Is there anyone—educated theologian or layman with his Bible—who can take the challenge, and go against the familiar and commonly accepted teaching practice of millennia ?
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+ What is the common, accepted practice in teaching theology ?
— First state your doctrine or position, and then give Bible verses and reasoning to back it up.
— Give the impression, the assumption, that your position is correct, without explaining the steps how you got there.
— And, ‘reinforce’ your position by focusing on it with more time and emphasis—even giving it a disproportionate importance over the gospel.
+ What is the challenge, to go against the grain in teaching theology ?
— Let go of control in the teaching—control that people should accept your position as the right one because you have already proven it yourself, and you’re sharing that proof.
— Take the time to help people find Bible verses on the topic without prior conclusions or interpretations, not telling them what each verse means just because you know what it means.
— Include Bible verses that may indicate positions different from yours, not avoiding them or minimizing them.
— It builds more confidence in Bible study if we look at everything the Bible has to say, and people get secure in what is clear, without forced acceptance of someone else’s understanding of what may not be clear right away.
— Something often missing in theological training—we don’t have to have answers to every question that comes up in reading the Bible.
— Instead of worrying about passages they might not understand, encourage people to apply in daily life what the Bible clearly tells us to do, and focus on bringing others to know Jesus.