# data[].attributes.headline
Introduction - Why Is This Book Important? 

# data[].attributes.subject
Introduction - Why Is This Book Important? 

# data[].attributes.body
T. Barnes

This book is important because it acts as a “guidebook” in understanding who God is, why he created us, and why Christianity is a valid way of searching for God. It answers difficult questions like: “Who is God?” “Where is he?” “What is he like?” “Can we trust what the Bible says about him?”

Why do humans question everything around them and what is the result of that?                  Humans often question our existence and why we’re here. The reason we question and think in abstract ways is due to having ideas. Ideas are why we see everything the way we do, the reason we form a view on life. Having ideas can be good or bad, deciding which an idea is ultimately decides what paths we take in life.

How do ideas influence our lives?                                                     Our heads are constantly being fed ideas. Whether it's through music, video games, or even books, there are ideas constantly influencing us either negatively or positively. Ideas influence how and why we live. In chapter 1, it refers to ideas as a map of life. This map can be good or bad depending on what ideas influence it. A map influenced by good ideas can lead us down long and prosperous lives, while one influenced by bad ideas will lead us down a dark and sinful path.

How do we answer the questions that we humans continuously ask? In short, we read the bible. The bible was made to be our biggest influence, and help create the map we follow throughout life. It is our guidance.

Some key Verses:

1 Chronicles 12:32- And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment.

2 Corinthians 10:5- Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

# data[].attributes.body
T. Barnes

“What is the bible? Is it just a book of rules?”                                                                                 Many people don’t know what the bible truly is. Some Christians don't even know why we use it. Well first off, the bible isn't just a book of rules or heroes. The bible is a book of stories and parables.

In chapter 2, Sally llyod Jones describes the bible as a “adventure story about a young Hero who comes from a far country to win back his lost treasure. It’s a love story about a brave Prince who leaves his palace, his throne—everything—to rescue the one he loves. It’s like the most wonderful of fairy tales that has come true in real life”

The bible is perfect and accurate                                          The Bible is based on historically accurate events involving real people, places, and events. The bible was carefully created and transmitted throughout history. The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls are proof of this, they contained an almost complete book of Isaiah nearly a thousand years older than the next oldest copy. When saying the bible is inerrant you are saying that it is without error, and since God used writers to communicate exactly what He wanted; the Bible would be accurate in its original writings.

Romans 1:19–20- 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse

2 Timothy 3:16- 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness,

# data[].attributes.headline
Chapter 3- Does the Bible Have Authority? 

# data[].attributes.subject
Chapter 3- Does the Bible Have Authority? 

# data[].attributes.body
A. Cabral

We may have heard people talk about and ask the question, "Does the Bible Have authority? and the answer to that question would be yes the Bible has authority through God to give us the authority to fight against the devil from tormenting us, from whatever mindset you are thinking of that could distract you, from allowing someone to manipulate you into helping them with something but in reality they are asking for answers which basically is not helping its just giving them answers for no reason.

Chapter 3 is saying that authority is something we should respect instead of disrespecting it. The best thing to do is to respect authority no matter what it may bring but to respect authority and show love from it so it doesn't make us go the wrong path.

The bible is authorized by God and uses human language to communicate heavenly principles to earthly society. It is trustworthy in communication because it is God himself who is the ultimate communicator, speaking through the authors of each book of the bible. It is also clear in communication, you do no need a highly trained expert to understand it because it has to be us that understands it. If the bible is authorized by God, trustworthy, and clearly  communicated corrected in written form, then in fact it is reasonable to regard it as having authority as well.

Internal Evidence for the Bible's authority would be:
1. Jesus asserted authority.
2. Jesus trusted the bible's authority.
3. Jesus conferred authority on his disciples.

How far does God's authority extend?
1. God has authority over the limits of reason.
2. God has authority over our understanding of reality.
3. God has authority over culture.
4. God has authority over entertainment.
5. God has authority over our sense.
6. God has authority over our emotions.
7. God has authority over knowledge.
8. God has authority over Governments.

