Lesson 8 (May 16-22), Creation, Genesis as Foundation--Part 1

In the Beginning

1. Was the earth create the earth within the creation week or was it there when he came to create?
2. Why is it significant that Jesus was the agent of creation?
3. How does evolution impact the existence of God?

The Days of Creation

1. Why should we consider the days of creation as literal and not symbolic period of time?
2. Why do you think the days of creation started with the evening?
3. Could there have been large periods of time between literal days of creation?

The Sabbath and Creation

1. Why do some calendars start the week with Monday? What difference does it make for various peoples?
2. Why did God make a period of time holy rather than a place where humans could meet him?
3. Should governments make Saturday the official weekend like Nepal has done, so that all religions worship on the same day?

Creation and Marriage

1. Why would God have planned marriage for humans differently than for animals?
2. What is the significance of Eve being created out of Adam?
3. What did God mean by "fill the earth?" Is it full yet?

Creation, the Fall, and the Cross

1. Why would God proceed with the creation of the world if he knew ahead of time that Satan was going to spoil it?
2. Do animals sin? Why do animals have to suffer for the sin of humans?
3. Why did Jesus have to wait a several thousand years before coming to save the world?

Lesson 7 (May 9-15), Language, Text, and Context

Understanding the Scriptures

1. What did people do before they had the Bible? How could they know God's will?
2. Since increased blessings bring increased responsibilities would Israel have been better off not being the chosen people?
3. Why do you think God chose a different language and culture for the New Testament from the Old Testament? Does it make a difference?

Words and Meanings

When no exact equivalent word exists, what are the advantages and disadvantages of the following options:

1. Transliterating the original word into the target language?
2. Using a phrase or sentence or two to convey the whole meaning?
3. Inventing a new word from known roots of the target language?

Repetition, Word Patterns, and Meanings

1. How much does punctuation help and what do we lose if they are removed?
2. How does a reader convey punctuation marks?
3. How does English or any other language use doubling of word roots, and other forms of repetition?

Texts and Contexts

1. How does context give meaning to words when words create the context?
2. How should a translator deal with word plays and figures of speech?
3. Why do you think God chose the root "mud/earth" for Adam and the root "air/breath" for Eve?

Books and Their Messages

1. Is revelation and inspiration different for poetic and historical books compared to prophetic books?
2. Why is it important to study the historical setting of  a book?
3. Why do you think that the authors of some Biblical books are unknown? 
4. Why do you think there is no date or setting given within the book of Job?

Lesson 6 (May 2-8), Why is Interpretation Needed

Presuppositions

1. What are some factors that prejudice a reader of the Bible?
2. What had blinded the disciples that they could not comprehend what Jesus was telling them about his death?
3. Is it necessary to rid one's self of prejudices or will God understand the situation?

Translation and Interpretation

1. What value is there for preachers who have not studied Biblical languages to refer to Greek and Hebrew usage?
2. Does study of other ancient documents also urge learning of the original languages? What are the limitations of translations?
3. Have electronic translators eliminated the need for learning languages?

The Bible and Culture

1. What makes Greek culture different from Hebrew culture?
2. Why does Christianity seem like a Western religion?
3. How can missionaries help themselves and their religion to not be seen as a foreign religion?

Our Sinful and Fallen Nature

1. What did Jesus do that antagonized the religious leaders of his day?
2. Could Jesus have done anything to help them not feel threatened? Would that have necessitated any sacrifice of his mission and message?
3. How can scripture be used so often by both sides of an issue?

Why Interpretation is Important

1. How do various denominations come up with differing doctrines from the same Bible?
2. Are preachers going to be held responsible for teaching wrong doctrine if they were sincere?
3. Have Adventists been guilty of misusing texts to defend their teachings?

Lesson 5 (April 25-May 1), By Scripture Alone -- Sola Scriptura

Scripture as the Ruling Norm

1. To what extent would you rate the claim of the Adventist church as having Scripture alone as the ruling norm?
2. Why is such a stand important during the formative years of any denomination?
3. How well do Bible commentaries help in understanding passages without going beyond what is written (as instructed by Paul in 1 Cor 4:1-6)?

The Unity of Scripture

1. Why is unity of the Bible important?
2. How can we use the unity of the Bible as an indication of its inspiration when all that was not in harmony was excluded?
3. Is the teaching of the Bible different for a text when all the passages on a topic (such as "state of the dead") are taken into account?

The Clarity of Scripture

1. How old does one have to be to understand Scripture clearly enough?
2. How does the principle of "priesthood of all believers" apply to understanding the Bible? Why do we need pastors to explain the Bible?
3. What should one do when there is a text that is not easy to understand?

