The Four Agreements (Angela Austin)-4th Study

Bible Study with
The Four Agreements
By Don Miguel Ruiz


The foundation of The Four Agreements is to be aware. Be aware that everyone is living in their own dream. Be aware of our own thoughts. Be aware of the judge and victim inside of us. And most importantly be aware of the past agreements we’ve made with ourselves and make sure they still apply.

The other three agreements will not work without the fourth agreement which is “Always do your Best.” And although it may be self explanatory, What is your best?

When are the times you don’t do your best?

What do you think about this statement… “When you don’t do your best you are denying yourself the right to be you?”

The Four Agreements explains: “Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret.”

What happens when you try to do more than your best?

How do you think your actions… when doing less than your best, your best, and more than your best… reflect upon the level of your faith at that time?
In Malachi 1:6-8 the Lord speaks of blemished sacrifices… What is God saying about our best?
6 "A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?" says the LORD Almighty. "It is you, O priests, who show contempt for my name. "But you ask, 'How have we shown contempt for your name?'
7 "You place defiled food on my altar. "But you ask, 'How have we defiled you?' "By saying that the LORD's table is contemptible. 8 When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?" says the LORD Almighty.
What is God saying about our best?
Ruiz states: “Every action then becomes a ritual in which you are honoring God. After that, the next step is honoring God with every thought, every emotion, every belief, even what is “right” or “wrong.” Every thought becomes a communion with God, and you will live a dream without judgments, victimization, and free of the need to gossip and abuse yourself.

Do you or have you ever experienced this type of communion with God?

How did you get there?

Are you there now or what made you “break communion?”

God wants our best. Whether that’s today’s best with everything going our way and having conscience prayer and thanks giving for all of our blessing or tomorrow’s best with overwhelming details at work and routines at home. Either way we radiate our love for life when we do our best.


“God is life. God is life in action. The best way to say, “I love you, God,” is to live your life doing you best.” ~ Don Miguel Ruiz


Ecclesiastes 5:18-20

18 Then I realized that it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given him—for this is his lot. 19 Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work—this is a gift of God. 20 He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart.

The Four Agreements (Angela Austin)-3rd Study

Bible Study with The Four Agreements
By Don Miguel Ruiz

The foundation of The Four Agreements is to be aware. Be aware that everyone is living in their own dream. Be aware of our own thoughts. Be aware of the judge and victim inside of us. And most importantly be aware of the past agreements we’ve made with ourselves and make sure they still apply.

Have you ever thought…”If he/she really loves me, they should know what I want or how I feel.” Or “My love will change them.”

The third agreement is, DON’T MAKE ASSUMPTIONS. When we make assumptions, it can actually change the meaning of a situation because it changes how we perceive it. For example, if we assume that someone is upset with us we may avoid them or be hesitant in our interactions with them. They may not be upset with us, but our assumption changes the dynamic anyway.

An example of this in the Bible:

1 Chronicles 19:2-3 (New International Version)
2 David thought, "I will show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me." So David sent a delegation to express his sympathy to Hanun concerning his father. When David's men came to Hanun in the land of the Ammonites to express sympathy to him, 3 the Ammonite nobles said to Hanun, "Do you think David is honoring your father by sending men to you to express sympathy? Haven't his men come to you to explore and spy out the country and overthrow it?"

What are some assumptions you’ve made?

How did those assumptions affect the situation?

The book states: “We make the assumption that everyone sees life the way we do. We assume that others think the way we think, feel the way we feel, judge the way we judge, and abuse the way we abuse. This is the biggest assumption that humans make.”

The Four Agreements describes a cure for assumptions as: “Finding the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness, and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life. ”

Do you agree with the following statement from the book?

“Without making assumptions your word becomes impeccable. If all humans could communicate in this way, with impeccability of word, there would be no wars, no violence, no misunderstandings. All human problems would be resolved if we could just have good, clear communication.”

Why do you make assumptions?

Do others make assumptions about you? If so, what are they?

How do those assumptions make you feel?

Don Miguel Ruiz says: “It is very interesting how the human mind works. We have the need to justify everything, to explain and understand everything, in order to feel safe. We have millions of questions that need answers because there are so many things that the reasoning mind cannot explain. It is not important if the answer is correct; just the answer itself makes us feel safe. This is why we make assumptions.”

