1. According to Thomas Merton, "the basic claim made by the Bible for the word of God is not so much that it is to be blindly accepted because of God's authority," rather, how, according to Fr. Merton, is it to be recognized?

2. Fr. Merton mentions "an implicit contrast" between learning about religion, on the one hand, and the living power of the word, on the other.  What do you suppose he means?

3. According to Fr. Merton, what is the Bible claiming?  What is the Bible "about"?  (see p. 15).

4. According to Fr. Merton, "the curiously oblique yet insistent claims that underlie the very words of the Bible, quite apart from any interpretation of Church or Synagogue, quite apart from their employment in preaching and message," raise a fundamental question.  What is it?  Explain.  In a related vein, what happens, according to Fr. Merton, is we approach the Bible with a lot of speculative questions?  What if we ask it for information about the meaning of life?  How does the Bible respond to such questions?