Scripture Interprets Scripture

1. How can we understand the principle of passages helping to understand each other?
2. How else can we let Scripture interpret itself by looking within the passage itself?
3. Can passages of Scripture be sometimes taken out of context?

Sola Scriptura and Ellen G White

1. Is there any instance when Ellen White went against the plain meaning of Scripture, or that she did not give highest regard for what it said?
2. If Ellen White's writing are the "lesser light to lead to the greater light," how necessary is it for those who have the greatr light?
3. Why do preachers and members use Ellen White to prove a point instead of using the Bible?

Lesson 4 (April 18-24), The Bible--the Authoritative Source of our TheologyT

Tradition

1. How does tradition begin? How do traditions grow?
2. What, if any, man-made traditions do we observe in the Adventist church?
3. Where the Bible is not clear, does it need the church to give an official interpretation? Do we have official interpretations of passages in the Adventist church?

Experience

1. How much does God/the Holy Spirit speak to humans as individuals? What are examples?
2. How do we know if a dream is from God?
3. What is God's purpose in speaking to individuals?
4. How does God guide us in understanding scripture?

Culture

1. Could God have avoided culturation of the Bible texts? If it were possible, why didn't He?
2. If culture is affected by sin does it make the Bible less reliable?
3. Are Christians exempted from cultural norms of the Bible such as covering the head, removing shoes in holy places, following roles for women as in the Bible?

Reason

1. Has human reasoning improved or deteriorated over the ages?
2. What is human reason based on?
3. To what extent if any, can human reason correct the Bible?

The Bible

1. Why is the Bible the standard by which everything has to be measured?
2. Why is not possible for us to accept a prophet's word as superior to the Bible?
3. Might God be expected to update the teaching of the Bible?

Lesson 3 (April 11-17), Jesus and the Apostles

It is Written

1. Why did Satan have no response when Jesus said "It is written?"
2. Does the Holy Spirit communicate directly to individuals too? How reliable is it?
3. How important is it to memorize Scripture word for word?

Jesus and the Law

1. What did the Jews understand by the term "law?"
2. Can one love who does not observe the ten commandments? 
3. What is meant by the "prophets" on whom also the law hangs?

Jesus and All Scripture

1. Why were the disciples blind to the OT prophecies which were fulfilled in Jesus?
2. Why was Jesus so careful to uphold Scripture?
3. Did Jesus suggest that the Old Testament was outdated when he said ". . . but I say unto you?"

Jesus and the Origin and History

1. Was Jesus attitude to the historicity of the Old Testament conditioned by the lack of such a question in His day?
2. Did Jesus know Scripture better than those around Him, or were the others acquainted with His quotations of the Bible?
3. Why didn't Jesus give the chapter and reference when he quoted Scripture? Do we need to do that?

The Apostles and the Bible

1. Whom would you expect to doubt the veracity of the Bible more, fishermen or scholars? Why?
2. Did the apostles appeal to Scripture because they were dealing with Jews?
3. Is there any use remaining a Christian if we question the reliability of the Bible?

Lesson 2 (Apr 4-10), The Origin and Nature

The Divine Revelation of the Bible

1. Why did God wait so long (till Moses) to give humans the Bible?
2. Apart from what the Bible says, how can we know that the Bible is from God?
3. What do we mean by men being "moved by the Holy Spirit?"

The Process of Inspiration

1. Is the Bible inspired or were the writers inspired? What difference does it make?
2. Why do we claim to believe in "thought" inspiration? How is it superior to "verbal" inspiration?
3. Was inspiration necessary even for Bible history, poetry, etc, or only for prophecy?
4. Has science made any part of the Bible unreliable?

The Written Word of God

1. What is the advantage of the written word over the spoken word?
2. What are the advantages of an alphabetic script over picture writing for communicating spiritual matters? What is picture writing best suited for?
3. What would be God's criteria in selecting persons to write the Bible?

The Parallel Between Christ and the Bible

1. Did Jesus have to take human nature as during his lifetime or the nature of unfallen Adam?
2. Why didn't God give us the Bible written with his own writing as in the Ten Commandments?
3. Is the physical Bible to be revered? What about e-Bibles?
4. How much of a disadvantage is it to read a translation?

Understanding the Bible in Faith

1. Is it necessary to pray before reading the Bible?
2. Is it possible to understand the Bible without the presence of the Holy Spirit?
3. Is there any difference in how a musician is inspired and a Bible writer is?
4. Does a sceptic have a disadvantage or advantage in approaching the Bible?