Bible 101 feedback

I think most of you were there that first Sunday when Caleb and I were proposing topics to be covered in class. I mentioned the idea of a Bible 101 series...the primary purpose of which is to give everyone the foundation of understanding they need to read, understand and apply the Bible for themselves and their families.

It's not like a 12 week course (30-45 minutes per week) is going to turn everyone into Bible experts and scholars, I realize that. But this can be the starting point or a refresh on some of the foundations. I know you are likely to have very different backgrounds, as far as your familiartiy with the Bible. Some have been taught it their whole lives...others may still be relatively new to it. I believe this diversity in our class will really enrich our discussions.

I'm targeting this series to appeal to both folks starting from scratch, and those with a lot of knowledge already. Some of the things I plan on covering are requiring some heavy research for me, so I don't think anyone will be too bored. :) I want to focus on three main topics, which I've listed below as questions:

1. What is the Bible about? What's in it? What's the big picture story?

2. Where did the Bible come from? Who wrote it? Who compiled it and how?

3. How do I study go about studying and understanding it?

Obviously, discussion on these topics will dive into more specific questions and details. So, my question to the class...and what I would like to discuss on Sunday is...what are your thoughts and feedback on this Bible 101 series? More importantly, what are questions you have about the Bible yoiu would like answered or discussed (we don't have deifntie answers for everyting)? It may be that you have some nagging doubts you sturggle with. Doubts are nothing to be embarrassed about. Any believer who takes time to think about their faith will have doubts...especially in cultures that are increasingly hostile to faith.

[TOPIC CHANGE ALERT]
I saw that some folks responded to Caleb's survey that they have some doubts they would like to discuss. Some level of doubting, in my opinion, is evidence of faith. Please don't let that fact that you struggle with some doubt make you lose heart! To me, faith is not the blind acceptance of anything that is revealed to you. Unless you have worked it out and contemplated it for yourself...done some real soul searching...I'm not sure that belief is really valuable faith. If then, true faith requires questioning and introspection, it is inevitable that some doubts are raised in the process. I think true faith is, on one level, an informed decision to believe despite not having all of the evidence or information you might like to have. To believe despite doubts. Anyway...I suspect Caleb or I will discuss doubts in general one day in class.

[BACK ON TOPIC]

I look forward to discussing this with you all in class. If you want to give some immediate feedback, leave some comments on the blog. Or if you would rather provide some feedback anonymously, I think you can do that here on the blog as well.

See you Sunday...God bless!

casey