The Bible in our world

1. The Bible in our world • iBible • Charlton Heston as Moses - Turns Water Into Blood • The Greatest Story Ever Told • 'Jesus and Peter' from the Epic movie "Son of God"

2. What is the Bible?

3. Reflection questions What is the Bible? What is in the Bible? How can I make sense of the Bible if it was written so long ago and to different people? How do Catholics read the Bible?

4. Lets discuss: What the Bible? What is in the Bible? How can I make sense of the Bible if it was written so long ago and to different people?How do Catholics read the Bible?

5. Look at the Bible, spend a few minutes looking through it. What did you find? How is it organized? What is the main difference between the two sections?

6. The Bible is about the relationship between God and his people; we are shown this with the use of the word testament to describe the two sections of the Bible.

7. What is the Bible is all about? • Bible – means “books”; is a collection of sacred books containing the truth of God’s Revelation • The Bible presents two covenants between God and his people • It is divided into two testaments. • Testament – a solemn vow between God and a human being in which mutual commitments are made • Synonym of Covenant – a solemn vow between God and a human being in which mutual commitments are made

8. The Old Testament and New Testament describe humans’ relating to God in a covenant It is possible to describe the Bible as an account of God’s relationship with his people Because the people of the Old and New Testament did not understand or chose to forget their relationship with God, they sinned, distancing themselves from God and suffering the natural consequences of their sins Since the time of Adam and Eve, people have suffered Original Sin (the fallen state of human nature that affects ever person born into the world) The covenant relationship with God included offers of salvation, but people of the first covenant did not responds

9. In the second (new) convenant, God sent Jesus to save us from the sins that have existed since Genesis The Bible can be called “the story of our salvation”

10. Assignment… Read Articles 25, 26, 27 – about the Old Testament (pg 76 in book) Read 28, 29, 30 – about the New Testament Unit1 Vocabulary

11. Article 25-30review What is the proper understanding of the Old Testament? How are the Catholic Bible and the Protestant Bible different? What are the four categories of books found in the Old Testament? Explain the type of categories. What is the “big picture” painted by both the Old Testament and the New Testament together? What is the Paschal Mystery? What are the five categories of New Testament books? What role did they play in spreading the message of Jesus Christ?

12. Reflection… Be doers of the Word and not hearers only. James 1:22 What is a doer? What is a hearers only? Are you a doer or a hearers only?

13. Navigating the Bible… • When you are navigating the Bible – you can use the Table of Contents and the index With a partner complete the “How to find a scriptural Reference” worksheet. Take the matching out so we can review.

14. How the Bible came to be in its present form • People experienced God • People experienced God’s Revelations over a long period of time as in the Old Testament • Through the person of Jesus Christ in the New Testament • People shared the stories verbally • Told about theirs and others experience with God • Word spread throughout the community and down through time • People wrote down the stories

15. Religious leaders selected the central writings to be part of the Scriptures. • when writing was more popular, religious leaders prayed to God for guidance in selecting what to include • People speaking different languages translated the Bible into their own languages from the original languages and from other translations • The variations we see among different translations of the Bible comes from the different ways translators converted one language into another.

16. Reading assignment Articles 15, 16, 17 and 18 in your book (page 51) Write a 1 paragraph summary of each article. Type the assignment and be prepared to submit via turnitin.com when you come into next class

17. B. People Shared the Stories Verbally Oral Traditions: handing on of the messages of God’s saving plan through words and deeds Narratives of God’s wonderful work on behalf of humanity were told to groups, families and others During OT time few could read and write – people relied on spoken word of their ancestors Original material in now in Bible was first told orally, then written at various times to ensure that the stories, morals and events were not lost

18. When was it written? The sacred wisdom of Genesis was not written down until about 900 – 500 BC, close to 1000 after Abraham’s call, which occurred sometime in the period from the Creations to 1500 BC.