What are some questions you ask yourself that you do not have answers to?

Do you have any examples of times you’ve made up answers to your questions and they’ve made you feel better? Have they back fired?

Is it hard for you to ask for what you want, or for the answers to your questions? What stops you from asking them?

Do you think God wants us to have all the answers?

Jude 1:10, Beware of those who claim to have all the answers
10Yet these men speak abusively against whatever they do not understand; and what things they do understand by instinct, like unreasoning animals—these are the very things that destroy them.

When you have all those questions running around in your head like: “Did I do something wrong?,” “Why does he/she treat me that way?,” or “Why is this happening to me?;” think of the story of Job.

Job 1:1
1 In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.

Job asked all those questions and more. Yet he didn’t make assumptions or curse God. He came to the conclusion that he wasn’t meant to have the answers and would have to live his life with that realization. Only then would his faith fully develop.

In what ways will your faith be stronger if you don’t make assumptions?

When we don’t make assumptions, it may feel like we’re out on a limb because it forces us to rely on God’s strength rather than on the assumptions themselves. For example, if we make the assumption that God doesn’t love us as much because we’re gay (consciously or subconsciously), that assumption becomes the thing we rely on. When we remove the assumption and accept God’s unconditional love, it takes a whole lot more faith. It may feel shaky. But that’s faith. Faith requires us to step out of our comfort zone and trust God no matter what.

“The opposite of faith is not doubt. It is absolute certainty.” ~ Rev. Michael Piazza

The directions on this journey of faith may never be written out for us, and that’s okay. We can’t “mapquest” God. But we can study, pray, and try not to make assumptions as we learn how to draw nearer to God. The power of God’s truth may not be fully revealed with assumptions in the way. Assumptions are clutter. But once the human tendency to assume is removed, God has a lot more room to work.

“Dear God, please help us remove those things which keep us from seeing you clearly, and help us construct a new framework for our faith. Please use that framework to reveal Your truth. Amen.”

The Four Agreements (Angela Austin)-2nd Study

The Second Agreement - Don't Take Anything Personally


The foundation of the four agreements is to be aware. Be aware that everyone is living in their own dream. Be aware of our own thoughts. Be aware of the judge and victim inside of us. And most importantly be aware of the past agreements we’ve made with ourselves and make sure they still apply.

What are some definitions of the word dream?

What are your dreams?

A dream in The Four Agreements is the framework each of uses to view the world. I think understanding that everyone is in their own dream or their own reality is important in mastering the second agreement of this book, DON’T TAKE ANYTHING PERSONALLY. Explained in The Four Agreements as: “Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering. ”

In the book it says: “Humans are dreaming all the time. Before we were born the humans before us created a big outside dream that we will call society’s dream or the dream of the plant. The dream of the planet is the collective dream of billions of smaller, personal dreams, which together create a dream of a community, a dream of a city, a dream of a country, and finally a dream of the whole humanity. The dream of the planet includes all of society’s rules, its beliefs, its laws, its religions, its different cultures and ways to be, its governments, schools, social events, and holidays.”

Can you think of any specific “collective dreams?”

What are some of your personal dreams that you would like to be “dreams of the planet” or society’s dream?

How could we make that happen? Do you feel like it’s possible?

We obviously don’t all have the same dreams or even agree on what those collective dreams should be, but it doesn’t make the other dreams wrong or something we should change. It can become harder to ignore or tolerate when someone tries to make you live in their dream. But again, their dreams have little to do with us personally.

In The Four Agreements it also explains: “When you take things personally, then you feel offended, and your reaction is to defend your beliefs and create conflicts. You make something big out of something so little, because you have the need to be right and make everybody else wrong. You also try hard to be right by giving them your own opinions. In the same way, whatever you feel and do is just a projection of your own personal dream, a reflection of your own agreements. What you say, what you do, and the opinions you have are according to the agreements you have made – and these opinions have nothing to do with me.”

What are some of the things you take personally?

Do you know anyone who takes things personally and is constantly defending their own beliefs to the point of creating conflicts?

How do you feel when you’re on the receiving end of that person’s actions?