Hebrews 13:17
"Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you."

Romans 13:1-2
1. "Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God."
2. "Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgement."

# data[].attributes.headline
Chapter 4- What the Bible say about God? 

# data[].attributes.subject
Chapter 4- What the Bible say about God? 

# data[].attributes.body
A. Cabral

We may sometimes realize that the bible does say things about God. The question that People need to ask is What the bible says about God? the answer to that question would be that God is Alpha and Omega, Beginning and End, Above and not beneath, and he is the way, the truth, the life, no ones comes to the father except through God himself.

Who God reveals himself to be?
1. God is self-existent.
2. God is spirit.
3. God is personal.

Basically, God is a person to be known rather than a force to be used. God is supposed to be treated as a being, not an object or force. He is not something to be used or manipulated. the value and dignity he imparts cannot be changed by any other person or circumstance. God is Holy and set apart from everything and everyone. He is eternal, all-knowing, all-powerful, everywhere present, unchanging, wise, righteous, loving, merciful and gracious. God is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Psalms 46:10
"Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."

Colossians 3:1
"If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God."

Romans 8:28
"And we know that those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."

Philippians 4:9
"What have you learned and received and heard and seen in me-- practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you."

Ephesians 2:10
"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."

# data[].attributes.body
Chapter 7- How to read the Bible
G. Kormanyos

Some questions you might get asked are: How can you read scripture?
What happens if you read the Bible while being self-centered?

How can you read the scripture? Before you even start to read it you need to know that it's not about us it's about God. If you don't know how to read it properly it can lead to causes, symptomatic , "easy" Christianity. If you learn to read it the right way, it can help you think carefully about the Christian faith and that can turn into living a better life as a Christian. You can get the most out of the bible if you have an open mind, open heart, pray over it, and ponder it after you read it. That's how you can get the most out of it. Also if you don't get some parts of it the first time you can ask someone to explain it to you or ask God to help you understand it.
What happens if you read the Bible while being self-centered? Some people ask themselves how what they just read in the bible means to them. And that's okay because more people do it than we know of. It's a big part of culture it's called Postmodernism. It started as a scholars responded to failure of modern science, technology. As a result it turned into their attention away from "capital T truth" to localized, small truths they were constructed through people's individual and cultural experience.

# data[].attributes.headline
Chapter 8 - What the Bible says about Loving God 

# data[].attributes.subject
Chapter 8 - What the Bible says about Loving God 

# data[].attributes.body
C. Lopez

We always hear about loving God and loving others, but what does that actually mean? What does that actually look like? Well, in order to love our neighbors, we must first love God.

Chapter 8 says that learning about who God is, is important when it comes to loving Him. God is all powerful, merciful, forgiving, loves unconditionally, and so much more. Us humans bear His image and He equips us for life. Loving God can look like obedience, respect, honesty, and talking with Him, which all should take place once we begin and grow in our relationships with Him. Loving God is intentional, and four questions to reflect on oneself are:
(1) What are my loves? With what or whom am I intimate?
(2) What are my loyalties? Who or what gets the real me? What causes me to commit my time and energy?
(3) What are my longings? Toward what am I aiming in my life? What is success? If I continue where I have aimed, where will I end up?
(4) What are my liturgies? What do I worship? What are the habits of my life?

When we have a heart for loving God, everything else falls into place much easier. Two ways to be intentional with loving God is to: explore God’s Word, reading and studying the Bible is a mean of learning to love God. A second way to be intentional is to pray, prayer changes us and prayer is communication, which is very important in all relationships, especially in one’s relationship with God. God loves us so much, no matter what, why shouldn't we love Him back?

1 John 4:19 says "We love because he first loved us."
1 Corinthians 13:4-8 says "Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away."

