Interview an Expert #7

PART A

1) To interview an expert, I interviewed Sam Randall, the youth intern at my church. Sam is currently in seminary school at North Park University downtown Chicago and is part of multiple Bible studies, and even leads the Sunday morning Bible study that I atttend. Needless to say, he knows a lot about the Bible.

2) Sam is a reliable source because I know him very well and he knows the Bible very well, and it's what he's been studying for the past 4 years of his life.

3) I interviewed Sam this past Sunday night, April 29th. I interviewed him in person.




PART B (My questions are bolded, Sam's responses are italicized.)

1) Are there any wars in the Bible that relate back to feuds between differing religions? Yes, especially in the books of Joshua and Judges. The Israelites are trying to gain the Promised Land, but the people that had previously lived in the Promised Land don't like that. The people that previously lived there worshipped Baal, a "little 'g' god". In fact, this was one group trying to dominate another based on their race/religion. Also, Genesis and Exodus deal a lot with the exile of the Jews.

2) For you, how do your religious beliefs affect your behaviour in your daily life? Well, I was actually just talking about this with a friend the other day. I was kind of questioning myself, if I wasn't Christian, would I still be good just to be good, or am I only good for God? And then I realized, there's no difference. If I'm doing good, it's all for God. I'm not just good because I was made good, I'm good because I'm Christian. For me, I'm also a really impatient person. Waiting in long lines, getting stuck in traffic, I hate it. But God gives me the patience that I need, and that really helps me. Finally, I would not be where I am with God right now if it weren't for the love and support of my friends and family, and their good behavior rubbed off on me, and I hope someday maybe my goodness will rub off on someone.

3) (I had trouble phrasing this) How extreme do you take your religion? Well not just for me, but I think sometimes people get caught up in the religiousness of their religion, and the forget the Godly part, and they barely acknowledge Him sometimes. For me, I think that nothing is more powerful than testimony, whether its mine or someone else's, I think testimony is extremely important. For me, its all about knowing that God is real and that He loves me for me, and He will help shape me into the person that I need to be.