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What did you identify as your reasons for taking this course? Why did you select those? How would you state an overall goal for wanting to study the Bible better?
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[In what ways have you seen a Bible passage distorted by being quoted out of context?] We see many scriptures on t-shirts and coffee cups that are wonderful words of God. However we find that the story or meaning before and after the scripture can be completely out of context.
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[In what ways have you seen a Bible passage distorted by being quoted out of context?] The story of the Feeding of the Five Thousand, recorded in John 6:1-15, has been used repeatedly to teach children how they should share as the boy in the story “shared” his loaves and fish.
Years ago, in reading Larry Richardson’s Creative Bible Teaching, I was introduced to the principle that children should be taught the gospel as a means of salvation, rather than taught rules for living without a gospel context.
He used this story and its conventional use to illustrate the error he was highlighting.
Honestly, up to that time, I had accepted the rule-keeping convention as if it were healthy and justified.
Richardson stated that this is a story that demonstrates the miraculous power, demonstrated in Jesus, to supply our needs beyond all human-based ability.
As I later studied the story, I saw it is also an illustration of how people often do not understand Jesus’ actions and purposes. The people in His time tried to make Jesus a king, so He had to secretly slip away. Then later they sought Him out to get more bread, rather than recognizing that He is the spiritual Bread from Heaven.
This story is a perfect opportunity for teaching children the essence of the gospel message that offers to us Jesus as the source of spiritual and eternal life. The story should be used in this way as it was intended.
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[In what ways have you seen a Bible passage distorted by being quoted out of context?] Mostly passages that deal with homosexuality, foreigners, and slavery, to name a few. I have heard people take verses that deal with those subjects and twist them to fit their idea of what is right and not God’s. Also, I have heard passages about God’s love and salvation be twisted as well to fit what that person wants to get across and not what God is actually saying.