1. The Bible as a source of wisdom and authority in daily life:
Christianity Theme 1 - Religious figures and sacred texts 1c - The Bible as a source of wisdom and authority in daily life - Booklet 4
The Bible as a source of wisdom and authority in daily life:
The ways in which the Bible is considered authoritative:
as a source of moral advice (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14; Luke 6:36-37);
as a guide to living (Psalm 119:9-16; Psalm 119: );
as teaching on the meaning and purpose of life (Genesis 1:26-28; Ecclesiastes 9:5-9)
as a source of comfort and encouragement (Psalm 46:1-3; Matthew 6:25).

2. A Central Insight: Since the rise of the enlightenment, claims for the Bible’s supernatural status have been challenged. But it is important to recognize that when Christians say that the Bible is the ‘word of God’, most of the time they are not thinking of a debate about the supernatural status of the Bible but of how it functions in in their life, providing guidance and strength. Take, for example, these words of Martin Luther: The Bible is alive, it speaks to me; it has feet, it runs after me; it has hands, it lays hold of me... [(Thomas S. Kepler, ed., The Table Talk of Martin Luther (Mineola, NY: Dover, 2005), p. 197] Students should familiarize themselves with the texts in the specification so that they can point to the ways in which the Bible functions in a believer’s life: a source of moral advice, a guide to as teaching on the meaning and purpose of life, and as a source of comfort and encouragement. 2005, 1997) , p. 197
G Barker

3. What is the Bible?
The Christian Bible is a collection of sacred books bound together in two volumes known as the Old Testament and the New Testament. Old Testament in five minutes New Testament

5. 1 C The Bible as a source of wisdom and authority in daily life
The ways in which the Bible is considered authoritative as a source of comfort and encouragement (Psalm 46:1-3; Matthew 6:25)
The Bible is not a systematic essay on the meaning and purpose of life. It is rather an account of
The Bible can be read in many ways
1 C The Bible as a source of wisdom and authority in daily life
The Old Testament tells the story of
The ways in which the Bible is considered authoritative as teaching on the meaning and purpose of life (Genesis 1:26-28; Ecclesiastes 9:5-9)
The New Testament tells the story of . . .
The ways in which the Bible is considered authoritative as a as a guide to living (Psalm 119:9-16; Psalm 119: )
The ways in which the Bible is considered authoritative as a source of moral advice (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14; Luke 6:36-37)

6. The Bible as a source of moral advice (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14; Luke 6:36-37);
Fear God
Keep God’s commandments
Be merciful
Do not judge
Do not condemn
Forgive

7. The ways in which the Bible is considered authoritative as a guide to living (Psalm 119:9-16; Psalm 119: );
Live your life following God’s laws Don’t neglect the laws Follow the spirit not the letter of the law

8. The ways in which the Bible is considered authoritative as teaching on the meaning and purpose of life (Genesis 1:26-28; Ecclesiastes 9:5-9)
26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
27 So God created mankind in his own image,     in the image of God he created them;     male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
What is the meaning and purpose of life according to Genesis 1:26-28) Humans were created to rule

9. The ways in which the Bible is considered authoritative as teaching on the meaning and purpose of life (Genesis 1:26-28; Ecclesiastes 9:5-9)
5 For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even their name is forgotten. 6 Their love, their hate and their jealousy have long since vanished; never again will they have a part in anything that happens under the sun. 7 Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for God has already approved what you do. 8 Always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil. 9 Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun—all your meaningless days. For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labour under the sun.
Summary All life is meaningless unless people seek God Human attitude to events defines how worthwhile they are – not the events themselves

10. The ways in which the Bible is considered authoritative as a source of comfort and encouragement
Psalm 46:1-3
1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.
Matthew 6:25
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? (Matthew 6:25, NIV).

11. The Bible as a source of wisdom and authority in daily life AO2
The relative value of the Bible as teaching on the meaning and purpose of life.
The extent to which the Psalms studied offer a guide to living for Christians.

12. The relative value of the Bible as teaching on the meaning and purpose of life.
The Bible contains valuable teachings on the meaning and purpose of life
The Bible does not contain valuable teachings on the meaning and purpose of life
Love neighbour
Love God
Can see the Bible as a whole
Death penalty
Too much has changed since the Bible was written
Conflicting advice

13. The extent to which the Psalms studied offer a guide to living for Christians. Psalm 119:9-16; Psalm 119:
Psalms offers a useful guide to living
Psalms does not offer a useful guide to living
They offer comfort
They deal with timeless issues
They give clear instructions
Humans today can’t relate to Psalms
Outdated
Too vague