No one believes like the next. Everyone has their own thoughts. How do you achieve competence in matters of faith?
This is merely a suggestion for a discussion. The following questions can be seen as an idea for a group discussion. No answers are deliberately given here – you are supposed to discover them yourself.
Questions
- Am I competent because I believe?
- Am I competent because I take the Bible seriously?
- Am I competent because I belong to a certain community?
- Am I competent if I refer to Jesus?
- Am I competent if I only believe for myself?
- Am I competent if I have a Bible passage ready for every question?
- Am I competent when I "feel" something?
- Am I competent if I am right?
- Am I competent if I can explain something with the Bible?
- Am I competent if I consider something to be "right"?
- Am I competent if others like me?
- Am I competent if I do exactly what others expect of me?
- Am I competent when I rebel or reject something?
- Am I competent if I am convinced of something?
These questions are not so much about concrete answers, but rather about values and understanding. Why do I value something in this way? Why not? And what does that mean for my understanding of faith? Where are the limits of my understanding? How do I deal with these boundaries? How do you define competence? Are you absolute and infallible with this assessment? Why (not)? Where does competence come from?