January 6, 2014
Day 1: Natural Theology vs. Revealed Theology
 How we’ll use this book:
 Homework
 Reading
 Questions and Prompts
 Class Prep
*It may be a good idea to
keep this book wherever you
do homework.
 The study of the nature of God and religious belief.
– Google
 The study of religious faith, practice, and experience : the
study of God and God's relation to the world.
– Merriam Webster
 The study of the nature of God and religious truth; rational
inquiry into religious questions.
– The Free Dictionary
 theology or knowledge of God based on observed facts and
experience apart from divine revelation.
– Google
 theology deriving its knowledge of God from the study of nature
independent of special revelation.
– Merriam Webster
 a theology holding that knowledge of God may be acquired by
human reason alone without the aid of revealed knowledge.
– The Free Dictionary
 theology based on and attainable from revelation only.
– Merriam-Webster
 theology which is to be learned only from revelation.
– The Free Dictionary
 theology based on the doctrine that all religious truth is derived
exclusively from the revelations of God to humans..
– Dictionary.com
1. Minimal Facts Approach to the Resurrection
2. Doctrine of the Trinity
3. The 10 Commandments
4. Cosmological Argument for God’s Existence
5. God is love
6. Reliability of the Gospels
7. Jesus Existed and taught many things
8. Jesus is the Son of God
 Conversation with Atheist about God’s existence
 Conversation with a Christian about predestination
 Conversation with a Jehovah’s witness about Christ’s
divinity (being God)
 Debate with an agnostic about morality
 Public speaking to a mixed crowd about the truth of
Christianity
A Bible teacher
An atheist
A Jehovah’s witness
Not sure what he believes
A news reporter and you are live on TV
Read pp23-25 of “The Greatest Life of All:
Jesus” and answer the questions/prompts on a
separate piece of paper.
Threaded Discussion post by 9pm this
evening for extra credit.
January 7, 2014
Day 2: Incarnation and Jesus’ Debut
1. Pass in Homework
2. Silent Reading: Luke 2:1-21
Bible 10: Semester 2 - Scripture Quizzes
 January 15/16: Luke 4:1-13
 March 26/27: Mark 13
 January 29/30: Matthew 5:1-20
 April 9/10: Matthew 23
 February 12/13: Matthew 9:1-26
 May 7/8: Matthew 26:57-75
 February 26/27: John 2:1-12
 May 21/22: John 21
 March 12/13: Luke 15
 Take out a blank sheet of paper
1. Who issued a decree that a census should be taken in the
entire Roman world?
2. What house and line did Joseph belong to?
3. Mary’s child was wrapped in cloths and laid placed where?
4. At what time of day did the angels appear to the shepherds?
5. What did the shepherds do after hearing from the angels?
6. What act accompanied Jesus’ naming on the eighth day?
 “ The Incarnation represents the belief that the Son of God,
who is the non-created second hypostasis of the triune,
God, took on a human body and nature and became both
man and God. ”
– Wikipedia
 To be fully human and fully God… is this possible?
 Teen mom
 Unmarried “parents”
 From Nazareth
 Born in a barn
 First bed: a manger (feeding trough)
 Race:
 Jews: “Chosen people”
 Samaritans “Half-Breeds”
 Syrians: Former conquerors of Jews and Samaritans (Assyria)
 Greeks: Former conquerors of Jews and Samaritans (Alexander)
 Social:
 Pharisees – Exclude Sinners
 Herodians – Cooperate with Rome
 Essenes – Escape Corruption
 Zealots – Kill the Bad Guys
 Read pp25-27 of “Jesus” and answer the questions/prompts
on a separate sheet of paper.
 Threaded discussion post and 2 comments by 9pm
Thursday
January 8/9, 2014 - Day 3:
1. Pass in Homework
2. Reflective Writing #1: If you were told that
your future king had just been born to a
homeless mother living in a shed behind the
convenience store on the outskirts of town, how
would you respond?
 Race:
 Jews: “Chosen people”
 Samaritans “Half-Breeds”
 Syrians: Former conquerors of Jews and Samaritans (Assyria)
 Greeks: Former conquerors of Jews and Samaritans (Alexander)
 Social:
 Pharisees – Exclude Sinners
 Herodians – Cooperate with Rome
 Essenes – Escape Corruption
 Zealots – Kill the Bad Guys
 Shepherds in Jewish Society
 Social outcasts: by necessity
 Religious outcasts: by employment
 Shepherds’ Response
 Immediately:“Let’s go see this thing!” v15
 Spread the word v18
 Glorifying and praising God v 20
 Magi from the east
 Astrologers, Dream, Interpreters, Zoroastrians
 Non-Jews
 King Herod
 Glo Bible Video
 Nuts & suspicious
 Rich and powerful – Herodium (Herodion)
 Messianic Expectation: Sa’aq
 Messiah = Danger
 Killing 2 year olds
 Chief Priests and teachers of the law
 Experts in the law
 Knew the birthplace of the Messiah
 Shepherds
 Immediately go & spread the word
 Magi from the east
 Seek after Jesus
 Worship
 King Herod
 Attempted Murder
 Infanticide
 Stays in his palace
 Chief Priests and teachers of the law
 Stay where they are
 Inaction
 If you were going to start a movement to save the world,
how would you start it? What kind of marketing techniques
would you use? As a small group develop a marketing
campaign to save the world.
 Think about your methods and look at God’s model of saving the world through
Jesus. How do your methods differ with God’s plan. Why do you think he did it the
way he did? A poor, peasant, Jewish baby.
 Circumcision:
 Solidarity
 Identifying with Israel
 Purification/Consecration:
 Pigeons – Sacrifice of the lower class
 Set apart for the service of the Lord
 Simeon:
 A freaky prophecy
 Anna:
 Messianic Expectation
 Redemption of Israel
 Study for Friday’s mini-assessment
 Natural vs. Revealed Theology
 Jewish Sects
 Magi, Shepherds, Herod, and Teachers of the Law
 Threaded Discussion due Thursday at 9pm