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June 4, 2014

Christ and Our Culture Wednesday Class Series Winter 2014 Week 1: Introduction Personal views and biases + examination of conflict. June 4, 2014. Class description.

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June 4, 2014

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  1. Christ and Our CultureWednesday Class SeriesWinter 2014Week 1: IntroductionPersonal views and biases + examination of conflict June 4, 2014

  2. Class description The purpose of this class is to present cultural beliefs and “truths” that may have been incorporated in the beliefs of the faithful. These cultural beliefs often have elements of Christian belief but do not stand when exposed to the light. The class approach will be to present a social topic, present the cultural view and then the Christ-like view. When these 2 views are in conflict, then the class will focus on ways to eliminate cultural view from our behavior. Because of the complexity of the topics and the short time frame, no topic will be covered in depth.

  3. Class outline (I think) 6/4Introduction Personal statement of belief and bias; study of conflict 6/11Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness On the defense of both my and your rights 6/18Of the People, By the People, For the People On civil government, justice, and taxation 6/25Till Death Do Us Part On marriage and sexuality

  4. Class outline (I think) Part 2 7/2 The Wealth of Nations On riches and the economic social strata 7/9 Give Me Your Tired On the social outcasts and downtrodden 7/16The Art of War On sovereign conflict and the military 7/23Imagine All the People Living in Harmony On the pursuit of global unity

  5. Class outline (I think) Part 3 7/30All Work and No Play Makes Jack a Dull Boy On work, rest, and entertainment 8/6We Have the Technology On science and medical advances 8/13Teach the Children Well On education and the pursuit of knowledge 8/20Alpha and Omega On the nature of our Savior

  6. A couple of stories from the wonderful world of chemistry…

  7. Class motivation • We, as people of faith, must guard our hearts against adopting the world’s point of view. • The world’s point of view is most commonly presented to us through our culture. • Some cultural views get blended into the “pure, living water” of a godly mindset. • Some of these blendings are obvious, some are not, some are harmless, some are not. • We must identify these pollutants and distill them from the pure water.

  8. Class approach • Present a topic • Identify the cultural view or understanding of the topic • Identify the godly view (from scripture) of the topic. • Determine if we have adopted or blended the cultural view. • Discuss ways to remove the cultural view.

  9. Personal views and biases • I believe that the scripture is the revealed Word of God. • I believe that Jesus is the focus of the entire Bible (including the Old Testament). • I believe that our fundamental beliefs as followers of Jesus is that He is God, he came as Man, that He lived a sinless life, that He gave Himself as a sacrifice for the atonement of our sins, that He was resurrected from the dead, and that He is the only way to salvation.

  10. More biases • I believe that the New Testament was written to the saved (i.e. the Church) not the lost. • I believe that believers can misunderstand scripture when they alter God’s precision. • More biases will be presented when we get to specific topics.

  11. Class authority • I have none! • I am flawed, opinionated, sinful, … • The authority is with God and scripture best represents His view • My goal is to best encourage each of us to examine our hearts and our beliefs, to examine scripture, and to faithfully and joyfully implement.

  12. Conflict within the body • Our diversity extends well beyond just race. • There were issues over which the New Testament church had separations • I Corinthians 5 • However, unity was the last recorded prayer of Jesus • John 17 • Unity is a defining nature of the Father and the Son. Therefore, unity should be a defining nature of the Groom and the Bride and the Body with itself. • I Corinthians 12; John 4: 8-14

  13. Conflict case study #1: The John Mark dilemma - Acts 13: 1-5 -- Paul and Barnabas leave on “1st missionary journey” taking John Mark - Acts 13: 13 -- John Mark abandons the journey at Perga - Acts 16: 36-41 -- Paul and Barnabas have a sharp dispute about taking John Mark on the 2nd journey and end up splitting ways. Barnabas curing the sick by Paulo Veronese Saint Paul by Bartolomeo Montagna Luke 9: 61-62 John 21

  14. Conflict case study #2: Teaching that is inaccurate or incomplete • Acts 18: 24-26 • Apollos was an educated teacher in the early Christian church • However, his understanding of baptism was limited to John the Baptist.

  15. My encouragement • Bereans did not take Paul at his word but checked what he said against scripture • Acts 17: 11 • Neither accept or reject without examining the scriptures.

  16. Class dynamics and issue mitigation There are several very involved topics to be covered in a 1 hour class period so class time will be premium. However, • I am willing to discuss after class as long as I reasonably can • I am willing to attend other classes or life talks if you are interested in further discussions. • I am willing to regularly check my email for the duration of this class Robert.L.Wade@knology.net

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