Friday 30 January 2009

Session 4: Knowing God – The Doctrine of Inspiration

What do you understand by the word “inspiration”?
Is it merely a motivation like one would have after a great athlete had given an inspirational speech? Is it what you feel when you hear an encouraging tale of how someone overcame cancer? Or is it more than that?
In order to fully understand inspiration, we first need to fully understand some key words that are often associated with the subject.

Saturday 24 January 2009

Session 3: Knowing God through Special Revelation

Since General Revelation refers to the knowledge of God that is available to all mankind, it suggests then that all man has some form of knowledge of God based on either creation, history or the conscience, special revelation refers to those acts of God whereby He reveals Himself and His will directly to specific people.
Why was this special revelation necessary? The answer lies simply in the fact that man has lost the relationship with God that existed before the fall. Knowledge of God therefore has to be learned in a more fuller, direct way, and had to go beyond the initial or general revelation that is all around.
This is seen in five key areas:
  1. Personal Experience
  2. Miracles
  3. Prophecy
  4. Christ
  5. Scripture

Thursday 22 January 2009

Session 2: Knowing God through General Revelation

How can one truly know God? How does He reveal Himself to man?

There are two basic classifications of revelation. Firstly there is what is known as General Revelation. This is God communicating about Himself to all people at all times and in all places.

Then there is Special Revelation. This involves God's particular communication and manifestations of Himself to particular people, at particular times. These revelations are only available to us today through particular sacred writings.

Thursday 15 January 2009

Session 1: Studying God

Purpose
So often people's theology is a combination of things that have been heard from the pulpit, seen on TV, and read in books. Often things are taken for granted in theology that have been handed down through tradition, denomination, and time, that are not always Biblically correct. Instead of being like the Bereans who tested everything (Acts 17:11), even the words of Paul, many people are like sponges who just absorb anything and everything thrown at them.
The purpose of BT101 is to facilitate discussion so that we can formulate a Biblical Theology of Christianity. It is not coming from any particular denominational stance, nor is its purpose to show errors in different denominations. Instead we are approaching the topics from a Biblical viewpoint, discussing and dissecting Scripture so that we will always be ready to give a reason for the hope that we have to anyone who asks (1 Peter 3:15)

Before one embarks on a theological journey for the first time, one needs to be sure that they understand the basics of theology right at the beginning.