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BIBLE QUEST
Bible Quest is your journey to a basic understanding of the Bible,the church, and your Lutheran faith.
WHY BIBLE QUEST?
In the Book of Acts we read the Apostle Philip was on a road from Jerusalem to Gaza when he came across a cart transporting an Ethiopian who was head of the treasury for the Ethiopian Queen. The conversation between the two men is described this way:Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.31“How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” (Acts 8:30-31)The evangelist Billy Graham said, “There many things about God I don’t understand or comprehend. I accept His revelation of Himself by faith.”So that is our purpose here, not to judge or condemn, but to share faith information in a joyful, interesting and easy- to -understand way. It is intended, not just for those who study the Bible every day, but also for those who have never picked up a Bible in their life. In fact, it is our hope the information here motivates you to explore the Bible even further on your own. Think of it as a journey. A “Bible Quest” if you will. We encourage comments and questions to our posts. No question is too stupid or too basic to ask. Just understand a good or de6nitive answer might be elusive. Many have been seeking the answer to the same or similar questions for over 2,000 years!If you are curious and have questions, we encourage you to reach out to our Virginia Synod Commissioned Lay Preacher James Ingraham at jhiclp23@gmail.com. “Regardless of who you are, and wherever you are in your faith journey, Jesus loves you. And you are welcome here.”
"An intelligent mind acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge."
Proverbs 18:15
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Cool Stuff to Know About God’s Creation Timeline
How You Are Part Of God’s Creation Timeline
Everyone of us has a history, beginning with the day we were born. And we all have a place in, and a part to play in, God’s Creation.God’s Creation is very old. Most of the events we research in our Bible Quest happened a long time ago. So long ago it is difficult to imagine just how far back these events occurred. To help us understand how much time we are talking about, let us create a timeline using a tape measure. On our timeline, one foot (12 inches) will equal 100 years. Using this scale and starting with today, we can determine these interesting facts:
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• If you are 9-12 years old, you were born in the first inch of our timeline!• The “Baby Boomer” generation, or folks born 60-80 years ago, were born in the first 9 inches (1943-1963).• The Wright brothers flew the first airplane about 14-15 inches away (1903).• The United States declared Independence from England about two and a half feet away (1776)• Martin Luther began the Reformation in Germany about five and a half feet away (1517).• Jesus was born a little more than 20 feet away (6 BC-3 BC).• Moses and the Exodus occurred more than 36 feet away (est.1,500 BC).• Sir Isaac Newton, among others, placed the Earth’s creation in the Hebrew Bible, what we refer to as the Old Testament, about 6,000 years ago (60 feet). The current scientifically accepted creation age is so far back it won’t even fit on our timeline (believed to be almost 14 billion years ago!).
How We Define Time Periods/ Different Calendars?
• Because the history of human civilization covers such a vast amount of time, at least 12,000 years, we try to make things easier to understand by splitting our timeline into two major sections based on the birth of Jesus. They are called AD, or CE, and BC or BCE. This is sometimes referred to as the Christian calendar and is used by Western cultures.• AD, for the Latin term Anno Domini, or Year of Our Lord. This time section covers time from the birth of Jesus to the present day. This period is sometimes referred to with the letters CE, or Common Era. AD years increase from Jesus’ birth, such as 1950, 2001 and 2023.• BC, or Before Christ. As the name suggests, this covers all history occurring prior to the birth of Jesus, estimated to be sometime between 6 and 4 BC. This period is sometimes referred to with the letters BCE, or Before the Common Era. The larger the number in BC years, the further back in time we are talking about, such as 1500 BC (estimated time of Moses) is much further back in time than 50 BC (the time of Julius Ceasar and the Roman Empire). All of the Old Testament occurred during the BC, or BCE, time period.• Many cultures use different calendars. For example, our year 2023 is 5783 on the Hebrew calendar which is based on the creation date in Genesis. The Islamic calendar is based on the Prophet Mohammed moving to Medina in 622 CE. Their equivalent year is 1445. The Hindu and Chinese cultures also use different calendar systems.
In a future Quest, we will explore how the Bible fits into our Creation timeline.
Compiled by James IngrahamCommissioned Lay PreacherVirginia Synod, ELCAjhiclp@gmail.com
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Bible Fun Facts
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The ICHTHYS (or Fish) Symbol
The Ichthys (pronounced Ick-this) is a traditional symbol for Christians and Christianity. It is derived from the Greek word for fish, which in Greek can also be used as an acronym for Jesus Christ, God, Son, Savior. An acronym is an abbreviation for a longer term, such as using USA in place of United States of America.
Being a Christian has always been dangerous and remains so in many places today. But it was particularly so in the early church, from about 100 CE to 313 CE when the Roman Empire made numerous attempts to eliminate this new religion. The Ichthys served as a way for these early Christians to safely identify one another as well as lead them to their gatherings and places of worship.
Today in many churches, including Christ Lutheran, the symbol appears above the altar to lead us to our place of worship.
Prepared by James IngrahamCommissioned Lay Preacher, Virginia Synod ELCAQuestions or comments welcome at jhiclp23@gmail.com
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Share your Quest
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