Results 1 - 2 of 2
|
|
|||||
Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | The Sacred Romance | Num 28:11 | Hank | 97443 | ||
VR - Well, for starters fellow Baptist, until somebody shows me I'm a hopeless basket case both intellectually and spiritually, I'm going to hold to the unpopular notion that a group assembled for Bible study ought to study the Bible. It is the business of Christians to learn what God says about man and not what man says about God. Upon that criterion alone I would be highly suspect of using "The Sacred Romance" as a text instead of "The Holy Bible." Moreover, while I candidly admit to not having read the book, I am acquainted with it as the result of having read a large number of critical reviews of it, and I am not impressed. When I hear such terms as "fluff" and "feel-good, man-centered theology" used in connection with the book, I am not moved to lay down my money to buy it or take my precious time to read it, let alone use it as a teaching text in a Bible study class. For well over a quarter century I've taught Bible study classes, chiefly adult classes, and only twice in all these years have I ever used any textbook but the Bible. The first occasion was many years ago when, for a summer, I taught a group of college kids and used some of the works of C. S. Lewis, particularly "The Screwtape Letters." The second was a short eight-session survey which contrasted various secular world views with the Christian world view, in which we used some audio-visual materials prepared by Chuck Colson and Nancy Pearson, but these were generously laced with Scripture. ..... We live in an age when English-speaking peoples have the widest choice of Bible translations in history, and copies of the Bible can be purchased at extremely modest prices, yet possibly no generation in the last several hundred years has been more ignorant of God's word. When I first began teaching Bible study classes I was dismayed at the dearth of Bible knowledge among the students in my classes. And since then the situation has grown progressively worse, not better. And in the face of this pandemic ignorance of the Bible, even among God's people, we see the disurbing trend in classes that call themselves Bible study classes to replace the Bible with texts that pander to the self-interests of Christian men and women by providing them with a man-centered, feel-good, pale and watered-down version of a sweetness and light philosophy that masquerades itself as the Christianity taught in Scripture. There are far weightier issues that come before the Christian community today, and far greater truths to be learned and inculcated in our lives than those encompassed by "The Sacred Romance" or any other secular work that is paraded as "Bible study." Other works have their place and can be helpful when chosen with care and discretion, but the proper textbook for Bible study is the Bible. --Hank | ||||||
2 | The Sacred Romance | Num 28:11 | Mommapbs | 97495 | ||
Greetings Hank - while I agree with most of what you have written, I do believe that there are many fine believers who, just like you, author some mighty important words for the body to consider. No, these books do not replace THE BOOK, but certainly aid in our understanding or even prompt us to dig deeper into it to ferret out these Truths for ourself. And I agree absolutely, that one without a working and on-going knowlege of God's Word will certainly be more prone to accept a line of thinking that satisfies an "itch." Therefore, BIBLE STUDY is an integral part of knowing and understanding God. For me, this particularr text increased my understanding of the aggressive nature of God's love for me. I did not care for it as much as I did "The Journey of Desire" however. I too am distressed by the number of so called "Bible Studies" that are no more than glorified book clubs. BUT, a skillful teacher can focus attention on God's Word and the Truths that an author has "fleshed out" in a text. As a young girl, I went to Sunday School and learned all the Bible "stories" but no one ever explained HOW they applied to my life - there was no practical application. Many Christian authors fill this gap - especially for those folks who have no "Bible teacher" at hand, but I agree, there is NO substitute for God's Word - we tend to forget about those in the world who only hear it, and do not even have a copy let alone a translation in their language to have and hold in their hand. mommapbs |
||||||