Choose 1 of the following options and respond in a thread. \\
Option One: Charles Spurgeon once said: “How often shall we have to tell people that the Bible is not a mere collection of separate sentences which they may tear from their context just as they please? We are not to treat the verses of the Bible as pigeons might treat a bushel of peas—picking out one here and another there, without any thought of the surroundings of that particular passage! No, this blessed Book was written for men to read right through—and if they are to understand the meaning of it, they must read each sentence in the connection in which it is found.” How does Spurgeon’s quote reflect the material on historical and literary context in Everyday Bible Study? Be sure to interact with material from both Chapters 24 and 25 (both text and videos), Spurgeon’s quote, as well as the Scriptures in order to support your answer. \
Option Two: Over lunch one Sunday after church you and a couple of your friends are discussing the pastor’s sermon. His message was convicting, challenging, and encouraging. However, one of your friends says, “I don’t get why Pastor Edgewater always has to talk about the meaning of this word in Greek or the meaning of that word in Hebrew. It does not matter to me what a word means. What I care most about is what the passage means.” Using the material from Chapters 23–26 in Everyday Bible Study (both text and videos), how would you respond to your friend so that she realizes the importance of doing a word study in order to understand the meaning of the passage? Remember to support your answer using material from Everyday Bible Study as well as the Scriptures. Replies: Once you have completed the assigned text readings (Everyday Bible Study Chapters 23–30), select 2 threads you wish to reply to and address your classmates’ thoughts and ideas. The content of each reply must reflect an excellent knowledge of the reading and interact with both the thread and relevant chapter material. You must support your thoughts and ideas by quoting from Everyday Bible Study and citing related Scripture.
DISCUSSION BOARD FORUM INSTRUCTIONS Upon completing the Module/Week 1, 3, 5, and 7 Reading & Study items, you will be well equipped to respond to the provided prompt with a thread and 2 replies that demonstrate an understanding of the arguments for the inspiration, inerrancy, and authority of Scripture. You will also be able to identify how the Bible relates to the theistic worldview and describe characters in the Old and New Testaments (Syllabus MLOs: A, B, C, D, E, F, H, I). Each forum is completed in 2 parts over the course of 2 modules/weeks. In the first module/week of the forum, you will create a thread that directly addresses the prompt provided by the instructor. In the subsequent module/week, you will respond with meaningful replies to at least 2 classmates’ threads. The instructor will observe online discussions throughout the assigned modules/weeks and may interject his or her comments intermittently. Feel free to respond to the instructor’s comments in addition to the required replies to your classmates’ thread. Follow the guidelines provided below as you complete each part of the forums. Thread: • Respond to the questions/ideas that are presented in the instructor’s prompts. • Summarize any related ideas that are presented in our Everyday Bible Study textbook related to the prompts. • Submit your thread of 400 words or more. Replies: In your replies, you are seeking to build rapport and community around the topic. You are also seeking to maximize our collective understanding of the material. Keeping that in mind, • Look for areas of common ground or diversity between your comments on the prompts and your classmates’ finding(s) and engage each other. • Connect and comment on areas included or not included in your classmates’ thread that you would like to share. • Each reply must be at least 100 words composed in 1 paragraph. This course utilizes the Post-First feature in all Discussion Board Forums. This means you will only be able to read and interact with your classmates’ threads after you have submitted your thread in response to the provided prompt. For additional information on Post-First, click here for a tutorial. Submit each thread by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Monday of the assigned module/week and your replies by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Monday of the following module/week, except for the Discussion Board Forum 4 replies. Submit your Discussion Board Forum 4 replies by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Friday of Module/Week 8.