How should we respond? How does our faith help us do that?

How would you not take something personally when it’s a direct attack on you?

Here’s another way of looking at taking things personally as stated in the book: “Personal importance, or taking things personally, is the maximum expression of selfishness because we make the assumption that everything is about “me.” During the period of our education, or our domestication, we learn to take everything personally. We think we are responsible for everything. Me, me, me, always me!”

After reading that statement and thinking about our discussion, does the passage below speak to you differently than the times you’ve read it before?

Luke 6:27-31 = Jesus teaches about loving enemies
27"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. 30Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31Do to others as you would have them do to you.

If we focus on ourselves and take things personally, it will keep us from being sensitive to our brothers’ and sisters’ needs. Rather than focus inward, we will have a healthier spiritual life if our focus is on God, and we are able to concentrate on “pressing on toward the goal.”

Philippians 3

12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. 15All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

Perhaps God has a bigger “dream” for each of us personally, and for the world. And if we’re not spiritually focused we’re likely to miss it.

God can strengthen us when we are tempted to take things personally, and God can work within us to magnify our contribution to the world. As long as our focus is in the right place, God’s dream is realized.

The Four Agreements (Angela Austin)

The First Agreement - Be Impeccable With Your Word

Have you ever felt like you’re living someone else’s life? Or maybe living a life that someone else has told you should…whether it be work, relationship or personal endeavors?

When you were younger…were you ever told “You can’t play with dolls because you’re a boy or you can’t play with match box cars because you’re a girl, or any other roles?

Whether it was by a parent, sibling, or peer, were you told you couldn’t do something, you have this personality, you have that characteristic or aptitude?

These are all examples of agreements we’ve accepted either currently or at some point in our lives. There are some agreements that we may have reevaluated and decided that it is indeed the right fit or that it’s not for us. Such as: Being Republican because our parents said we were or being Methodist or Catholic because we grew up in that church.

The first part of this book, the foundation of the four agreements, is to be aware. Be aware that everyone is living in their own dream. Be aware of our own thoughts. Be aware of the judge and victim inside of us. And most importantly be aware of the past agreements we’ve made with ourselves and make sure they still apply.



The first agreement is to BE IMPECCABLE WITH YOUR WORD.
Directly from the Four Agreements: “Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.”

Another excerpt from the book describing the importance of your word:
“Why your word? Your word is the power that you have to create. Your word is the gift that comes directly from God. The Gospel of John in the Bible, speaking of the creation of the universe, says, “In the beginning there was the word, and the word was with God, and the word is God.” Through the word you express your creative power. It is through the word that you manifest everything. Regardless of what language you speak, your intent manifests through the word. What you dream, what you feel, and what you really are, will all be manifested through the word.”

Are you aware of your thoughts to the point that you have control of them or do they have control of you?

Do you agree with everything you think?

Where do your thoughts come from…You, God, others?

Does your word inspire or discourage you or others?

The following are examples from the Bible of the importance of being impeccable with your word.

Matthew 12:33-37
Jesus said to the Pharisees and teachers of the law:
33"Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. 34You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. 35The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. 36But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. 37For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."

Ephesians 5:4
4Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.


Closing thoughts:
Impeccable means without sin or perfect. We all have ideas of perfection for ourselves and others whether we put those ideas in place or not and we will never put live up to those expectations. But we should begin to turn our attention to truth and love by accepting and respecting ourselves and others just the way we are with words of love and praise. Only one was perfect and that was Jesus. Jesus was truth and love. If you let Jesus infiltrate every part of you, your word will be nearer to impeccable.

5-31-06 The Da Vinci Code (Angela Austin)

The Da Vinci Code

This Book is about many facts put together to make a fictional story, but it is still fiction. That is not to say we can’t learn about or evaluate our own relationship with Jesus from this book.

For those who haven’t read the book or seen the movie, I’ll give a very basic summary of the book. This is a hunt for the Holy Grail which is protected by a secret society, Priory of Sion. The details reveal through riddled clues and symbolism that the true Holy Grail is not a cup, but a person, Mary Magdalene. The book goes on to explain that Jesus and Mary were married and had a child. The church voted on Jesus’ divinity and the books in the Bible that enhanced that divinity. In an effort to down play his humanity, all those writings with more human references were destroyed by the church. This was all done by the church to create a patriarchal Christianity as oppose to the matriarchal paganism of the times. Since then a small order of the church, Opus Dei, was charged with obliterating any proof of the royal blood line. In the end we find the Holy Grail has been preserved and what we do with that information is up to us.

