Description
(Question 1 should be atleast 200 words. I will upload the reading for all question in additional files )
Question 1: What were some of the ways that you understand life to be different in Jesus’ time/location than ours today? In what ways do you think that life was similar? (HINT: Consider politics, economics, social structures, religious influences, and maybe the dreams and goals that people might have had then and we might have now)
Why is it important to know the context of the Scriptures we are reading/interpreting?
Question 2: Give a brief description in your own words from the reading for each of these terms:
From Chapter 2:
Judaism-
Synagogue-
Hellenistic Judaism-
Gentiles-
Samaritans-
Sadducees-
Pharisees-
Essenes-
Christianity’s relationship to Judaism-
From Chapter 3:
Pax Romana-
Religious hunger (pg. 22)-
Imperial cult-
Mystery religions-
Gnosticism-
Stoicism-
Question 3:Stott asserts that the phrase ‘Christian counter-culture’ best captures the heart of the message of the Sermon on the Mount.
What does he mean by ‘Christian counter-culture’?
From whom, specifically, are Christians supposed to be different? Include both followers of Jesus in his own day and Christians of today in your answer.
Considering the readings for the first two weeks, what information have you gained about
A). biblical interpretation, and
B). Jesus, his followers, and the world they lived in, that you might want to keep in mind as you begin reading the Sermon itself in week 3?
Sample Solution
