Important subjects to study?

[Kliska]

For a Christian we all know that Bible study is imperative, along with Bible study, knowledge of the history of the church, scriptures, major figures in Christianity is helpful. What other subjects do you think link in with our study of Jesus, scripture, and God? History? Quantum Mechanics? Poetry? Other Languages?

Just interested in opinions from everyone.

[Dd4me]

History definitley! Secular western civilization confirms the prophecies of many old testement prophets.
Current events! Prophecy being fufilled in real time.

[Acts5:41]

Well, I'll only talk to myself.

For me, it's pretty much "Sola Scriptura" and a bunch of missionary/evangelical biographies. My reading level is pretty poor, maybe 6th grade now. Thank you, medication.

When I attempt to read more complex stuff, or even KJV, it's all gibberish.

But then I read in the Bible, God wants our faith. Well, He's got that.

Back before medication, when I was confirmed, we learned a lot of church history. I remember a lot of that. Tyndale was one of my favorites.

God has other people for the theology and apologetics.

Me? I'm prayer gal, urban missionary, and Bible-giver.

[jonshaff]

Taking a class, taught by a Christian, on Judaism (history, culture, and religious beliefs) was awesome! I recommend all Christian have more of an understanding of Judaism. Studying apologetics is a must, as well as studying a variety of different denominations (especially the ones not regarded by Christians as "christian").

Took a class on world religions as well...history and beliefs...definitely provocative

[Acts5:41]

OH, that reminds me. I have read a couple of books on cults.

"Find it Quick Guide to the Cults"
and
"Kingdom of the Cults" being my favorite.

I never made it through "The Handbook of Spiritual Warfare".

[Poppycat]

I'm going to go out on a limb here Kliska and suggest another genre not mentioned. Fiction, specifically some Christian fiction can give a whole new dimension to bible study times. I have to admit to being pretty choosy with regard to authors though. For instance, Francine Rivers collection of novelettes called A Lineage of Grace which you have probably read, sent me racing for my Bible and each account had much more dimension than ever before. Likewise a similar collection called Sons of Encouragement. Stand alone novels Like Redeeming Love and The Scarlet Thread had themes that led me to study up on grace, forgiveness, perseverence etc. Only possible of course because this author writes well out of a Christian Bible based mindset.

Can't forget eschatology! The Left Behind series also sent me scrambling for my Bible to checkout if something really happened and if a particular scripture quoted actually said that. My mindset on this was expanded to take in other possible scenarios, good stuff. In this vein Joel Rosenberg also gave me much food for thought.

My background is in a library, a Christian high school library where I got to buy/read to approve new books (not to mention raiding the shelves to read what was already there) so you could say I am a book junkie. As the school was what was known then in Australia as Dutch Reform they were big believers in teaching Church History as a subject for all in lower grades so I got to add to natural history with what is missing in secular education. Most helpful. My children attended this school, primary through high school so lots of projects in this subject!!

You'll have gathered by now that if it stands still I read it!! Sorry if I got carried away, probably more than you wanted to hear

[onehappymeg]

I am going back to school to work towards my masters in psychology in Christian counselling with a minor in biblical studies.

[Tiger Lily]

Apologetics, especially creation vis-a-vis evolution! For instance, IIRC the whole old-earth fallacy is one of the major obstacles to people accepting the Lord.

Apologetics appears to have great value re "pre-evangelism." It seems logical that if you can show: (1) that even some of the "strangest" stories* in the Bible are not necessarily that strange after all and (2) that Bible prophecy (unlike ANY other type of prophecy) has always been fulfilled with 100% accuracy, then you can more easily show nonbelievers that they don't have to park their brain outside to become a Christian. Once they've chewed on that info for a while, they may well be more likely to be receptive to the Gospel.

This is potentially useful in dealing with young people and intellectuals alike. Our society gets sooo much anti-God/anti-Bible indoctrination at public schools, through the media, etc. I remember a young lady (aprx. 12) learning in Sunday school about dinosaurs from the creation viewpoint. The next Sunday she accepted the Lord. I can't help but wonder if the dinosaur issue hadn't been the last thing standing in the way of her salvation.


