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The Bible

The Bible. “the most widely-owned book that no one reads.”. Top 3 clues you need to read the Bible more. When you open your Bible, your allergies explode because of all the dust You think the minor prophets were a rock group from the 1960s

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The Bible

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  1. The Bible “the most widely-owned book that no one reads.”

  2. Top 3 clues you need to read the Bible more • When you open your Bible, your allergies explode because of all the dust • You think the minor prophets were a rock group from the 1960s • Your favorite Bible verse is, “Jesus went about doing good and casting out deacons.”

  3. What is the Bible? • “The Scriptures constitute a coherent whole. They are at once divinely inspired and humanly expressed. They bear authoritative witness to God's revelation of Himself in creation, in the Incarnation of the Word, and in the whole history of salvation, and as such express the word of God in human language. We know, receive, and interpret Scripture through the Church and in the Church.”

  4. Why read it? • The Bible is not primarily read in order to appropriate theological or doctrinal convictions or to set moral, social or ethical norms; rather it is read in order to experience the life of communion that exists in God.

  5. Why read it? • In the Bible “one finds the self revelation of God and can come to a true and genuine knowledge of Him and His will and purpose for man and the world. In and through the Bible, human persons can enter into communion with God.” - Fr. Thomas Hopko

  6. Inspired Word of God • 2 Timothy 3:16All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, • Given by inspiration – “Theopneustos” meaning “God-breathed”

  7. Inspired Word of God • 1 Thessalonians 2:13For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.

  8. Teaches Doctrine • Orthodox doctrine is rooted in the Bible • “What more shall I teach you than what we read in the Apostle? For Holy Scripture fixes the rule for our doctrine, lest we dare to be wiser than we ought.” - St. Augustine

  9. Teaches Doctrine • “Everything in the Church must be biblical; for the Church, in order to be the Church, must be wholly expressive of the Bible; or more accurately, it must be wholly faithful to and expressive of that reality to which the Bible is itself the scriptural witness.” - Fr. Thomas Hopko

  10. Corrects Us • 2 Timothy 4:2Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.

  11. Instructs Us in Righteousness • “For just as the tree planted by the channels of waters, so also the soul watered by the divine Scripture is enriched and gives fruit in its season…and is adorned with evergreen leafage, I mean, actions pleasing to God. For through the Holy Scriptures we are trained to action that is pleasing to God, and untroubled contemplation. For in these we find both exhortation to every virtue and dissuasion from every vice. If, therefore, we are lovers of learning, we shall also be learned in many things. For by care and toil and the grace of God the Giver, all things are accomplished” - Fr. John of Damascus

  12. How to read it? • Devotional reading • Topical Study • Book Study

  13. Devotional Study • Prayerful mediation on a passage • “Read the Holy Gospel, be penetrated by its spirit, make it the rule of your life, your handbook; in every action and question of life act according to the study of the Gospel.”

  14. Devotional Study • Consider what essential truth God is communicating in the passage • What do these passages tell you about Christ? • How are they reflected in the theology of the Church? • In the hymns sung in the Liturgy?

  15. Devotional Study • These are not just distant places, events in the remote past. They belong to my own encounter with the Lord. • Put yourself in the place of those of whom you are reading. • Favor the words of the Bible over that of society • Should read and seek to practice what you learn every day

  16. Topical Study • Examine what the Bible says about a particular subject. • Create list of words related to the topic • Use online search to find all mention of the topic

  17. Book/Passage Study • Discover the central themes of a biblical book • Allows you to examine in detail the ways in which God dealt with His people in a specific historical context and how it applies to us today

  18. Book/Passage Study • Background • Who is the author? • Under what circumstances — religious, political, and cultural — was the book written? • Audience? • Start broad and then study details

  19. Book/Passage Study • Identify main themes • Study cross-references • Attend Bible Studies • OrthodoxCommentaries

  20. Communion with God • Bible is Life’s Guidebook • Knowledge + Faith + Struggle  Virtue • By reading it, meditating on it, and practicing we can achieve communion with God and lead a life of virtue

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