© Diocese of Guildford 2011 The Bible - so what Session 5 The Bible – so what?

© Diocese of Guildford 2011The Bible - so what

Session 5The Bible – so what?


Session 5Bible – so what?


Roots of Faith

Looking at the main foundations of Christian Faith– The Bible– Tradition– Reason– Experience

Five sessions1. Encountering Jesus2. Encountering Passover3. Encountering God in the Bible4. The Bible in Conflict5. The Bible – so what?


Keys

• Key Point

– The Bible has authority alongside tradition, reason and experience

• Key Skill

– Critical thinking


Today

• Critical Thinking• Writing a reflection• Stool of understanding

Coffee break!

• Applying the three-legged stool - Creation or Evolution?

• Building the toolkit• Wrap-up


Stool of Understanding

What weight would you give to each influence?

Do different denominations tend to give different weights?

Position

Holy Spirit

Tradition ReasonBible


Critical Thinking

• What is critical thinking?


Critical Thinking

• What is critical thinking?

• The ability to step outside of your own thought processes, and make critical judgements about them!– What bias have I introduced?– Have I taken all the factors into account?– Has my reasoning been rigorous?– How have I been swayed by emotion, a desire for the

‘right’ answer, or peer pressure?


Writing a ReflectionReview your Choice

• Take another Bible book and subject it to a narrative criticism e.g. look for a number of ‘acts’ in the story.

• Choose a parable, and either re-write it for your contemporary culture or comment on the difficulties when applying the original story to today’s world.

• Give an example of an issue in contemporary society that is challenged by the bible. Explore how biblical principles involved and the difficulties of their application.

• What is your preferred approach/way of reading the Bible? What strengths do you now observe in this, as well as other approaches?

• How can we encounter Jesus in scripture today?


Writing a Reflection

• Have I ever done a written reflection? If so, when?

• How do I feel about writing a reflection?

• How do I feel about these questions?


Writing a Reflection on the Bible

Brainstorm the following questions to help your Reflection:

• How does your church use the Bible today?

• How else could your church use the Bible beneficially?


Coffee Break

What do I think about the accounts of creation in Genesis?


Applying the three-legged stoolCreation versus Evolution

• What does scripture say?– Use the critical approaches we have learned

during this module

• What does tradition say?

• What does reason (experience) say?


Stool of Understanding

Do you want to revisit your weightings?

Position

Holy Spirit

Tradition ReasonBible


Application

• In pairs apply the three legged stool approach to one of the following controversial issues

– The Virgin Birth: true or false?

– Slavery: justified or not?

– Infant baptism: right or wrong?


Building the Toolkit

• Identify your biblical story or phrase


Reflect

• Hold your passage up to God

• Be thankful

• Ask God to draw you into greater depths of comfort and wisdom

• Commit the passage to God


Wrap-Up• Reflection Concluded

– How does this session influence my thoughts on the topic I have chosen?

– Write the Reflection and return it to the tutor

• Reflection Topics– ‘Criticise’ another Bible book– Re-write a parable– Bible and contemporary society– Bible reading, my approach– Encountering Jesus in the Bible

• Feedback on this session and the whole module

• Close

© Diocese of Guildford 2011 The Bible - so what Session 5 The Bible – so what?

Documents

Transcript of © Diocese of Guildford 2011 The Bible - so what Session 5 The Bible – so what?