19. C. People Wrote Down the Stories Written tradition – under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is the synthesis in the written form of the message of salvation that has been passed down in the oral traditions People in Old and New Testament wanted to preserve God’s message of salvation New Testament was completed by AD 100 Following the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ (AD 30 – 33), St Paul traveled and spread the teaching of Jesus and wrote about them through letters Others wrote down the life of Jesus in the Gospels Early Christians concerned about protecting the message of Jesus because the people who knew Jesus were being persecuted and put to death for their faith The Bible was not written by one person but rather written over time and is traceable to different authors of varying literacy excellence

20. D. Religious Leaders Selected the Central Writings to be Part of the Scriptures • Canoncomes from the Greek word “rule” or “standard” • In the Bible, what is the canon: a rule or standard of? • Canon – is the collection of books the Church recognizes as the inspired Word of God – contains God’s Revelation to human beings • Canon of the Catholic Bible is composed of 46 Old Testament and 27 New Testament books • Apostolic origin – early bishops investigated whether a book was based on the preaching and teaching of the Apostles and their closest companions, and thus had apostolic origin • Universal acceptance – Early bishops asked: Was the book accepted and received by all the major Christian communities in the Mediterranean. • If universally accepted, then it passed the standard

21. The use of the writings in liturgical celebrations – if early Christians were weaving the books into their entire worships, the bishops could conclude that the text enhanced prayer life of the people. The consistency of a book’s message with other Christian and Jewish writings – if a book’s content contradicted the essence of Christian and Jewish teachings, the book would not have been accepted as part of the canon

22. Gnostic gospels Why some books are rejected • The Gnostic gospels were rejected because they placed little importance on the suffering and death of Jesus • Jesus’ suffering and death are essential in understanding God’s full plan of salvation • The suffering and death must be emphasized for us to understand the amazing and redemptive work of our God • Canon of Sacred Scripture is the true, authoritative record of God’s saving plan

23. The Bible was written in more than one language The three biblical languages are Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek Hebrew The Vulgate, basis for Catholic Bible, was compiled from St Jerome’s translation or Greek and Hebrew into common language, Latin, in AD 405 Aramaic In 1546, the Council of Trent recognized the Vulgate as authoritative, becoming the official Bible of the Roman Catholic Church Greek

24. Reflection question… • Failure • If you could be sure you wouldn’t fail, what is one thing you would like to do for God or others?

25. It’s all in the translations! BBLCLSCHLRSNDTKNWSVRLLNGGSTTRNSLTRYTXTS. What does this mean? Biblical Hebrew is just as hard to read, it only contains constant – no vowels and no spaces – just like what is on the board Again, any guess as to what it means? “Biblical scholars need to know several languages to translate early texts.”

26. Different translations of Matt 5:13-16 • In your assigned groups discuss the way the four translated passagesresemble and differ from one another. • What are some of the differences? • What are some of the ways they resemble each other? • What differences in the meaning do the following translations suggest? • “You are the salt of the earth” (NAB and NRSV) • “You are salt for the earth.” (NJB, italics added) • “You are like salt for the whole human race.” (GNT, italics added) • Looking at several translation of the same passage often expands our interpretation of the passage by challenging our assumptions and widen our sense of what God may be revealing to us.

27. Quiz on Wednesday or Thursday • Quiz is on the all the articles 25-30 and 15-18. • Best way to study is to review the first two sections of the Student notes. • Take out so we can go over the questions.

28. What are you going to believe about your self?

29. Catholic Church’s Role Interpreting the Scriptures

30. God is the author of the Bible • Not just another piece of literature – it is God’s Revelation • God is the source of all inspiration (to breathe into) – He inspires us directly and indirectly through the natural world and other people • Holy Spirit inspired the human authors as they compiled, recorded or wrote the different books of the Bible • Divine Inspiration gave the authors the assistance to write in human words the salvation message God wanted to communicate to us

31. God is the sole and supreme author, and all that is taught and proclaimed in the Sacred Scripture is inerrant (is without error or faults in all its teaching) in matters of faith, Revelation, and salvation

33. Sacred Scriptures and Sacred Tradition • Important differences between Catholics and non-Catholic Christians is that Catholics believe God reveals himself through both Sacred Scripture and Sacred Traditions • Sacred traditions teaches the fullness of Divine Revelations • it began with the preaching of the Gospel by the Apostles • written in the Scriptures • handed down and lived out in the life of the Church • Interpreted by the Magisterium

34. Sacred Traditions was disclosed through Jesus’ teaching and actions during his earthly ministry and the events of the Paschal Mysteries • What are the Paschal Mysteries? • Passion • death • Resurrection • Ascension

