Comments from students of the Bible Framework
From time to time we receive comments from viewers and listeners to http://bibleframework.org. Sometimes the comments point out our errors (for which we are thankful). Other times they ask where they can find certain topics. And sometimes they offer encouragement over the truth presented. Recently we received this insightful comment:
“I was listening to Lesson 2 in the Framework. Mr. Clough was talking about the need in language to classify. He used the illustration of a child learning language and was learning about dogs. . . . [Mr. Clough said] ‘We can’t talk without classifying. That is one of the pre-conditions for knowledge, that the universe around us is classifiable. . . . If today the little child is learning that a cat isn’t a dog and that a sheep isn’t a dog, and then during the night the animals transmute their form, what happens to the learning process? Obviously, it stops in confusion. . . . How do we connect this with Scripture? [Classification] implies that to know anything, I have to know there is a stability in the real world outside of me that I can genuinely learn about.’ ”
“It struck me like a ton of bricks that all the push for gender and preferred pronouns and ‘dead names’ and all of this confusion being shoved onto small children (from ages 3 up) has exactly the effect [Mr. Clough] spoke about. It blows up the ability to classify, thereby destroying both knowledge and the ability to communicate. . . . This is a devious way for the devil to prevent, in the most insidious way, the ability to communicate the truths of scripture and thereby the gospel. This issue is more than morality. It is the very destruction of the ability to communicate anything and most importantly the truths of God.
“Thank you for this series; I am loving it.”
Notice the reasoning in this comment. Framework lessons 1 and 2 do not discuss contemporary educational philosophy of gender fluidity. But this person saw how those lessons provide tools for seeing through such delusions and points to the clash with core ideas in the Bible. That realization we desire for every student of the Bible Framework!
Ministry notes
A series of commitments to my local church as well as last minute requests have occupied much of my time this quarter.
In May, my pastor contracted COVID and asked me to fill in on short notice. So, for the fifth time this year I had to prepare teaching material for our local church. The topic of this lesson is entitled Living in the Cosmos.
In March I also added a fifth lesson to the Revelational Foundations series dealing with the Tower of Babel, entitled Genesis 9–11 - The Rise and Fall of the Second Civilization.
I also filled in for my pastor on July 3. We are expecting that lesson (the Faith Rest Drill) will be available on the Bible Framework Applied website within a month.
On June 21 I was asked to participate in an online educational conference hosted by Colorado Biblical University (CBU) in Ft. Morgan, CO and Vyrsity in Ft. Dodge, IA. Both institutions have been created recently by Dr. Christopher Cone to teach the usual undergraduate level courses taught in secular universities, but include insights from biblical thought.
My topic was “Foundations of Socio-Political Thought”. I presented what the Biblical Framework describes as God’s created social institutions of humanity, i.e., individual responsibility, marriage, family, and the post-Fall institution of civil government. I pointed out the damage done to these foundational institutions by the Fall. I stressed that contrary to contemporary thought and government policies, they are NOT mere human traditions but are built into our very human nature. Because of this unchangeable nature, they cause increasingly strong points of tension with ever-changing, hasty, and often thoughtlessly implemented government policies.
Since the bulk of my lecture focused on Genesis 1–11, I added two concluding topics. One topic was “The Controversy over Monarchy in Ancient Israel” from Deuteronomy 17:14–20 and 1 Samuel 8:5–18. The other topic was “The Political Innovation of David” from the accounts in 1 and 2 Samuel. As you can imagine, the thrust of these two subjects aim at the very similar increasing centralization of civil authority in our country.
We’ll be adding this presentation to the Bible Framework Applied website as soon as the materials are made available to us.
Dr. Cone thanked this ministry: “[Your presentation] was outstanding and will be a blessing to Vyrsity and CBU students.”
Of course, none of this work would be possible without your faithful prayers and support!
Bible Framework Web (in)sites
As mentioned above, Mr. Clough has added a fifth lesson entitled Genesis 9–11 - The Rise and Fall of the Second Civilization (the new topic features the Tower of Babel) to his Revelational Foundations series, which is now available on the www.bibleframeworkapplied.org website.
Mr. Clough’s recently taught Living in the Cosmos lesson is now available on the Bible Framework Applied website under the Divine Institutions series.
We’ve been getting a lot of questions about the Bible Framework being available for children and young adults, as well as for those who speak Spanish. There are children/young adult/Spanish courses that have been developed by a talented couple from Singapore. These links are available on the Bible Framework Applied website. Why not take a quick look at the Overview of Interlocked today to get an idea of what’s in this course material? Don’t miss taking The “10-Cent” Tour included in this document!
We highly recommend these courses for your young people—or even for a Bible Framework refresher for yourself!
We recently made the Bible Framework course and Bible Framework Applied materials available for ordering on Flash/jump drives (see the 1Q22 Bible Framework newsletter). We’ve taken that one step further and now offer a single (large) compressed ZIP file that can be downloaded from the respective websites. You can now easily download all of the Bible Framework materials and not have to wait for shipping. This is especially helpful for our overseas listeners.
As always, we value your feedback regarding issues you might be having with the websites. Please let us know if we can help improve your ability to access Bible Framework information. |
Announcements
Bayside Community Church
Guest Speaker July 10, 2022
3333 Bayshore Blvd,
Tampa, FL 33629,
Adult Sunday School 10 AM, Worship Service 11 AM
Prayer Requests
For me to resist commitments that are impeding work on the Bible Framework website upgrades.
For a wise use of lessons learned during the last two decades from interaction with Framework attendees at various venues.
For the folks that work continuously to manage website issues, respond to orders for the many series available, and order the necessary supplies.
For increased exposure to believers hungry for guidance on applying scriptural truths to the perplexities of modern life throughout the world.
|
|
