We have been looking at the things that unite and divide Christians when it comes to the Bible (PowerPoint).
Most Christians would believe that the Bible is the Word of God (inspired by God), but at the same time most Christians accept that it is in human words (written down by humans). Conservative Christians emphasise the first (Word of God), whereas liberal Christians often emphasise the second (human words).
This means that conservative Christians often take the Bible quite literally (the Bible means exactly what it says), whereas liberals take the Bible more metaphorically (the Bible is telling a story, so some things may not be literally true). Conservative Christians often refer to the Bible as inerrant (without errors), because God’s words must always be true, whereas liberal Christians often deny this, because they say that the Bible was written down by human beings.
In the lesson we looked at 3 different aspects of understanding the Bible:
You can find further information on the topics here:
- Creation
- Heaven and Hell
- Women
For homework I would like you to produce something in response to the question: “What’s the difference between a conservative and a liberal Christian?” It could be a short essay or a drawing but it needs to express some understanding of two different ways of interpreting the Bible. Use the information on this website to help you, and feel free to use the examples of creation, heaven and hell, and the role of women.
