Thursday, September 18, 2014
Exodus Discussion Questions
Book of Exodus Questions
Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.
How would you describe God to a friend after reading Exodus? What is he like in person, and how is his role in Exodus different than, say, Moses's?
What is the role of law in the text? Is it all one big legal mess, or is this the beginning of something new in ancient culture?
Are the Israelites just sheep being led by Moses the shepherd, or do they play an active role in freeing themselves?
What is Aaron's role in the story? Is he redeemed at the end for messing up?
Is Pharaoh a victim or an oppressor? Could he be both at once?
How does an average Egyptian fare throughout the story? Are the Egyptians victims, or do they deserve what they get?
How does Exodus relate to the rise of civilization? Is it a story of creating and upholding civilization or destroying it?
What is the role of stubbornness in the story? Are people naturally stubborn, or are they made to be that way?
Did the Israelites get more than they bargained for in this covenant? Is it a fair deal, or is it tilted towards God?
What is the literary role of repetition in Exodus? Is it a good tactic, or would it have worked better around a fire, spoken orally?
Book of Amos Discussion Questions
1-5 Amos answers
1) A prophet is someone who see's visions from God. One becomes a prophet when they are chosen by God as a child. The difference between a priest and a prophet is that a Priest worships God while a Prophet tells of God's power and warns of his consequences. I think it would be harder to be a prophet because you have greater responsibility and knowledge involved with knowing the powers of God and being in charge of warning the people.
2) We can't really know if a person is prophet by physical appearance, but if we witness their prophecies becoming true then we could be convinced. Yes, prophets seem to have doubts because they constantly are asked to tell of things that seem bizarre and unrealistic. It would have been difficult for someone to believe in the things that were saying, and even more difficult to be the prophet saying it himself/herself!
3) Like I said above, one would never know for sure. There isn't any significant sign or clarification that a person is a prophet. The only way they could truly believe in a prophet is if they witnessed one of their prophecies become true.
4) It would make his job harder because not only is he going to be making bold and unrealistic claims and speech's about the power of God, but he'll be doing it in a different society where people already look down on him as an outcast.
5) Amos begins his message by warning the people around Israel so they will know that God is going to punish them for their sins. In Chapter 3, verse 7 it says "Indeed, the Lord God does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets." He wants the people around Israel to fear God and the powers he has and how he can punish them so easily for not following his laws.
The answers for 6-9 are as follows:
6. The formula shows that the Lord is fed up with people disobeying him and the commandments that they swore to follow. Even though it does not list four crimes for each one as you would think.
7. The sins that Amos warns of are: the attack of Gilead by Damascus; Gaza exiled an entire population of people and handed them over to Edom; Tyre also handed over an entire population to Edom and forgot their covenant of brotherhood; Edom for raging constant war; Ammon for ripping open pregnant women to extend their territory; Moab for burning to ashes the bones of Edom's king; Judah for not obeying the instruction of the Lord and keeping its statutes; and Israel for being greedy and treating the less fortunate wrongly, they sleep around, take the Lord's name in vain, they worship other gods, for drinking in the temples, they forgot all the Lord has done for them, they made the Nazarites drink wine and told them not to prophecy.
8. Israel makes the Nazarites drink wine and stop prophecing because they did not want to hear the prophecies of the Lord to remind them that they are doing wrong.
9. The images Amos uses are locust swarms, rain of fire, the plummet, and summer fruit. The plummet and summer fruit were the most effective.
Here are the answers for section 3:
10) To Amos, Bethal seems to be the most corrupt area of Israel. Bethel was originally the place where the ten commandments were stored. Amos so strongly condemned Bethal because of the high amount of corruption there. "Seek me, that you may live, but do not seek Bethel; Do not come to Gilgal, and do not cross over to Beer-sheba; For Gilgal shall be led into exile and Bethel shall be no more." God says not to go to Bethel and that is a good reason for Amos to condemn Bethel.
11) No, but God has given it to him as his duty. Amos 3:7,8
He finds the message troublesome and pleads with God not to be so harsh (have mercy) 7:5
12) Yes because the priest thinks he is being blasphemous (to his own beliefs) and so he asks him to leave.
13) Not really, apart from Epilogue v.14 where he says he will restore Israel.
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
The Greeks: Videos
Check out the following videos on various aspects related to the Greeks:
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Adam and Eve Article
Here is an interesting article on Adam and Eve. It allows us to connect Dr. Nichols' discussion of "competing views" in his lecture on the Hebrews with the Biblical story.
Adam and Eve article
Genesis Discussion Questions 1-11 (Discussion)
- Why is it beneficial to have no knowledge of some evils?
- How important is the family today?
- Who do you blame when you sin?
- What effect has the curse had on you personally?
- Why was Cain's offering rejected?
- Why are religious people sometimes so cruel?
- Why do the Scriptures give the ages of the men when they had their children?
- Why is Enoch’s departure significant?
- Why did Jesus refer to Noah?
- Why were the dimensions of the ark given?
- What phrases show that Noah did not have to take creatures such as fish on board?
- What indicates that the flood was worldwide and not just a local flood?
- How is the earth different now than before the Flood?
- What do you think about capital punishment?
- Why was Ham cursed?
- Why is unity such a force to accomplish either good or evil?
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