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INTRODUCTION TO SACRED SCRIPTURE

INTRODUCTION TO SACRED SCRIPTURE. ST EDWARD CATHOLIC CHURCH RCIA PROGRAM. “Take heart, child. You would not be seeking me unless I had already found you” (attributed to St. Augustine.). OVERVIEW. CHURCH TEACHING ABOUT SACRED SCRIPTURE WHAT IS THE BIBLE HISTORY OF DEVELOPMENT

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INTRODUCTION TO SACRED SCRIPTURE

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  1. INTRODUCTION TO SACRED SCRIPTURE ST EDWARD CATHOLIC CHURCH RCIA PROGRAM

  2. “Take heart, child. You would not be seeking me unless I had already found you”(attributed to St. Augustine.)

  3. OVERVIEW • CHURCH TEACHING ABOUT SACRED SCRIPTURE • WHAT IS THE BIBLE • HISTORY OF DEVELOPMENT • ORGANIZATION • CANON • INTERPRETATION - DISCERNMENT • STYLES, TRUTHS, MESSAGES • THE NEED FOR DISCERNMENT • ROLE OF THE CHURCH

  4. THE CHURCH TEACHES • “…The Church has always venerated the Scriptures as she venerates the Lord’s Body. She never ceases to present to the faithful the bread of life, taken from the one table of God’s Word and Christ’s body” (ccc 103) • “…Holy Mother Church, relying on the faith of the apostolic age, accepts as sacred and canonical the books of the Old and the New Testaments, …they have God as their author and have been handed on as such to the Church herself.” (ccc 105) • “The Church ‘forcefully and specifically exhorts all the Christian faithful…to learn ‘the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ, ‘by frequent reading of the divine Scriptures. ‘Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.” (ccc 133)

  5. WHAT IS THE BIBLE • THE INSPIRED WORD OF GOD • Authors words but God’s inspiration • Knowledge we need for salvation • Requires discernment • A LIBRARY (BIBLIA = BOOKS) • COLLECTION OF MANY BOOKS FROM MANY AUTHORS (1000 BCE – 100 AD) • TWO MAIN SECTIONS • SACRED (SCRIPTURE) WRITINGS

  6. UNDERSTANDING THE MESSAGE(OR WHAT DID IT REALLY MEAN) “I didn’t say you stole the money” Emphasize each word individually and rethink your answer/assumption.

  7. WHAT IS THE BIBLE • THE INSPIRED WORD OF GOD • Authors words but God’s inspiration • Knowledge we need for salvation • Requires discernment • A LIBRARY (BIBLIA = BOOKS) • COLLECTION OF MANY BOOKS FROM MANY AUTHORS (1000 BCE – 100 AD) • TWO MAIN SECTIONS • SACRED (SCRIPTURE) WRITINGS

  8. “Dei Verbum:”Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation • In composing the sacred books, God chose men and while employed by Him (2) they made use of their powers and abilities, so that with Him acting in them and through them, (3) they, as true authors, consigned to writing everything and only those things which He wanted. (4)

  9. WHO WROTE THE BIBLE AND WHY • MOSTLY HEBREWS • MOSES, PROPHETS, ORDINARY MEN • OFTEN UNKNOWN AUTHOR • TO TEACH, RECORD, PATRIOTISM, PROPHESIZE COMING MESSIAH

  10. BIBLE TIMELINETHE STORY OF A PEOPLE AND THEIR GOD • PATRIARCHS: 1900-1700 BCE • HEBREWS IN EGYPT: 1700-1300 • EXODUS: 1300-1200 • UNITED KINGDOM TO BABYLON: 1200-585 • PERSIANS: 500-333 • GREEKS: 333-142 • MACCABEAN: 142-62 • ROMAN RULE: 63-105 (LAST NT WRITING)

  11. ORGANIZATION • CATHOLIC BIBLE • 46 OLD TEST -- 27 NEW TEST • PROTESTANT BIBLE • 39 OLD TEST -- 27 NEW TEST • CANON CHANGED BY LUTHER • ELIMINATED TOBIT, JUDITH, WISDOM, SIRACH, BARUCH, 1 AND 2 MACCABEES, AND PORTIONS OF DANIEL AND ESTER • CALLED DEUTEROCANONICAL - APOCRPHAL

