Questions to think about during this lesson…

• Even though we believe the Bible is entirely inspired by God, why can’t we say that it’s literally true and perfect in a human sense?
• What is it that inherently limits the Bible?
• Think about Jesus’ language when he tried to express deep concepts. Why would He say the Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed (Matthew 13:31) if it’s not really like a mustard seed?  Or that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a net (Matthew 13:47) if it’s not really like a net?
• From an Orthodox perspective, how is the Bible like an icon and how does this view of the Bible compare to that of a fundamentalist?
• When it comes to expressing the truths about God, why did the Church Fathers say that the Bible is nothing more than “infant babble?”
• Why doesn’t the Bible have to be literally true (by scientific standards) in order to actually be true?
• Why does Dr. Jeannie say that the truth goes far beyond the realm of science?
• Why can’t we expect the biblical authors to transcend their own cultures and their own times to express ideas according to our times and our standards of science?
• How can the Bible be “true” if it says that 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)?
• What does it mean to say that the Bible is a result of cooperation between God and the biblical author?
• How is the Christian view of the Bible different than the Muslim view of the Qur’an?
• What is the purpose of the Bible?
• What does Dr. Jeannie mean when she says the Bible is a book of faith? Or when she says it’s not intended to be an encyclopedia or a scientific textbook… or to meet our standard of modern history?
• Why isn’t it a problem for the Orthodox that in one part of the Bible it says the women saw a man (Mark 16:5) by the tomb of Jesus… in another part there were two men (Luke 24:4)… and in another part there was an angel (Matthew 28:2)?
• Few people talk about it, but the more archaeology progresses, the more it confirms the truth of the Bible. What are some examples of this?
• Why doesn’t science compete with the Bible (or religion, for that matter)?
• Why shouldn’t the Bible be subject to scientific standards?

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