rnestina had been involved in the New Age movement, but when God rescued her, she became an active witness on campus. She took my class "to gain a deeper understanding of the Bible, rather than of church doctrines." Watching her evaluate, accept, and share ideas was thrilling. Let's listen to her story.

"When this semester started, I thought New Testament Literature would be a survey class. I wasn't expecting to study the Bible in detail. I never thought we would have an opportunity to share our own opinions. I got a lot more than I expected.

"Your class taught me that the meaning of words isn't always what I think the words mean. I learned that the Bible's intended meaning is in the original languages, and I learned that translations often fail to communicate all the nuances of that meaning. I enjoyed learning to use Strong's Exhaustive Concordance and Vine's Expository Dictionary. I know they will help me in the future when I lead Bible studies.

"Another thing I learned in your class was that the Sabbath is Saturday, not Sunday. When I first heard this, it was hard to believe, because I was taught that Sunday was the holy day in the Bible. Although you didn't tell us we'd be lost if we didn't stop worshipping God on Sunday, it still isn't easy to learn that what I've taken for granted all my life is not in fact what the Bible teaches.

"Like so many Evangelical churches, my denomination's position is that Christians will be raptured before the tribulation. When you led us through the texts I've used to prove this, and showed that they are actually saying quite the opposite, I was pretty angry, and I thought about dropping the class. But I went through the verses again and saw you were right. The Bible teaches that we will be on earth when the antichrist comes. There won't be a seven-year period of persecution watched by Christians from heaven.

"I also learned in church that when we die in Christ, we go straight to heaven. I was shocked to learn in class that there are many clear verses that claim that when we die, we 'sleep' in a sense until Christ returns, but only a couple ambiguous verses that might be twisted to support the 'straight to heaven' viewpoint. That was hard to accept, but once I figured it out, it was good news. You may have noticed that the rest of the semester I supported you on that. It's so important to study words and phrases carefully, rather than assuming we understand them.

"I really enjoyed our discussion of the Vine and the branches. I like the idea of being grafted into Christ so we can learn to be like Him. It's a bit scary to think that He prunes us to make us what He wants us to be. He strips us down to the bare bark sometimes, pulls off all the scars, hurt, and pain, so we can bear fruit. He breaks us when we are willing to be broken, or sometimes just because He knows it will be for our own good. He sometimes cuts off from us people who are not good influences. He puts us through hardships and trials until we learn to rely on Him.

"So many of my Christian friends believe in predestination. I'm glad I was raised in a church that teaches free will, and I was relieved to find that you believe that too. (There was one major doctrine I didn't have wrong.)

"I was amazed to learn that many Evangelical scholars teach that Jesus could not have sinned, even if He wanted to. If that is true, Jesus wasn't really tempted. I'm glad you explained this problem. The Bible teaches that Jesus was tempted, though He didn't sin. This shows me what I myself need to strive for in trying to be more like Jesus."

God is doing great things with Ernestina because she is willing to hear His voice. May we all be so willing.

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Ed Christian teaches English and biblical literature at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. His e-mail address is: christia@kutztown.edu.