A HIGHER THINGS BIBLE STUDY “THEOLOGY AND THE SIMPSONS” LEADER'S GUIDE 1. In The Simpsons Movie, there is a scene where there is a bunch of trouble taking place at church. Homer flips through the Bible and groans, “Ooooh...this book doesn't have any answers!” What view of the Bible does Homer (and many people) have? What does 2 Timothy 3:15-17 say about the purpose of the Bible? Homer, like most people, supposes that the Bible is a book about answers for the everyday problems of life. The Scriptures are, for many people, a book to tell you what to do in a certain situation or how to fix something that's wrong. While the Law partly serves that purpose in telling us how to live, the main purpose of the Scriptures is to “make us wise unto salvation.” That is, the Bible is about Jesus and how He is the Son of God in the flesh, sent to save sinners. The Bible is read the wrong way when it is a book of rules rather than the Book which delivers our Savior to us. 2. Much of the religion portrayed in shows like The Simpsons is funnily yet accurately individualistic, or as the author points out, “bottom up.” That is, it tries to figure out God from our experiences rather than learning from God's Word. What does St. Paul tell us about how the faith comes to us in Romans 10:6-8? Popular religions start with some ideas about God and then these grow based on the thinking and experiences of the individual. In this way, all other religion involves people trying to figure out God. Paul is clear that we don't figure God out (ascend) or drag God up to be what we want (bring Him up). Rather, the Word is near us. He is near in the flesh and it is there in the Scriptures which our pastors preach. It is God's Word that tells us who He is and what He has done for us. 3. What is the answer to the idea that we can “basically be good” and get to heaven? See Galatians 3:21-14. Clearly the Law teaches us how to live and condemns us when we do not keep it. However, it was not given so that we could try to keep it and thereby be justified in God's sight. Rather, the purpose of the Law is to show us that we are sinners who need to be saved. The Law's purpose is to teach us that we can't trust in ourselves or our good works. By doing so, it points us to our need for a Savior, who is delivered in the preaching of the Gospel.
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