Reflective Essay: Going Into Mr. Ostranksy

Introduction Throughout this reflection, there are many things to be looking at, such as reading Even Better than Eden by Nancy Guthrie, relating to any chapter throughout the book, and learning how a short clip, song, and sermon relate to Guthrie. Throughout the book of Guthrie's, we've discovered ideas that resonate with the Gospel and our understanding of the Lord. As Guthrie unfolds her opinions, they align with the themes explored in our course, specifically the identity of the Lord and His people. This book explains how the Bible story can change everything about our story. Related to the course After delving into Nancy Guthrie's Even Better than Eden, her ideas resonate deeply, reflecting a connection to the Gospel and the Lord.

This chapter is dedicated to the relationship between the narrative and dialogue aspects of the biblical text and how that relationship can grant readers insight into the nature of the characters as well as foreshadow future events.

In the sixth chapter of Thomas C. Foster’s How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Foster examines the Bible and its importance throughout stories, poetry and film. The Bible is one of the most commonly known pieces of literature and is even “nonsectarian” in Foster’s eyes (44). Because stories from the Bible are so well known, the Bible is a tremendously easy for authors to reference when constructing a new composition. Especially “prior to sometime in the middle of the twentieth century” writers were “solidly instructed in religion” and could count on the public being very well acquainted with Biblical stories (47). This widespread knowledge of the Bible lead to greater understandings throughout literature, and the recognized allusions helped

The book is composed of twenty chapters each with a separate contributing author(s). Each chapter has the same format as an essay with a brief overview of the section

Brown and published by Westminster John Know Press is a book that provides basic information

Dr. John Vonder Bruegge is the sort of man one may envision dressed in a plush velvet robe, seated in a giant leather chair, encompassed by shelves of ancient leather books, and snacking on cheese and crackers. A Biblical scholar by trade, and a resident of a Dutch community by consequence, Dr. Vonder Bruegge has a unique story to tell. Dr. Vonder Bruegge has wealth of knowledge with a slight pension for performance. He can be found educating throngs of his diligent Biblical pupils at Northwestern College. Dr. Vonder Bruegge is passionate about his job as an educator and a Biblical scholar, engaging his students to grapple with tough questions, even in a small Dutch community like Orange City.

Let’s talk about the world about 2,000 years ago. It was a world where the mass of people were illiterate, taxes were extremely high, and the leaders would cheat and kill to feed their ever growing need for power. We all can relate to having a good storyteller in our lives, most were read to at night by their parents or are parents themselves that read to their children. What is the purpose of storytelling? It’s simple, comfort. A good story can ease your psychological unrest as well as offer a moral purpose. Sometimes you can even relate a story to your own life and offer an explanation to something you may be experiencing. This is exactly what the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were. They told their stories of Jesus to offer comfort to their people in a time when people could not pick up a story and read it themselves. It is part of human nature to have the desire for a good story. This paper will describe several events that were written by great storytellers in the bible.

Across the world and in the charming town of St. Petersburg, children in Sunday Schools and other Bible-based education are customarily pressured into memorizing countless Bible verses through authority’s intimidation or materialistic rewards. In The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, the classic Sunday School scene portrays such memorization futility because of its oft failure to penetrate the heart and its vain, deceptive aspects. Tom Sawyer, in that scene, fraudulated this esteemed memorization by lying, and, despite knowing the lie, the teacher, attempting to impress a judge, disregards Tom’s dishonesty. Another boy, having memorized 3000 Bible verses, was said to have become nothing more than an idiot. Nonetheless, Bible verse memorization is not Biblical education’s depravity, but it is rather the reasons behind it and the ultimate effect. It matters not so much that the Bible is known front to back in the mind, but rather that its meaning and application pervade the heart, guiding God’s will into life. Tom Sawyer was no saint, idiotic in terms of Bible study, and the most recognized, mischievous troublemaker of all time. Notwithstanding, he depicted several Biblical principles in his life without a true understanding of the Bible. He struggled to memorize the today’s iconic verses and to devote himself to God, but Tom Sawyer grew from boy to man with Christian principles deep within—sparked by loyalty, kindled by conscience, and inflamed with selflessness.

Readers of the Gospel of Luke often try to identify Luke’s intended audience. Understanding Luke’s intended audience can provide insight into how Luke used current culture to strategically spread the word of God. Specifically, we can look at the period of Hellenization, along passages, to interpret Luke’s Gospel as intended for a Greco-Roman audience.

Tullock, J. H., & McEntire, M. H., (2006). The Old Testament Story (9th Ed.). p.

Joseph reacts to Mary’s pregnancy with despair. “He struck himself in the face, threw himself to the group on sackcloth, and began to cry bitterly: what sort of face should I present to the Lord God? What prayer can I say on her behalf since I received her as a virgin from the temple of the Lord God and didn’t protect her” (The Infancy Gospel of James, 13:2-3). Joseph’s reaction reveals to us the intrinsic link he feels towards maintaining Mary’s chastity, and that he believes her pregnancy will have negative affects to his honour. Joseph considers himself as a failure; he sees her pregnancy as his violation to the temple and to God.

Macdonald, (2010) suggested that the bible is a cultural work of art because it is used in storytelling, preaching, drama and visual posters. The bible tells God’s story in how he created the world, the fall, redemption and the new creation. The bible has a sequence of events, songs, proverbs, prophetic books, writing of wisdom and letters. In the bible there is a comparison between connecting scripture and constructing culture. It is able to change one’s life and one’s culture because

Jesus was born from a virgin Marry. Jennifer Bird elucidates the reasons why Jesus had to be born from a virgin, “according to the sacrificial system of the Jews, was if Jesus was pure and blameless and sinless” The culture at that time was very strict into women guarding their virginity, in other words for the female it was their pride to be virgin. To families as well it was an honor to keep a girl to the point of being married and still be virgin. The reaction of Jacob’s sons to the rape of their sister Dinah could explain the importance, Genesis 34.14 they replied, “...that would be a disgrace for us.” And in our cultures in Africa, virginity of a girl is valued. To parents it is an honor that can let them ask for

Hebrews is a beloved book of the Bible that offers the vigor of academic arguments, historical and cultural treasures, inspiration through the supremacy of Christ, as well as encouragement for those who are struggling in their faith and practical instruction. However, one of the temptations is to take the mandates found in the text of Hebrews 13:1-5 and limit it to a specific history and cultural context based on several seemingly obscure phrases including entertaining angles, undefiled marriage beds, and living as if one was in prison or being tortured but in reality nothing could not be further from the truth. Hebrews 13:1-5 offers an immensely practical list of ways to witness to a culture that is hostile to Christians through caring for

After having one complete semester of Mr. Ostransky’s class, I thought I knew how the second semester was going to go. I could not have been more wrong. While in the first semester the most influential topic was middle eastern culture, this semester I learned more about myself. Whether it be through the lists during weekly spiritual exercises or through the dialectical journals, I discovered how I function.