Because there is no mention of “the Holy Grail” in the Bible, what have you always been taught the Holy Grail is?

Read the following scripture describing Jesus’ humanity and divinity.

Hebrews 2:14-18
14Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. 16For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants. 17For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for[f]the sins of the people. 18Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Luke 18:18-20
18A certain ruler asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
19"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good—except God alone. 20You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother."

John 14:8-14
8Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us." 9Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? 10Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. 12I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

The big question this book asks us of our faith: Was Jesus human or divine or both? What do you think?

Read the following where Mary Magdalene is mentioned in the Bible.
Luke 8:1-3
1After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, 2and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; 3Joanna the wife of Cuza, the manager of Herod's household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.

Mathew 27:55-56
55Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. 56Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's sons.

Mark 16:9
9When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons.

What other knowledge of Mary Magdalene do you have?

In your opinion what was Jesus’ relationship with Mary?

Could a relationship like the one The Da Vinci Code describes have been possible?

Does any of this discussion change your view of Jesus and does that have any impact on your faith?

Another issue The Da Vinci Code raises has to do with the construction of our Bible. Is it comprehensive or was there anything left out? With different denominations of Christianity comes some different doctrine. Some examples of different doctrine are The Book of Mormon, the Apocrypha, the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Gospels of Thomas and Judas.

Have you had any experience with these or other doctrine?

Do you consider any of these heretical?

Where do you draw the line between false prophecy and another witness?


With all the controversy surrounding The Da Vinci Code …Does or could this book shake your faith?

One question many people want to know is just how much of the The Da Vinci Code is fact? You can ask that of any book including the Bible. The real question is how bad do you want to know? Does it stimulate study, conversation, research and prayer? If it does, in the end you’ve traveled a journey that has tested and broadened your faith and developed your relationship with God.

Matthew 6:33
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

20Something 4-26-05 - Job

The book of Job tells us that Job was a good man who tried his best to live an upright and blameless life. One day though after Satan asked God to test Job’s faith, blessings of family, prosperity, and good health were revoked and Job lost everything in the blink of an eye. Satan had become convinced that Job only loved God because God had blessed him so abundantly, and assumed that if the blessings were removed Job would have a change of heart and begin to curse God.

The New Revised Standard Version suggests that the story of Job is folklore and not a story that can be taken literally. That would make sense. How could any human eavesdrop on an audible conversation between God and Satan long enough to transcribe every word? Perhaps the story of Job is not history as much as it is a pointed fictional tale about the importance of faith that withstands trial. No matter the root, much can be learned from Job’s adventures.

Job 1: 13-22 (NIV)

13 One day when Job's sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother's house, 14 a messenger came to Job and said, "The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, 15 and the Sabeans attacked and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"
16 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, "The fire of God fell from the sky and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"
17 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, "The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"
18 While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, "Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother's house, 19 when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"
20 At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship 21 and said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. [c] The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised."
22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.

The entire book of Job chronicles the struggle to understand as Job was being tested. How would you react if, in a short period of time, you lost nearly everything that was important to you? Later in Job it even says he ended up with sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head? What would you say to God if all of this happened to you?

Why do you think God allowed these things to happen to Job?

Naturally, Job was emotionally tormented by all that had happened to him. Job endured, but that does not mean he didn’t struggle. He had some harsh words for God as he tried to understand.

