Bible Study Evaluation Paper

Bible Study Evaluation Paper

For the past three months we have examined the art and techniques of teaching Biblical faith. We began our journey by discovering the roots and the specifics of our own faith through the hermetical assessment. We contemplated what Jesus we would teach based on the many views of Jesus in the world and our own beliefs. The different techniques of learning and teaching were reviewed. The importance of discovering and understanding the context, content and the culture of the Bible story and our current settings was acknowledged. Our final challenge was to teach the lesson. This is my journey through this process beginning with an assessment of the book that I used as the backbone of my lesson, “Jesus and the

Jesus exemplifies how to find strength, freedom and peace within God and oneself. In his novel, Thurman begins by outlying how the Jewish sects of Jesus’ time chose to deal with their oppressive Roman rulers. The religious elite, the Sadducees elected to adapt to their demanding rulers in order to maintain their Jewish traditions often times making scarifies that compromised the very beliefs they were trying to preserve. Remaining silent and obedient while secretly filled with hatred and resentment for their oppressors, is how the Pharisees of Jesus’s time chose to cope. The Zealots of this time resorted to physical force against the ruling class to advance their justified cause, often paying the ultimate cost, their life. Jesus’s alternative option for all mankind was that of love. Love of God, self, neighbor and especially your enemy. Thurman stresses that Jesus knew that “it is man’s reaction to things that determines their ability to exercise power over them”.(Thurman, 18) Jesus taught and modeled the art of strength through humility. Despite being born into a poor, oppressed community experiencing all the pitfalls that, that life encompassed, Jesus in his ministry brought hope and fresh courage to the

Jesus clearly came from the view of uplifting the poor; “so the last will be first and the first will be last” (Matthew 20:16 NIV); “again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!” (Matthew 19:24 NIV) Modern day Christianity interprets the Bible in favor of the rich. The slave should obey his master. It is good to give to the poor, however we do not look at them as equals down on their luck, rather with pity for those that are below us. Thurman states that modern Christianity distorts the true religion that Jesus taught and stood for. Jesus taught that all people no matter their circumstances or ethnicity are children of God. All people are equal in God’s eyes and should be treated with love and respect. This theology is one that our ministry wishes to teach to the children and youth of our congregation. It is difficult to change the sense of entitlement and privilege that unintentionally we have instilled in our youth. It is our duty, however, to continue our efforts to do