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Discussion starters, Paul’s epistles

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Ephesians 2:1-10; 3:14-21; Philippians 2:1-18; 2 Timothy 2:1-13; 3:10-17

The following questions were designed for a study in a series on the story-line of the Bible.  This particular study was entitled: ‘With God for ever – church expansion and growth: Growing in our relationship with God.’

There is a lot of Scripture here!  I’ve suggested one question from each of these five passages.  You might want to focus on one or two of the passages, or possibly get people to work in twos and threes.…

Men and women in the image of God

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Donald Macleod has some perceptive things to say on this subject:-

It is crucial to our understanding of this whole issue to remind ourselves that this statement is not made about any other creature, only man. We seem to have inherited the idea that the angels are somehow superior to man, but the angels are never said to be made in the image of God. They are servants of the redeemed. All the biblical indicators point to the conclusion that man is the apex of God’s creation, not only in the physical and terrestrial sphere, but also in the spiritual realm.
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Mythology and the Old Testament

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Ancient Near Eastern myths appear to have influenced OT thought in a number of ways:-

1.  Figurative expressions

These include: (a) the voice of God as thunder (2 Sam 22:14); (a) the wind as winged (2 Sam 22:11; Ps. 104:3; Hos. 4:19); (c) the sun as winged (Mal 4:2); (d) a mountain in the north (Isa. 14:13; Ps. 48:2 where the gods assembled; (e) the land “flowing with milk and honey”, which borrows from ancient concepts of paradise; (f) a Book of Fate, which recorded even pre-natal days (Ps.…

Interpreting the Sermon on the Mount

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The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) has attracted a variety of approaches to interpretation:-

1.  The Sermon as an ‘Interim Ethic’.  This was the view of Schweitzer.  Jesus’ sermon sets out a radical ethic to be followed by Jesus’ followers in the light of the imminent end of the age.  However, Jesus was mistaken: the end did not arrive.  This interpretation has serious weaknesses.  The Sermon itself contains no hint of being a short-term ethic. …

The incomparable Word of God

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  1. Indestructible, Ps 119:89 Mt 24:35.
  2. Incorruptible, 1 Pet 1:23ff
  3. Indispensible, Deut 8:3 Mt 4:4.
  4. Infallible, Mt 5:18 Jn 17:17.
  5. Inexhaustible, Ps 92:5.
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Jesus interrupted

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Hendriksen (NTC on Luke, p 456) comments on the number of times that Jesus is interrupted and the way in which he responds to such interruptions:-

1. When speaking to a crowd, Lk 5:17-19
2. When asleep, Lk 8:22-24
3. When on his way to perform a healing, Lk 8:43-44
4. When conversing with his disciples, Lk 12:12ff
5. When praying, Mk 1:35ff
6. When travelling, Mk 10:46ff

Never is he ‘thrown’. He uses each occasion as a golden opportunity for some priceless teaching or wonderful miracle.…

Boghossian vs McGrew: faith and evidence

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Peter Boghossian is a teacher of philosophy, an atheist, and author of a recent book, A Manual For Creating Atheists.  Tim McGrew is also a philosophy professor, and a Christian.  They met up recently on Premier Christian Radio’s Unbelievable show.

Let me begin by saying that I don’t particular appreciate the tone of Christian writer and apologist Randal Rauser’s response to this debate.  There’s not much point in (rightly) commending McGrew for not resorting to ‘low blows or rhetorical cheap shots’ and then Rauser littering his own impression of Boghossian’s performance with expressions such as ‘ridiculous…complete buffoon…nonsense…nauseating’ and so on.…

Steve Chalke and the Bible

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The Rev Steve Chalke, founder of the Oasis Trust and high-profile Christian leader, has been making waves in the evangelical world for some time now.  First came his book (co-authored with Alan Mann), The Lost Message of Jesus, in which he rejected the doctrine of ‘penal substitution’.  Then, in early 2013, he came out in favour of same-sex marriage.

Most recently, in a paper entitled Restoring Confidence in the Bible, he has attempted to articulate his views about the nature and authority of the Bible. …

History is not bunk

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Michael Licona, in the course of an interview discussing his 2010 book The Resurrection of Jesus, makes a number of helpful points about historical investigation.  He asserts, for example, that alleged miraculous events do not lie outside the provenance of historical enquiry: any past event that has left some kind of trace can be studied.

Drawing on the work of McCullagh, Licona outlines the following criteria for a successful historical hypothesis:-

  • explanatory scope (i.e. successfully accounts for more of the data than competing hypotheses do)
  • explanatory power
  • plausibility (i.e.
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