Job 10

1 "I loathe my very life; therefore I will give free rein to my complaint and speak out in the bitterness of my soul.
2 I will say to God: Do not condemn me, but tell me what charges you have against me.
3 Does it please you to oppress me, to spurn the work of your hands, while you smile on the schemes of the wicked?
4 Do you have eyes of flesh? Do you see as a mortal sees?
5 Are your days like those of a mortal or your years like those of a man,
6 that you must search out my faults and probe after my sin-
7 though you know that I am not guilty and that no one can rescue me from your hand?
8 "Your hands shaped me and made me. Will you now turn and destroy me?
9 Remember that you molded me like clay. Will you now turn me to dust again?
10 Did you not pour me out like milk and curdle me like cheese,
11 clothe me with skin and flesh and knit me together with bones and sinews?
12 You gave me life and showed me kindness, and in your providence watched over my spirit.
13 "But this is what you concealed in your heart, and I know that this was in your mind:
14 If I sinned, you would be watching me and would not let my offense go unpunished.
15 If I am guilty—woe to me! Even if I am innocent, I cannot lift my head, for I am full of shame and drowned in [a] my affliction.
16 If I hold my head high, you stalk me like a lion and again display your awesome power against me.
17 You bring new witnesses against me and increase your anger toward me; your forces come against me wave upon wave.
18 "Why then did you bring me out of the womb? I wish I had died before any eye saw me.
19 If only I had never come into being, or had been carried straight from the womb to the grave!
20 Are not my few days almost over? Turn away from me so I can have a moment's joy
21 before I go to the place of no return, to the land of gloom and deep shadow, [b]
22 to the land of deepest night, of deep shadow and disorder, where even the light is like darkness."

As a man of great faith, Job is sometimes portrayed as someone who passively accepted all that happened to him. But as we can see in this chapter, he struggled to make peace with things.

Is Job questioning God? Feeling sorry for himself? What is accomplished here?

Is this an acceptable part of the grief process? Why or why not?

Do you have struggles in your own life right now that cause you to cry out to God in a similar way? Explain.

The book of Job has a happy ending. The ending has the most impact when the story is read in its entirety and we’re able to see the intricacies of Job’s struggle, but here’s a glance.

Job 42:12-17.

12 The LORD blessed the latter part of Job's life more than the first. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. 13 And he also had seven sons and three daughters. 14 The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch. 15 Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job's daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers.
16 After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. 17 And so he died, old and full of years.

Do you think Job was able to envision this ending the whole time? What kept him going?

Even though Job struggled, did he ever lose faith? Why or why not?

God is with us in times of struggle, and if bad things are allowed to happen to us it’s never without a Divine purpose. God works for good in all things.

It’s interesting that Job asked God to turn away from him, yet he never took the initiative and turned away from God. Perhaps he knew that he could not escape God. It’s apparent that deep down he didn’t want to.

If we allow God to be part of our struggles and expect God to deliver us, what happens at the end of the trial can be greater and more abundant that we ever thought possible.

Go from this place with hope! And peace. Amen.

20Something 4-5-06 Who is God, really?

Maybe you grew up thinking God was an old white man with long, flowing hair and an equally long, flowing robe. As you have matured, has that image held up? Maybe you have always pictured God as a vengeful God who breathes fire upon those who don’t obey “his” commands. There are probably as many ideas about God as there are Christians in the world. So this is the question: How is your experience with God different from your idea of God?

Describe the image of God that you had when you were growing up. What did God look like?

What does God look like in your mind now? How is this image the same? How is it different?
Genesis 1:27 says: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” The Bible tells us a few specific things about God’s image, but we humans tend to add our own embellishments as well. What other things does the Bible tell us about God?

Jesus is the closest thing we have to God in human form, and we have probably softened his image over the years as well. There were no digital cameras during Jesus’ day, so the pictures of Jesus that we have today are artists’ renderings according to each artist’s perception, and those renderings have probably been reproduced as many times as the Bible has been re-translated. Does your perception of Jesus match up with today’s standard print?

Describe how God might act, according to your perception of God growing up. Is God vengeful and punishing? Loving and merciful? A combination of both? Name some of God’s other qualities according to your early perception.

Based upon your experience with God as you have matured, how has your perception changed? In what ways is it the same?

As we mature in our relationship with God and gain more Christian experience, our perceptions of other Christians become affected as well. Those of us who come from conservative traditions might think the best Christians are those who go to church every Sunday, have their shirts buttoned all the way to the top and the bumper stickers on their cars, and who live the most sheltered life possible, away from the evil mainstream. Experience sometimes changes those views.

Do you have any images of what a “perfect” Christian might look like? Is there any such thing?
As gay Christians, we might be inclined to think other Christians will automatically reject us once we come out, and that can keep us in the gay Christian closet. Or at the very least it might limit our interactions with these Christians and have a negative impact in that way.

