Quiz: Scripture

It’s been close to a year since we’ve had a theology quiz, so I’ve decided to make another one—one on the historic Protestant doctrine of scripture. Just to make things easier for you, everything you need to know to answer these questions correctly can be found somewhere in the Theological Term of the Week posts. I’ll give the answers some time next week.

1. The books I find in my Bible are authoritative because

• a. God is their ultimate source.
• b. they are included in the canon of scripture.
• c. Christians down through the ages have considered them authoritative.
• d. a and b above.
• e. all of the above.

2. That scripture is sufficient means that

• a. scripture reveals everything I need to know in order to be obedient to God.
• b. scripture reveals everything I need to know in order to be saved.
• c. scripture reveals everything I need to know.
• d. a and b above. 
• e. all of the above.

3. The ordinary reader of scripture who seeks God’s help will

• a. find every bit of it is very easy to understand.
• b. need to have what is read interpreted by the church in order to understand it correctly.
• c. be able to understand what God requires of him.
• d. a and b above.
• e. all of the above.

4. Because God is the ultimate source of all scripture,

• a. scripture is a unified whole.
• b. clear passages can be used to help interpret more obscure passages.
• c. one passage of scripture should not be interpreted in a way that contradicts the rest of scripture.
• d. a and b above.
• e. all of the above.

5. 2 Timothy 3:14-17 can be used to support the following doctrine(s):

• a. the inspiration of scripture.
• b. the authority of scripture.
• c. the sufficiency of scripture.
• d. a and b above.
• e. all of the above.

Gas Up: June 26

Same old, same old for me. The price of gas at the nearest gas station stayed exactly the same for yet another week.

Since I don’t drive a lot, it isn’t gas prices that bother me. I’m more concerned with the price of fuel oil come winter.

I finally got an appointment for a quote on a new furnace. (Everyone and his cousin is looking to install a new furnace this summer, so appointments for quotes are hard to come by.) Hopefully, by the time winter rolls around I’ll be set up with a furnace that uses less fuel oil, because I really, really need one. The furnace I have now is very big,  very old, and very inefficient. And very noisy to boot.  Oh, and the humidifier leaks water all over the basement floor.

I can’t use wood for heating anymore, either. I am, it seems, allergic to pine, and all the wood for burning around here is pine. A few years ago I started getting a very itchy rash on my scalp and neck (and my arms when I wore short sleeves) during the season when nasty yellow pine pollen is dusting everything. This year when the real Christmas tree was indoors I started getting a rash, too. Then, when it got cold and we used the wood stove to supplement the oil furnace, I got rash whenever I touched the logs. As long as someone else did all the log handling, I was fine; but next year I won’t  have anyone to bring in the wood and feed the fire for me. So you see, I really do need a new furnace, don’t I?

Can you guess what happened with the price of gas where Dorothy lives?

What about the prices where you get your gas? Up, down, or the same? And as long as we’re on the subject of furnaces, are you worried about heating costs next year, too?

Update on Saturday, June 28, 2008 at 9:43AM by rebecca

In Candy’s neck of the mountains, most stations are selling gasoline for $4.19 per gallon, although she saw one with a price of $4.05.  She has begun to her bike to try to save on fuel costs.

Update on Sunday, June 29, 2008 at 10:16PM by rebecca

Threegirldad makes a game out of predicting gas price spikes. He anticipates another spike in 7 to 10 days. As for the price of gas right now where he lives, he says:

Two days ago, it went from $3.75 to $3.89. Now it’s dropped a couple of cents….

Rosemary reports:

Our regular grade of gas was $3.88/gal. today, but with a grocery store coupon I was able to get it for $3.77/gal.

And as for winter heating, she says,

We use propane gas, and we’re definitely concerned about rising costs.

My Desktop Photo 13: Coal Lake Area After Midnight

Photo by Andrew Stark
(click for larger view)

It’s the season for long daylight hours again. This photo was take toward the end of June a couple of years ago. If I remember right, it was taken about 1:00 AM, but don’t quote me on that.

This one doesn’t work all that well as a desktop photo, but I wanted you to see what it’s like here this time of year. I’ll leave it on my desktop for a day—because I am titling it My Destop Photo, aren’t I?—and then I’ll ditch it for something with a bit more light.