  12. COUNCIL OF JAMNIA • JEWISH SCHOLARS WHO MET IN 90AD • RESET JEWISH CANON OF SCRIPTURE • INCLUDED ONLY HEBREW WRITTEN BOOKS • TRYING TO GET AWAY FROM “JEWISH CHRISTIAN” THOUGHTS • WHEN LUTHER BROKE AWAY, HE ADOPTED THIS CANON FOR OT (BUT 39 VICE 22)

  13. OLD TESTAMENT • A covenant between God and Hebrews • Four major sections • Pentateuch – The Law – Gen, Ex, Lv, Nu, Du • Historical – Joshua, Jud, Ruth, Sam, Kg, Chro • Wisdom – Job, Ps, Pv, Ec, Song of Song, Ws • Prophets – Is, Je, Lam, Ez, Dan, Hosea, Joel • The Law = Torah • Foretells the coming Messiah

  14. NEW TESTAMENT • CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURE • Birth, growth and teaching of Christian Church • Twenty Seven Books • Four Gospels (the good news) – 3 synoptic • Acts – the birth of the Church • 13 Letters of Paul (oldest book 1 Thess 51 AD) • 8 Other letters • Revelation – not a “Left Behind” original

  15. OT CANON OF THE BIBLE AND TRANSLATIONS • ORIGINALLY WRITTEN IN HEBREW • DANIEL PARTLY ARAMAIC • DEUTEROCANONICAL IN GREEK • NOT PARTICULARLY IN A SPECIAL ORDER • SEPTUAGINT (LXX) = GREEK TRANS. • SEVENTY JEWISH SCHOLARS MID 3RD CENT BC. FOR PTOLEMY II. • BASIS FOR CATHOLIC BIBLE

  16. NT BIBLICAL CANNON • WRITTEN ENTIRELY IN GREEK • 50-125 NT Scriptures written • 140 Marcion issues heretical canon/beliefs • consisted of only eleven books, an abridged and mutilated Gospel of Luke, and ten of Paul’s epistles. He put Galatians first in order, and called Ephesians the Epistle to the Laodicaeans. • Church adopts 4 gospels and letter of Paul • 170 Muratorian Canon (orthodox) • 367earliest list NT, in exact number/order we have written by Athanasius • Synod of Hippo 393, Council of Carthage 397 • Entire canon finalized Council of Trent 1546

  17. CANONICAL CRITERIA • Apostolic Origin- attributed to and/or based on the preaching/teaching of the first-generation apostles (or their closest companions). • Universal Acceptance- acknowledged by all major Christian communities in the Mediterranean world (by the end of the fourth century). • Liturgical Use- read publicly along with the OT when early Christians gathered for the Lord's Supper (their weekly worship services). • Consistent Message- containing theological ideas compatible with other accepted Christian writings (incl. the divinity and humanity Jesus). (catholicresources.org)

  18. WHAT ARE GNOSTIC GOSPELS • “…gnostic collection of writings about the teachings of Jesus, written around the 2ndcentury” (wikpedia.com) • Gospel of Thomas, Peter, Phillip, Mary, Judas etc. • written in Coptic and are generally dated to the 3rd and 4th centuries AD, though the Gospel of Thomas has ignited some debate, and scholars argue that it dates from 50 AD (Koester, HDS) to the late 2nd century AD (Miers). (wikpedia.com) • Not the same a valued ancient writings

  19. FURTHER TRANSLATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT • OT - (HEBREW/ARAMAIC) • SEPTUAGINT – ALL GREEK (200-100 BC) • NT – GREEK (51-95 AD) • SYRIAC (PESHITTA) – AFTER CHRIST FOR SYRIANS • VULGATE – ST JEROME – TO LATIN • 382 COMMISSIONED BY POPE • 20 YEARS TO COMPLETE • CONFLICT OVER SEPTUAGINT • 1228 – CHAPTERS INSERTED BY STEPHEN LANGTON • 1430 GUTENBERG PRESS • 1528 – VERSES INSERTED BY SANTES PAGNINI