* One of my favorite examples of this is Jonah being inside a whale for three days (Jonah 1:1-17, 2:1-10). A similar, but more modern example occurred in 1895. A man named James Bartley was swallowed by a whale. About a day and a half later, his fellow whalers caught that whale. When the whalers cut the whale open, they found their shipmate inside--still alive. Since in the ancient Hebrew customs even a partial day was counted as a whole day, Bartley could have been inside that whale as long or longer than Jonah.1

1 Henry M. Morris and Martin E. Clark, The Bible Has The Answer (El Cajon, CA, Creation-Life Publishers, Inc., 1992) 74-76..

[Tiger Lily]

I'm going to go out on a limb here Kliska and suggest another genre not mentioned. Fiction, specifically some Christian fiction can give a whole new dimension to bible study times. I have to admit to being pretty choosy with regard to authors though. . . .

Good point. I had a much better grasp of spiritual warfare after reading Frank Peretti's This Present Darkness and Piercing the Darkness. BTW, this may interest some of his fans: He writes such incredible descriptions of demons, that I was curious if he could see them. I got to speak with him briefly at a pro-life event, so I asked him about it. He said that he himself could not see them, but that he had spoken with people who could see them.

[Poppycat]

Good point. I had a much better grasp of spiritual warfare after reading Frank Peretti's This Present Darkness and Piercing the Darkness. BTW, this may interest some of his fans: He writes such incredible descriptions of demons, that I was curious if he could see them. I got to speak with him briefly at a pro-life event, so I asked him about it. He said that he himself could not see them, but that he had spoken with people who could see them.

Interesting, I've wondered myself about Frank P's insight. Thanks for sharing that. I also like Stephen Lawhead for his history/fantasy books but I can't claim they prompted any bible study. "Just entertainment you knucklehead" (not you Tiger Lily, just a quote)!

[Tiger Lily]

Interesting, I've wondered myself about Frank P's insight. Thanks for sharing that. I also like Stephen Lawhead for his history/fantasy books but I can't claim they prompted any bible study. "Just entertainment you knucklehead" (not you Tiger Lily, just a quote)!

[old_andy]

Human nature. I have been going through the OT and despite our advancements and technology, people (the human race) never changes. God was so extravagant in His blessings for the nation of Israel and still they rebelled...repented...rebelled...repented..and so on.

Imho, when one has a basic understanding of human nature, it is much easier to wrap one's mind around the actions of those we have contact with and to understand society. We see actions and attitudes of those today match the behavior of the ancients.

Also, it gives me a greater appreciation of God's grace.

jmho

[outside60]

Money 101 -
Having the proper perspective of it.
How to handle it wisely.
How to to be a cheerful giver.
How to stay within a budget.
How to live within ones means.
Paying off debt.
How to save.
How to invest.
Teaching your children these topics as well.

[Acts5:41]

I read a "romance novel based on the Bible" based on the story of Rahab.

I DID NOT like it. It wasn't accurate. She married a completely different Israelite than the guy they had as her "love interest" at the end of the book. It was fiction, very loosely based on the Bible.

It also stated the walls of Jericho went down because they were poorly built, not due to any divine intervention.

"One night with the King" was another one that took MANY liberties. Haman was not an Amekelite! He hated the Jews because he felt Mordacai had disrespected him; so he chose to punish the whole race.

Two from Galilee was probably one of the better ones I read; but I felt it had a very strong catholic bent. Mary the saint... the line about the "ecstasy as she became one with God and He possessed her" sounded downright raunchy to me.

I am pretty uptight, if you want to read interesting stories about the Bible, I think you really need to go to the Bible. After you've read it through a couple times, then go read the fiction so you can spot the inaccuracies. I'd never suggest a seeker or new Christian read that stuff.

One thing I've considered getting for my own collection, one of those beautifully illustrated comic book or Manga Bibles. They are wonderfully illustrated.

To restate what I "study":
Bible
Cults
Evangelism

[JPE]

We need to understand how Christianity has shaped us, and how non-Christianity has shaped others.

For those of us who have a lot of contact with non-Christian internationals, we need to know how very different their social norms are from our own. It's had a big impact on me personally and I think it is also putting our nation at risk.

This has taken me decades to understand and if I had grasped it earlier in my life I know I could have spared myself a lot of pain. I'm not sure I can explain this as well as I can give concrete examples. Here's one:

In the United States, if you ask a stranger for directions and he doesn't know the area so can't honestly help you out, he will tell you, "I'm sorry, I'm from Timbucktoo and can't give you directions. You better ask somebody else!" We all expect we'd get that response from anybody who couldn't help us out, including the average godless Joe Schmoe and not just from born again Christians who the Bible describes to be lovers of the truth. Joe Schmoe is being honest with you because that's the social norm--not because he has a personal conviction to tell the truth.

