Why and How Should I Read the Bible?
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Title - Why and How Should I Pray?
Church - Living Word Lutheran in Katy, Texas (ELCA)
Author - Pastor Mike Aus
Citations -
Quality - Good quality, volume at about 80%
Summary - The church's spiritual growth campaign for this season of Lent involves discussing the core beliefs and questions of Christianity in small groups. The second part of the series involves the importance of reading and understanding the Bible. At its core, the Bible is the record of God's redemptive acts in human history. Here is a list of some FAQs about the Bible:
1. Is there a conflict between the Bible and science?
No. The Bible was quite advanced in terms of dietary restrictions. The Bible does not require you to believe that the world was created in 6, 24 hour days. More likely, it was created in six epochs. A day is a full revolution of the earth relative to the sun. The sun wasn't created until the fourth day. Time is relative to the observer, and on the first days the observer was God.
2. Are there any missing books of the Bible?
No. Though "The DaVinci Code" claims that there are many books excluded from the Bible, but this isn't true. There are ancient texts that discuss the life of Jesus that have been published in English and have been studied. There was no conspiracy to keep them out. The greatest scholars of the ancient world discovered that they were either forgeries, frauds or of otherwise questionable content.
3. Should we read the Bible without context? Does it have meaning?
If you read the Bible without context, it could lose its meaning. Reading the Bible in soundbytes or off bumper stickers could lead to contradictions. For instance, Jesus says "Turn the other cheek." What he is talking about is a specific type of hit that a Roman would do to someone of lower standing on the right cheek. So, when Jesus was talking about being slapped on the cheek he said "you turn to them the left cheek." That means that if you turned your cheek, they'd have to hit you another way and treat you as an equal. So, Jesus wasn't saying that you should "accept it when someone attacks you," but rather "You're going to have to hit me in a way that aknowledges me as a social equal. Stand up for yourself and take control in a non-violent way."
4. Does the Bible work by osmosis?
Not quite. People love the Bible in theory but not in reality. The Bible isn't meant to be kept behind emergency glass or gathering dust on your nightstand. Read it as best you can (a verse a day, a chatper a day, a book a day. Whatever it takes).
5. What is the power of the Bible? Got an example?
Excellent question. Here's an example:
Not a single Jew died in Bulgaria, a fascist and Nazi-allied company. The Jews of Sophia, Bulgaria were corraled by the SS to be shipped off to Aushwitz. An Orthodox Bishop, Metropolitan Kiril, and 300 members of his churched showed up at the train station and surrounded the barbedwire enclosure. Metropolitan Kiril walked into the middle of the enclosure, in the middle of the Jews and shouts one verse, from the book of Ruth, that changed the destinty of that nation: "Wheresoever you go, I will go. And where you lodge, I will lodge. And your people will be my people. And your God will be my God." The crowd surrounding the enclosure grew to thousands and the SS troops left without the Jews and never came back. That is but one story of many.
What does the Bible call us to do?
The Bible calls us to stand up to Tyranny, to stand in solidarity with the poor, the downtrodden and oppressed.
----
For more information on Metropolitan Kiril and the efforts of Bulgarian Christians to save the Jewish community in Bulgaria:
An Essay, from the movie The Optimists, which is about that historical event.
Title - Why and How Should I Pray?
Church - Living Word Lutheran in Katy, Texas (ELCA)
Author - Pastor Mike Aus
Citations -
Quality - Good quality, volume at about 80%
Summary - The church's spiritual growth campaign for this season of Lent involves discussing the core beliefs and questions of Christianity in small groups. The second part of the series involves the importance of reading and understanding the Bible. At its core, the Bible is the record of God's redemptive acts in human history. Here is a list of some FAQs about the Bible:
1. Is there a conflict between the Bible and science?
No. The Bible was quite advanced in terms of dietary restrictions. The Bible does not require you to believe that the world was created in 6, 24 hour days. More likely, it was created in six epochs. A day is a full revolution of the earth relative to the sun. The sun wasn't created until the fourth day. Time is relative to the observer, and on the first days the observer was God.
2. Are there any missing books of the Bible?
No. Though "The DaVinci Code" claims that there are many books excluded from the Bible, but this isn't true. There are ancient texts that discuss the life of Jesus that have been published in English and have been studied. There was no conspiracy to keep them out. The greatest scholars of the ancient world discovered that they were either forgeries, frauds or of otherwise questionable content.
3. Should we read the Bible without context? Does it have meaning?
If you read the Bible without context, it could lose its meaning. Reading the Bible in soundbytes or off bumper stickers could lead to contradictions. For instance, Jesus says "Turn the other cheek." What he is talking about is a specific type of hit that a Roman would do to someone of lower standing on the right cheek. So, when Jesus was talking about being slapped on the cheek he said "you turn to them the left cheek." That means that if you turned your cheek, they'd have to hit you another way and treat you as an equal. So, Jesus wasn't saying that you should "accept it when someone attacks you," but rather "You're going to have to hit me in a way that aknowledges me as a social equal. Stand up for yourself and take control in a non-violent way."
4. Does the Bible work by osmosis?
Not quite. People love the Bible in theory but not in reality. The Bible isn't meant to be kept behind emergency glass or gathering dust on your nightstand. Read it as best you can (a verse a day, a chatper a day, a book a day. Whatever it takes).
5. What is the power of the Bible? Got an example?
Excellent question. Here's an example:
Not a single Jew died in Bulgaria, a fascist and Nazi-allied company. The Jews of Sophia, Bulgaria were corraled by the SS to be shipped off to Aushwitz. An Orthodox Bishop, Metropolitan Kiril, and 300 members of his churched showed up at the train station and surrounded the barbedwire enclosure. Metropolitan Kiril walked into the middle of the enclosure, in the middle of the Jews and shouts one verse, from the book of Ruth, that changed the destinty of that nation: "Wheresoever you go, I will go. And where you lodge, I will lodge. And your people will be my people. And your God will be my God." The crowd surrounding the enclosure grew to thousands and the SS troops left without the Jews and never came back. That is but one story of many.
What does the Bible call us to do?
The Bible calls us to stand up to Tyranny, to stand in solidarity with the poor, the downtrodden and oppressed.
----
For more information on Metropolitan Kiril and the efforts of Bulgarian Christians to save the Jewish community in Bulgaria:
An Essay, from the movie The Optimists, which is about that historical event.
posted by LWL PODCASTS at 2:28 PM
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