# data[].attributes.headline
Chapter 9 - What The Bible Says About Loving Our Neighbors 

# data[].attributes.subject
Chapter 9 - What The Bible Says About Loving Our Neighbors 

# data[].attributes.body
C. Lopez

Chapter 9 says that our world would be significantly different if everyone showed love for one another. We know what loving God can look like, and that sets the base for loving others.

Loving our neighbors can look different to everyone, depending on the situation. Loving others can mean having their best interest in mind. You can show love for others by kind and genuine acts, such as helping them with something or opening a door. Even saying hello to and smiling at the lonely kid at school is an act of love, and can go a long way, and that goes for encouraging others as well. Loving others doesn't mean "love those who are nice to us", it means to love EVERYONE. Even those who are mean or rude to us, God calls us to love everyone even if it isn't as easy as it sounds. Chapter 9 says that because of the Fall, our sinful nature impacts our relationships. We get angry and hateful, and say or do mean and hurtful things because of our feelings and emotions. We can feel those emotions because our feelings are valid, but acting out negatively on those emotions can bring negative consequences on ourselves and those around us. Being neighborly means being intentional, considerate, and genuine. We are called to love people where they are, love them through their sin. My pastor says we are called to "love the hell out of people", which means to love them so much that they want to turn away from their sin and turn towards God instead. Loving people regardless of their sin is different than loving the person and their sin, it doesn't mean you agree with their sin, it means you love them. Loving God means loving people, you can't love people without first loving God.

Mark 12:30-31 says "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

# data[].attributes.headline
Chapter 13 - Isn't claiming truth intolerance?

# data[].attributes.subject
Chapter 13 - Isn't claiming truth intolerance?

# data[].attributes.body
We may or may not have heard of a few people talking about either 'the truth' or 'tolerance', but never have I heard them both within the same sentence.

Some of you may or may not be wondering if loving your neighbor means agreeing on the same faith, and let me be the one to tell you no it does not! loving your neighbor does not mean agreeing on the same faith, loving your neighbor is showing tolerance to them, and loving them like you love God and like you love yourself. Tolerance pretty much means to be open to someone who has a different opinion than you, and to coexist with them. Another word for tolerance is liberalism. The effect postmodernism has on the truth, is leading people to believe that the truth cannot be known, and is differentiated from 'actual knowledge'. They tend to think that the words we use to make our case are just words and doesn't mean anything. These postmodernist don't want their case to be presented as so blunt. They just want to convince people that Christianity has any ties too the truth. Postmodernist also argue that no religion's story of God, humanity, or salvation is true. In more simple terms, the reject all metanarratives, which defeats the purpose of Christianity in the first place.

John 17:17 ESV. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth
Psalm 145:18 ESV. The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth
Romans 12:12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Psalm 37:7-9 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.

# data[].attributes.body
M. Breanna

In chapter 10 it says that God is great in power, God is a designer, and God has written his law on our hearts.  Their is also a cosmological argument that nothing can be without God and something caused the universe to exist. There was not a big bang that happened to make everything.  There is also a design argument that people believe that God is working with us and that he was an intelligent designer that made the earth,  the universe, heaven, and hell.  God made everything for a purpose which has intelligent design which means it could not have arisen by chance and random but was designed by a intelligent being who knows a lot.
You may ask what is the formal argument for design:
(1)Design requires a designer.
(2)The universe exhibits design.
(3)Therefore, the universe was designed by a intelligent designer.
There is Biological Information that has been designed for a reason, which is DNA.  DNA is very complex because everyone's DNA is different in many ways.  A few examples of things that have DNA are bacteria, yeast, any kind of animal, and human beings.  All of DNA of an organism is called its genome.  God created these things so we would have a perfect life.
God said in the beginning of the bible in Genesis 2:1 that he created everything by the seventh day: and then he rested from all of his work. Then God made the seventh day holy, because on it he restored from all the work of creating that he had done.  What God created in the seven days:
(1)Heavens and the Earth.
(2)Separated the light from the darkness.
(3)Sky- Morning and Evening
(4)Land and Sea
(5) The land produced vegetation
(6)Day and Night
(7)Living Creatures
(8)God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
(9)God blessed mankind 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."