35. Nothing taught or proclaimed by the Church ever contradicts the truth of Jesus Christ.

36. Church’s approach to history, science and the Bible • Church’s understanding to the scripture relates to science and history • History and science can help us to learn the spiritual truth from the Bible • The Bible is not where we look for scientific truths or historical truths • The Bible contains religious truths! • Assignments: • Read and Outline the following sections: (proper MLA outline) • Article 22 – PG 68 • Article 23 – PG 70 • Article 24 – PG 72 • Due next class via turnitin.com

37. In your opinion, how does their attitude affect how they feel about their work.

38. Literal and Spiritual Senses We can analyze the Bible from many angles: literal and spiritually

40. Literal Sense: Latin for litera – referring to a form of biblical interpretation that emphasizes the obvious meaning of words according to the literary genre of text • What does the following mean: • “She had a cow.” • She became upset • “He is a sitting duck.” • He has no protection from harm. • “We killed the other team.” • We won easily. • These sayings have different meanings than what the word suggest.

41. Trial of Galileo The Catholic Church teaches us that faith, science, and history can coexist. They can inform one another Scientist, historian and the teaching authorities of the Church can help biblical scholars and Bible readers go beyond a fundamentalist approach

42. The Church supports a contextual approach… • Where the interpretation of the Bible takes into account the various contexts for understanding • Senses of Scripture – literal and spiritual • Literary forms • Historical situations • Cultural backgrounds • the unity of the whole of the Scriptures • Tradition • Analogy of Faith • The Bible’s purpose is not to present historical or scientific facts • This does not mean that the Scriptures are in error or that our scientific explorations are wrong

43. The Bible can be read in a literal sense and a spiritual sense • In Summa Theologica, St Aquinas laid the foundation for modern biblical interpretation • He maintained that “one can distinguish between two senses of Scripture: literal and spiritual (CCC115) • Literal sense lays the framework for all other senses of Sacred Scripture • Examine the actual events being spoken about – key characters other things described in text • Spiritual sense considers what the realities and events of Scripture signifies • Allegorical senses looks at how people, events and things in literal sense point to the mystery of Christ • Examines Christological significance • Moral sense is the search for what it means to live a just and ethical life. How does a passage instruct us live in a right relationship with God, neighbor, self and the earth? • Anagogical sense investigates “realities and events in terms of their eternal significance” CCC117 – how does the story lead and direct us toward our future in heaven?

44. Exegesis – (eksĭjēsis) If you found a letter written by one person to another person what would you need to consider in order to truly understand it?

45. A look at Biblical Exegesis • Biblical exegesis is the interpretation and explanation of a biblical text • Critical does not mean make a negative judgment • It means doing a thoughtful and thorough review of particular biblical text • What does biblical exegesis do? • It looks to understand language, symbols, culture and history that influenced the human authors • It seeks to understand the intention the human author had in writing the book and what God is revealing through the human author’s words

46. Why engage in Biblical Exegesis? Have you ever had someone take something you said out of context? It is never good to look at something someone has said or written without looking at the whole context This is what biblical exegesis does for us A particular story in the Bible can be fully understood within the complete picture of both the Old and New Testament It also needs to be understood in relationship to the life, teaching, death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ

48. Compare and contrast Parents Era Your Era Growing up issues stay the same: Independence, supervision Trust between parents and teens Although biblical authors are separated from us by time, culture, and language, they still address issues that we commonly encounter • Phones • music

49. Authentic interpretation of the Scriptures Biblical exegesis insures an authentic interpretation of the Scripture when done under the Magisterium The Church looks at the interpretation of a particular text in light of the whole Revelation and in light of the doctrines and teachings of the Church God’s truth never contradicts itself Analogy of faith

50. Types of Biblical Criticism • Biblical criticism is another term for biblical exegesis • Textual criticism deals with the text itself • concerned with finding the most original text written by human authors • Creating authentic translations of theses ancient text • Literary criticism considers the literary forms utilized in the text and seeks to understand them as work of literature • Historical criticism works to uncover the historical situation or SitzimLeben of the author at the time a particular book or story was written • Source criticism attempts to identify if the biblical authors used an existing story, myth or other literature as the basis for their work