study Luke, I constantly act as the characters in the book and preaching out loud. This makes the whole story become so “alive” and interesting which will make it easier to memorise. As for Acts of the Apostles, I study it by making a map of where the apostles have travelled and wrote notes about what they did there in the map. This will ensure you will not get confused of what they did and where they did it. Besides that, I highly recommend you take St. Joseph’s Private School Kuching’s topical/Mid-Year/Final/Mock exam papers from Mr Ben. This is because the exam papers that Mr Ben has set are so difficult that SPM BK paper can’t be compared to it.
If you are having trouble whether to take BK for SPM or not, “always remember that if you don’t abandon God, God will not abandon you,” as quoted by Steve Beriak! This is because if you don’t abandon God by choosing BK for SPM even though it is difficult, why would God ever abandon you by giving you a poor result? Therefore, always believe in yourself and go for it as it is better regret trying than not try at all.
• Steve Beriak – SPM BK 2020 (A+)
Hi there, to future torchbearers of Bible Knowledge in years to come, whoever you may be. I’ve been caught in a similar dilemma to which I can safely assume you’re facing now, should I take Bible Knowledge for SPM or not?
To the aforementioned question, I in my capacity as a former Bible Knowledge SPM student, and an atheist no less, can provide some insight which can hopefully make your decision a touch easier.
First and foremost, a few criteria for the few valiant souls who wish to take up the challenge, it comes down to your goal in taking this subject.
If you feel as though you have a realistic chance of scoring an A, by all means go ahead, but be wary, as this is by no means a pushover of a subject. You’ll need to put in the time and the work to accomplish this feat.
With that in mind, I’d like to take a moment to put your mind at ease, because with Mr Ben at the helm of the ship, you really have nothing to worry about. A subject which I’d otherwise find dull and dreary is really brought to life under his teaching.
Mr Ben really breathes a new air of life into this subject for me, making classes as engaging and entertaining as possible, painting a comprehensive picture into our heads the context which gives the stories in the book that much more depth and coherency.
With that being said, take caution young ones, Mr Ben giveth, he also taketh. Mr Ben does not tolerate the sloth of those which his assignments are given. Not to spoil the fun, you really have to be ready to endure a long and arduous journey of labour in time to come.
Now not to scare you guys away, Mr Ben really is and will continue to be a big driving force for anyone who takes the subject; he really isn’t appreciated enough. All the important information and pivotal points that you need to know are practically delivered to you on a silver platter. All you have to do is to cooperate, and provide him your full attention, while being able to bag an extra A in the process. I can assure you that Bible Knowledge will be an experience you’ll never regret.
• Justin Chong – SPM BK 2020 (A-)
 Year 2020 offer their insight and experience of taking Bible Knowledge as a subject in SPM.){kind=link}