# data[].attributes.headline
Chapter 15- What's the Deal with Hell? ( Repeated Padlet- Use both to learn and compare perspectives :)

# data[].attributes.subject
Chapter 15- What's the Deal with Hell? ( Repeated Padlet- Use both to learn and compare perspectives :)

# data[].attributes.body
N. Torsney

People ask others all the time, do you believe in hell? If so, then there are lot of people who agree with you. The fear of being tormented in hell for all eternity is a scary thought. How would a God who loves us so much send us there? Justification. Being declared righteous by God through acts of Jesus Christ. He died for our sins, to show us that he loves us and wants the best for us.

God will seek those who seek Him (Matthew 7:7; Luke 19:10).

Therefore God doesn’t send people to hell, they choose it (Romans 1:18,21,25).

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." When you read the bible, Jesus speaks of hell more than anyone else. Jesus was sacrificed on the cross to show how much God loved us and how he took the hell out of our sins for us. Nonbelievers say, if God really loved us, then why would he send someone to hell? God is showing His love for you by how much he had to sacrifice and what he went through to save you. When you deny God, you invite hell into your life. God is light and good, hell is the darkness. Hell is the eternal darkness and separation from the blessings of God.

Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment (Hebrews 9:27)

# data[].attributes.body
M. Vanzant

This chapter opens with a quote from Bertrand Russel “for many, Christianity would be far more attractive if it didn’t include the doctrine of hell” unfortunately one’s discomfort with an idea or teachings has no bearing on how true the idea is. The bible refers to hell a great deal. To strip away it’s teachings about hell would fundamentally alter the message of much of the New Testament. The idea that Jesus died on the cross to reconcile us to God so we would not spend eternity apart from him would become meaningless. The bible says “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Our sin causes eternal separation from God (2 thess, 1:7-9) God made us to be in a love relationship with Him. We have free choice. Hell is the place for people who do not accept his love. Those who have rejected the God in whose image they are made and have fallen into sin. People do not like seeing themselves as sinners who deserve wrath. They cannot understand how a God can be loving, just, compassionate, and wrathful at the same time. But how can a God who does not exercise justice ever truly express love? Justice involves setting things right. (Isa 53:6) The good news of the gospel is that Jesus died to satisfy God's wrath. The one who quoted the most about hell is also the one who gave His own life so that no one would have to go there. The work of Christ was an expression of Gods justice and mercy, which delicately and beautifully intertwine like the two strands in a DNA double helix.

# data[].attributes.headline
Chapter 16 - Is God  a mean bully?      

# data[].attributes.subject
Chapter 16 - Is God  a mean bully?      

# data[].attributes.body
C.Vasquez

In God really a bully

In chapter 16 ask if God is a bully. Richard Dawkins says that God  is jealous and proud of it;  a pretty, unjust, unforgiving control- freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic homophobic, racist, infanticidal  genocidal, filicidal , pestilential , megalomaniacal , sadomasochistic ,capriciously malevolent bully. But i think God is not a bully I believe the only reason people say god is a bully or to strict is because they want to do whatever they want and god do not allow it. God is not a bully he is just trying to protect his children from doing what is bad for them like a parent would.
(Did God  command genocide )
Genocide: the systematic killing of a particular racial, ethnic, or religious group.  So if u take this and compare it to god i would say god did not command genocide.
Do God  hate homosexuals     In Leviticus 18:6-23 which refers to uncovering nakedness God do not hate homosexuals if anything he just don’t like it I believe God would prefer his children to be with the opposite sex . (psychoanalysis) an approach to psychology developed by sigmund Freud where by a psychologist attempt to resolve a patient’s psychological problem by uncovering and discussing the patient unconscious, unfulfilled and repressed desires. God believe that he could uncover people unconscious thought and motivations and then identify the stage of human development in which people were stuck so they could be freed. So in conclusion I don’t think god is a bully i just think he really just love us.