  20. IS THE BIBLE TRUE?TYPES OF TRUTH • SCIENTIFIC TRUTH – FLAT EARTH? DOME OVER THE EARTH? • HISTORICAL TRUTH – SOME HISTORICAL ERROR, BUT SUPRISINGLY ACCURATE • SYMBOLIC TRUTH – MESSAGES TOLD IN SYMBOLS (SERPENTS, FORBIDDEN FRUIT) • PROVERBIAL TRUTH – A “FOLKLORE” TYPE TRUTH FOUND IN WISDOM BOOKS • MORAL TRUTH – WHAT IS RIGHT AND WRONG • RELIGIOUS TRUTH – THE PRIMARY TRUTH OF THE BIBLE AND THE FOCUS OF MANS RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.

  21. WRITING STYLESAND CONTEXT • ALLEGORY ( symbolic representation) , BIOGRAPHY, GENEOLOGY, HISTORICAL, POLITICAL, LEGAL, PROPHETIC, POETIC, PROSE, SERMON, FABLE (parable), MYTH, etc. • TRUE OR FALSE? • ON THE THIRD DAY GOD MADE “LIGHT” • “APPLES” AND “SNAKES” • “TWO BY TWO INTO THE ARK”

  22. IT’S THE MESSAGE!!! • Gen 1:3 And God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. • Gen 1:16And God made the two great lights, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; he made the stars also. • Gen 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27. And God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. • Gen 2:7 And Jehovah God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

  23. LOOK FOR THE MESSAGE • Gen 6:19 And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. 20. Of the birds after their kind, and of the cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive. • 7: 2. Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee seven and seven, the male and his female; and of the beasts that are not clean two, the male and his female: 3. of the birds also of the heavens, seven and seven, male and female, to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.

  24. THE WRITTEN WORD VERSUS THE SPOKEN WORD(ASSUMPTIONS) • Who is the serpent in the Garden of Eden? • What was the “original sin”?

  25. INTERPRETING “MYTH” • ADAM – EACH PERSON/ALL OF US • GARDEN – A PLACE OF NO SUFFERING • SERPENT – TEMPTATION • EATING THE FRUIT - SIN • NAKED/ASHAMED – SELF ALIENATION • THE PLOT AND THEME • NO SUFFERING – SIN – SUFFERING • SUFFERING IS DUE TO SIN

  26. THE BIBLE IN CHURCH • LOOK FOR THE MESSAGE !!! • INTERPRETATION - DISCERNMENT CRITICAL • THE CHURCH HELPS US UNDERSTAND • THE PILLAR OF TRUTH • EVEN SATAN QUOTED SCRIPTURE • ACTS 8:26 • THREE READING PER WEEK • DOES NOT CONTAIN EVERYTHING (Sunday) • So then, our brothers, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions which we taught you, both in our preaching and our writing". (2 Thessalonians 2:14-15)

  27. WHOSE “MESSAGE”KNOW WHAT YOU ARE READING AND BUYING Luke 11 Ask for What You Need  1 One day he was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said, "Master, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples." 2-4So he said, "When you pray, say,    Father,    Reveal who you are.    Set the world right.    Keep us alive with three square meals.    Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.    Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil." (The Message Bible) • Problem is that people might not KNOW the differences, significance, or mistakes that can come from reading non-standard translations. • Before you buy a new Bible, ask someone in the Church or do some homework.

  28. THE BIBLE IN CHURCH • LOOK FOR THE MESSAGE !!! • INTERPRETATION - DISCERNMENT CRITICAL • THE CHURCH HELPS US UNDERSTAND • THE PILLAR OF TRUTH • EVEN SATAN QUOTED SCRIPTURE • ACTS 8:26 • THREE READING PER WEEK • DOES NOT CONTAIN EVERYTHING (Sunday) • So then, our brothers, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions which we taught you, both in our preaching and our writing". (2 Thessalonians 2:14-15)

  29. SUMMARY • “WORD OF GOD” inspired through men • One of three pillars of Church authority (Tradition, Scripture, Teaching of Magisterium) • Written by many authors of many centuries in many styles, containing different “truths”. • Can be and is often misinterpreted, thus requires discernment. • Scripture study should initially focus on “the message”

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