bible(6/1)
How to offer bible lessons
I’ve been so intimidated at the prospect of teaching my children about Jesus and the Bible. There are so many facets to consider: age-relevant methods, following their interests, not overloading them with instruction, choosing a topic, where to learn together, etc. One of the resources I’ve borrowed from a friend (thanks Natalie!) called Godly Play: An Imaginative Approach to Religious Education by Jerome Berryman has been a useful tool to organize my priorities and envision how a lesson might play out.…
Go to the source
Whatever you do, don’t take the shortcut of only looking at how Christians act. Doing so is lazy because every Christian falls short of the teachings of Christ, and the majority of them aren’t actually familiar with what the Bible says. Too many use the Bible as a self-help book that they read whenever they need a pick-me-up, while others use it mainly as a tool to manipulate others or make more money.…
Memorize the book of hebrews
Below is a ChatGPT prompt response to help with my memorization (with a little formatting). I was five prompts deep into training ChatGPT to help me scaffold my memorization of the book of Hebrews. It explained space repetition and mind palaces fairly accurately, but it wasn’t personally helpful until I started asking for examples. For creative exploration, it’s great. I needed the motivation to tackle this project, and applying ChatGPT is helping to keep me going.…
Quotes without context invite misunderstanding
Out-of-context quoting is a practice weaponized to deface people, but I don’t want to address that here. Instead, I will consider the practice of well-meaning Christians to publish Bible verses to a mass audience. Some Christians like to publish verses on social media, or put verses on their windows, binders, walls, etc for others to see. The intent is good–to share the words that give you life–but the consequences aren’t.…
Interpreting the sermon on the mount
Interpretation of the Bible can vary widely. Joshua Steele quotes NINE approaches to interpreting Matthew 5:1-7:29, commonly called Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. This passage starts and ends with two nearly identical bookends. 💬 And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. Matthew 4:23 (ESV) (A long stretch of teachings, followed by numerous stories)…
Biblical movements in the Torah
Thanks to The Bible Project I’ve gotten a better feel for the shape of the Torah. Here’s the general outline by movement, as Tim and Jon would put it. There is also sub-structures which I hope to fill in. Genesis - Four Movements Adam to Noah 1:1-11:26 Abraham 11:27-25:18 Isaac and Jacob 25:19-37:1 Jacob’s Sons 37:2-50:26 Exodus - Three Movements The Exodus from Egypt 1:1-13:16 Israel at Mount Sinai 13:17-24:18 The Tabernacle Constructed 25:1-40:38 Leviticus - Three Movements…
How to be hot or cold
💬 ‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. Revelation 3:15-17 (ESV) This excerpt starts Jesus' rebuke of the Laodicieans. On its surface, it’s a vivid rebuke of a church community that has lost its way. But what does this mean, “cold or hot”?…