Question:

[ Do we use the Bible to justify how we view the world,

or do we let the Bible shape the way we view the world? ]

What do you think?

Quick Question:

On of my favorite professors in undergrad used to make us write position papers where we were forced to "fall off the log" (to be forced to pick sides on an issue, when the solution was somewhere in the middle) on an issue. It was probably the best thing a professor has ever made me do, as I was challenged to actually think about the issues. The point of "falling off the log" is not to pick the right answer, but to fully understand the nature of the issue being talked about.

Question:
If I were to challenge you to fall off the log on the issue of salvation which way would you go? Would you veer towards the universalist side (everybody goes to heaven regardless of the way they have lived their lives)? or would you veer towards predestination (only some go to heaven, they have no choice in the matter as God picks who gets in and who burns)? What are the pros and cons of each side? Let me know!

*try and keep your answer around 100 words

Does God have everything planned out?

The next few months are a little up in the air for Steph and I as hopefully (fingers crossed) I’ll be graduating from seminary, and we’ll be moving on to a new place. It’s a really intense time, questioning where we should go, how to know, whether a place will be the right place, and seeking “God’s plan for our life.”

This has led me to think deeply on this point...does God really have everything planned out?

At some level everybody asks this question. Is everything already decided? Is there a perfect path that we need to be looking for? Is God guiding me through life towards a specific destination, with well-defined life goals? If the answer to any of these is yes, my next question is how can we know?

I’d like to take a look at 3 Bible passages: Jeremiah 29, Genesis 2, and Matthew 15. read the rest...