Questions to think about during this lesson…

• What exactly makes the Bible “Holy” Scripture?
• What does it mean to say that the Scriptures have authority?
• What does it mean to say that the Scriptures are inerrant?
• Which came first – the Church or the Bible?
• Why do the Orthodox say the Bible can’t stand apart from the Church?
• What is the Orthodox view of inspiration? How does this differ from an Evangelical or Protestant view of inspiration?
• Why is it self-evident to the Orthodox that the Bible can’t always be 100% accurate according to the standard of science and can’t always be interpreted literally?
• Why don’t the Orthodox get involved in disputes over things like creation science and evolution?
• Who is Bart Ehrman and how did he lose his faith?
• It’s understood that the last chapter in the Gospel of John (John 21:1-25) wasn’t actually written by the Evangelist himself — that it was added later by the disciples of John. It’s a similar situation with the story of the adulteress woman (John 8:1-11) being added by a copyist. How can these passages still be considered a part of “Holy Scripture” even though they weren’t originally part of what John wrote?
• Why can’t we equate “inspiration” with “dictation from God?”
• What does it mean that the Bible is like God talking to us in “baby talk?”
• What do we do with the fact that the Bible says the earth is flat (Isaiah 11:12, Revelation 7:1, Job 11:9; 28:24; 37:3; 38:4-6; 38:13, Jeremiah 16:19, Daniel 4:11, Matthew 4:8) and that it sits on pillars (1 Samuel 2:8)?
• When understood from an Orthodox perspective, why isn’t there a conflict between the Bible and science?
• Why do Muslims say that the Bible is inferior to the Qur’an and how would Orthodox Christians respond to that claim?

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