September 2016

Sept. 9, 2016 Presentation for Journey Academy

Who am I?

Brian Holda
Follower of Jesus Christ
Digital Services Librarian @ Davenport University (which means: I specialize in finding and displaying information on the Internet, so others can access and read it)

WHO is the author of the information? Does he/she know what they are talking about?
WHERE did the information come from?
WHAT purpose do they have in creating the information (is there unfair bias)?
WHEN was the information created?
WHY is this information useful to me?

WHO is the author of the information? Does he/she know what they are talking about? God wrote the Bible (Matthew 4:4; 2 Timothy 3:16), and God knows all things (1 John 3:20).
WHERE did the information come from? God sees all things (Psalm 33:13-14; Hebrews 4:13), created all things (Genesis 1:1; Revelation 14:7), and maintains all things (Hebrews 1:3).
WHAT purpose do they have in creating the information (is there unfair bias)? It is impossible for God to lie. Instead, He speaks truthfully in Scripture so that we would learn about Him and His world, and follow Him (Hebrews 6:18; 2 Timothy 3:16)
WHEN was the information created? The Bible was written ~2,000 to 3,000 years ago. However, the statements apply to today’s world, because God (who knows all) wrote it to be applied by all people of all times (Matt. 22:31).
WHY is this information useful to me? The Bible is the most trustworthy and useful piece of information we have, because it came from God.

Listen carefully to the author. Read other things the author has said, and directly ask the author what they mean (if possible). For the Bible: Read it thoroughly and pray to ask God for the meaning. Look for 2-3 separate passages that teach the same thing before coming to conclusions.
Seek out people who understand the information better than us. For the Bible: Seek out teachers/teachings that trust the Bible and can help you understand it.