As a gay Christian, how is your experience with other Christians different from what you expected? How has it been the same?

Regarding all of the images that you have in mind (about God, God’s actions, and other Christians), how does God continue to challenge you?

It’s unrealistic to think that we have a complete image of God, or that God has revealed all that we are supposed to know. There will always be more to discover. But in the meantime, God gives us an unlimited amount of grace and mercy to fill in the gaps left by our lack of understanding.

John 1:1-17 says: “From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”

Grace and truth will continue to come through Jesus Christ. If your perceptions have changed as you have matured in your faith, think how much more they might change as you continue on in your relationship with God. As we seek truth and understanding, God continues to give it to us through study, prayer, and through one another.

Thank God for wisdom; old, new, and for the growth in between.

20Something 2-1-06 Noah and the Flood

The Old Testament for Progressive Christians – Lesson 4- Genesis 6-9

Part 1. Exercise- Think of some stories about “starting over.” They can be personal stories or ones from history or literature. Be prepared to relate them to the class.

Part 2. The story of Noah and the great flood is based on several flood accounts of surrounding civilizations and is most similar to the Babylonian Epic of King Gilgamesh, who had set out on a journey in search of immortality. He came across a man named Utnapishtim, who had been granted immortality by the gods after his actions during The Great Flood. The language and events are extremely similar to the Genesis account.

(For more on Gilgamesh go to http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/MESO/GILG.HTM)

Some regional historical origins of the various oral-tradition Great Flood stories:

· The Tigris- Euphrates valley underwent a severe flood in about 3000 BCE.
· After the end of the Ice Age in about 10,000 BCE, the overflowing Mediterranean Sea breached the cliffs surrounding the valley that is now the Black Sea at a rate that increased the water level by about a concentric mile a day. The mountains of Ararat, where the ark is said to have rested are in eastern Turkey just south of the Black Sea.

Part 3. The Flood narrative is an interweaving of the J (Yahwist) and P (Priestly) traditions. Story-Stick Readings:

Read Genesis 6. 1-8

1. What are the conflicts in God’s attitude about Humankind?
2. What are some elements of these verses that may seem strange or unusual?
3. How does this compare with the Eden story concerning Humankind’s impact on all of Creation?

Read Genesis 6. 17-22

4. What do these verses tell us about God’s feelings toward animals?
5. What in the wording of these verses, tells us of our expected relationship to animals?

Note: The Hebrew word for “Ark” in this story is used only one other time in the Bible; as the description of the basket which held the baby Moses. He, too, had been placed there by his loving mother in order to save him from, this time, a human-ordered extermination.

In the story, God instructs Noah with detailed plans for the Ark:

made of cypress wood (Gopher wood)
sealed with tar inside and out.
four hundred fifty feet long (All measurements are approximate, depending on varied definitions of a cubit.)
seventy-five feet wide
forty-five feet high
roof on the ark elevated by a window space of about eighteen inches between the roof and the sides.
three stories high
a door on one side.

6. What are your earliest Sunday School memories of the physical appearance of the ark?

7. How is it actually described in the Bible?

Part 4. The Rest of the Story
(Read Genesis 7. 2-5)

1. Why were the animals in sets of seven important to God?

2. What are some clues in this passage that tell us it was written by a different tradition than Chapter 6?

(Read Genesis 7. 17-22.)

1. This is the first of many mentions of the number 40 in the Bible. What did the number mean?

2. Verses 21 and 23 say virtually the same thing. (edited together from two traditions) This is the only description of the disaster itself. What is the main emphasis of the whole flood narrative?

Part 5. After the Flood
(Read Genesis 8. 20-22) Consider God’s change of heart.
(Read Genesis 9. 1-2) Consider parallels to the story of Eden.

A careful reading of the rest of the story reveals why this is one of the best examples in the Bible of the editing together of different written traditions, with almost every important point rather awkwardly listed at least twice and with the obvious insertions of the legalism of the priests (dietary laws, crimes and their punishments, and the story in 20-27, the justification for the degradation and enslavement of the Canaanites.)

What are the lessons for Modern Christians in this story?