Middle easterners tell me that, in their culture, it is more important for the stranger to make a good impression. So our clueless stranger would not admit that he has no idea, so is essentially worthless to you as far as giving directions goes. Instead, the average clueless stranger in their country would say, "Of course I know how to get there! I will help you my dear!!" Then, taking your arm, and smiling kindly, he will make up believable sounding directions so that you will feel comforted and owe him your deepest gratitude for his exceptionally kind delivery. It's of no significance that what he just told you is completely untrue and you end up even more confused as a result.

Another example: your middle eastern friend admires you for your dedication to living a drug free life. You later discover that this very same friend is a cocaine and heroine pusher. Would you feel you had been lied to? Would you begin to see your friend as hypocritical? As an American you probably would, but as a middle easterner, you would not. Double standards are the norm for them and they see no discrepancy or hypocrisy with them. Understanding that double standards are their norm, I no longer scratch my head when my middle eastern family tells me, "...of course we genuinely admire you for holding certain standards. What you do not understand is that we hold very different standards for ourselves and admire ourselves for it just as much. Now, if you held our standards, you would be a bad person. But we can hold to these standards and it's OK."

I have experienced this clash of cultural norms a lot in my personal life. That's why I was so concerned when Obama said a while back that he was planning to diplomatically resolve our differences with leaders of middle eastern countries. That's a lot trickier than you might think. You and your partner have to have your feet on the same piece of ground if you're going to survey it together and come up with the same measurements. You cannot just assume you're both standing on the same ground.

Anyway, I think that subject is important for us to understand well if we want to avoid trouble personally and as a nation.

[Acts5:41]

JPE, I have handed out a fair amount of Bibles to Muslims and it's a very mixed bag.

Some, I think, had demon issues.

Most are very polite in accepting it.

Some have asked me for another, the next time they saw me. What happened to the first? Better not ask!

A few have sincerely thanked me.

The first muslim man I met was very abusive with his family, but oh so polite to me. I was friends with his daughter.

I'll be praying for your family issues.

[HeIsEnough]

Imho, when one has a basic understanding of human nature, it is much easier to wrap one's mind around the actions of those we have contact with and to understand society.

Excellent subject to understand for the believer, very profitable for discernment, and for understanding the word.

[Raynbowz]

If you are looking for current Christian authors, I highly recommend Randy Alcorn for both fiction and non-fiction. He's really great!

[Poppycat]

I read a "romance novel based on the Bible" based on the story of Rahab.

I DID NOT like it. It wasn't accurate. She married a completely different Israelite than the guy they had as her "love interest" at the end of the book. It was fiction, very loosely based on the Bible.

It also stated the walls of Jericho went down because they were poorly built, not due to any divine intervention.

"One night with the King" was another one that took MANY liberties. Haman was not an Amekelite! He hated the Jews because he felt Mordacai had disrespected him; so he chose to punish the whole race.

Two from Galilee was probably one of the better ones I read; but I felt it had a very strong catholic bent. Mary the saint... the line about the "ecstasy as she became one with God and He possessed her" sounded downright raunchy to me.

I am pretty uptight, if you want to read interesting stories about the Bible, I think you really need to go to the Bible. After you've read it through a couple times, then go read the fiction so you can spot the inaccuracies. I'd never suggest a seeker or new Christian read that stuff.

One thing I've considered getting for my own collection, one of those beautifully illustrated comic book or Manga Bibles. They are wonderfully illustrated.

To restate what I "study":
Bible
Cults
Evangelism

By and large I agree with you Acts but if you remember I said I was pretty choosy as to christian authors I read. The few authors, Rivers, Rosenberg, LaHaye/Jenkins I did endorse were well written and bible based and did prompt me to check out scripture when it was used as a device in these books. Also because they are fiction, I kept in mind while reading that literary licence was taken. Having said that I appreciated the way my own imagination was stimulated when reading the author's account and then the biblical account.

I don't like 'christian romance' novels and also couldn't finish One night with the King and that reflects probably my taste in reading more than anything. I read much more along the bible commentary lines and fiction to relax. Thanks for taking the time to read and answer my post.

[Poppycat]

If you are looking for current Christian authors, I highly recommend Randy Alcorn for both fiction and non-fiction. He's really great!

My daughter and I have read and enjoyed some. Thanks for the suggestion