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).