No class November 26th

We just got word from Erica Haug that there will be only one service on November 26th (it's Thanksgiving weekend). As a result, we will not be meeting in our class that week.

What that means is our remaining three classes will all move back one week. I'll revise the Course Outline schedule to reflect that.

Questions from 11/12/2006

Here are the questions that emerged from the November 12th session. We'll flesh out these points as we either have more to write here or links to recommend the class.

Questions

• What of the "Q" source? There is a theory that a source outside of the Gospel of Mark supplied some of the information found in Matthew and Luke. Read the article linked above, and let us know if you have any other questions.
  
• Per Richard, a good reference on the canon of scripture is a book by Bruce Metzger. However, I missed the title (my bad - I'll ask Richard).
  
• Richard is going to flesh out what he talked about the Canon (wasn't in PowerPoint). Watch for another post and we'll work that in.
  
• Book of Enoch referenced in Jude. Why does Jude refer to a book (The Book of Enoch) we now considered not rising to the level of inspiration required for canonization? We had some discussion of this in class, and we'll probably continue this again in a later class.
  
• Fate of the Unevangelized - how much do we have to know? I believe Richard said we would touch on this more later.
  
• What do we mean by Evangelical? I'm again going to defer to Richard on the definition he gave after class.
  

Questions from 11/05/2006

Here are the questions from the first session. I had meant to post this earlier, but I had wanted to provide some direct links. We have talked about some of these questions in class, but I will re-edit this post as we come up with some good links.

Questions

• Canonization - how did we get the books we have; why were some books accepted, while others were rejected, etc. Richard answered some of this in the 11/12 session, however we can cover this some more if there is interest. Richard mentioned a book that he recommended for this, but I only got the author (Bruce Metzger). I'll ping Richard for the complete title and any other resources we can locate.
  
• Bible versions - why are there so many translations/versions, and what are the style types? I think we touched on this in class last week, and a bit this week. However, we'll try to post some resources here.
  
• Extraneous/controversial passages - why are some passages still included if it is believed they were not part of the original manuscripts; are there sections that might assume could be canonical but which might be controversial? Again, Richard touched on some of this today. However, I think we could do with some expansion on this.
  
• Justification - why not John 3:16, Ephesians 2:8-9 vs. Romans 10:9? This was a basic question about why "we" at HCBC UT seem fixated on this verse instead of others that more clearly show justification. The short answer is, this encapsulates the gospel as to how one enters into a saving relationship with God. However, we like all the scriptures! ;-)
  
• Child death & justification (per everyone's death in Adam). What does the Bible say in regard to children who die before they could possibly "make a choice" to turn toward God. Richard talked to someone about this after class. The short answer is that the Bible is ultimately silent on this point, although there are some scriptures which may be used to demonstrate God might bring some, if not all, young children to be with him under these circumstances (I'll post some scripture references later).
  

Course Outline

I'm posting the course overview document that we used in class. A few of you got the printout before you left today. I was finally was able to print to the printer/copier in the student room, so hopefully this won't be an issue again. If you'd prefer, you can download the Word document. I'll post a PDF version if anyone would care for that instead.

Discover the Faith Course

Location

Sunday mornings, 9:30 AM in the chapel at HCBC UT.

Course Facilitators

• Richard Lawson
• Greg Meece

Course Outline

Date	Topics
November 5th	Role of “Theology” in the Life of the Believer The Gospel message
November 12th	Statement of Faith 1: Revelation
November 19th	Statement of Faith 2: Trinity, Creation
November 26th	(no class - one service only!)
December 3rd	Statement of Faith 3: Fallen Humanity, Salvation, the Church, Eschatology
December 10th	Apologetics
December 17th	Tying it all together: Personal Evangelism

Class Format

• Administrative issues
• Opening prayer
• Topic coverage
• Discussion
• Closing prayer

Website

http://discoverthefaith.blogspot.com/

Contact Info

• Greg Meece - glmeece@gmail.com
• Richard Lawson - richard.lawson@verizon.com

Questions & Comments

1. Ask in class or after class.
2. Check the blog site. Friendly discussion threads are encouraged!
3. E-mail Greg or Richard.
4. If any confusion arises from statements in class and you have followed the above chain, please talk to Denny or one of the elders. If there are disputable matters, we are in submission to the eldership of this church; we will defer to them in all non-essential matters (and are already in agreement for the essentials!).

Class notes for November 5th, 2006

Here are the notes for our first class. I'll be creating a posting for questions brought up in class in a separate thread.

“Discover the Faith”

“Christianity is a way of life founded on a message”
J. Gresham Machen

Theology

1. What is “Theology” ?
A. Literally, “God-Study”
2. Where is it from and where does it lead?
A. St. Thomas Aquinas:
Theology is taught by God, teaches God, and leads unto God
Revelation -> Theology -> Knowledge of God
3. How does it fit in the “faith equation” ?
Faith = Knowledge + Assent + Trust
A. Louis Berkhof:
“Belief is sanctified human reason”

Knowledge – understanding information.
Assent – agreement with a perspective after thoughtful consideration.
Trust – assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something; dependence on something future or contingent.

Uses and Abuses of Theology

1. Abuses of Theology – Theology done badly
A. Barren intellectualism
B. Confuses
C. Divides

2. Necessity of Theology – Theology done well
A. Rom. 10:9-10 <- Belief required for salvation
B. Titus 1:1 <- Knowledge leads to godliness
C. Titus 1:9 <- Sound doctrine needed to identify falsity

The “Golden Rule” of Theology

In Essentials, unity
In Nonessentials, liberty
In All Things, love

Examples
1. Hymns vs. Praise music in church
2. Consumption of alcohol
3. Infant baptism
4. Literal hell of unending torment
5. Belief in salvation by faith alone
6. Deity of Christ
7. Christ’s atonement for our sins

What is the Gospel?

In General:
All that Jesus and the Apostles taught
Specifically:
God’s answer to our sentence of death
1 Corinthians 15:1-8
1 Timothy 1:15-16

Components of Gospel Message

In Adam, all died to God
All* have actualized that sin
The Penalty of Sin is Death
We have no ability to redeem ourselves
Jesus the Christ lived a sinless life, and paid the penalty for our sin in full
Salvation is by Grace along, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

Administrivia

Website:
http://discoverthefaith.blogspot.com/
E-mails:
glmeece@gmail.com
richard.lawson@verizon.com

What's this all about, then?

Richard and I will be posting class notes, links, and other files on this blog. Let us know what you want to see here!