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Intro to the Bible

Intro to the Bible . Divine Inspiration and Biblical Innerancy. Catholics believe the Bible is inspired by GOD and therefore free from error . We believe it is error-proof in the theological truths necessary for salvation.

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Intro to the Bible

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  1. Intro to the Bible

  2. Divine Inspiration and Biblical Innerancy • Catholics believe the Bible is inspired by GOD and therefore free from error. • We believe it is error-proof in the theological truths necessary for salvation. • Human authors also brought their own knowledge, creativity, writing style, culture, etc.

  3. Therefore, it is crucially important to understand the culture, literary style, etc., in which it was written.

  4. Oral and Written Tradition • We think of oral tradition as unreliable: If we want to remember something, we write it down. • Oral tradition can be incredibly reliable: in the ancient world, people memorized epic poems thousands of lines long. • While the game of Telephone illustrates how messages can change passing from one person to another, a message taught to a community, and remembered communally, preserves accuracy.

  5. Material sometimes written decades, even centuries after events This can affect the author’s focus.

  6. Why did Longfellow write this? So through the night rode Paul Revere;And so through the night went his cry of alarmTo every Middlesex village and farm,---A cry of defiance, and not of fear,A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,And a word that shall echo for evermore!For, borne on the night-wind of the Past,Through all our history, to the last,In the hour of darkness and peril and need,The people will waken and listen to hearThe hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,And the midnight message of Paul Revere. Why did he encourage courage as a necessity for freedom in 1861? Hint: He was an abolitionist!

  7. Mark’s Gospel was likely written in 65-70 • At this time, Nero was persecuting the Church. • Most scholars feel Mark stresses the Christian obligation to be willing to face persecution because of this.

  8. Matthew’s Gospel was likely written in the 80’s, John’s in the 90’s • By this point, Christians had been kicked out of the Temple and synagogues and Romans had destroyed the Temple. • Scholars believe these Gospels show signs of the tensions between the two groups: Christianity and Pharisaic Judaism.

  9. Canon • The Councils of Hippo (393 AD), Carthage (397), and Trent (1545-63) - each agreed on the list of 73 books we find in the Bible. • Criteria: • Apostolic Origin • Universal acceptance • Early Christian community’s use of texts (i.e. prayer, liturgy) • Consistency (with other Jewish and Christian texts. • For example, Gnostic Gospels were rejected for their idea that Christ had no body.

  10. Multiple Translations • Four approved Catholic translations are the • NRSV: New Revised Standard Version • NJB: New Jerusalem Bible • NAB: New American Bible • GNT: Good News Translation

  11. Biblical Exegesis • Thoughtful and rigorous interpretation of the Scriptures and what God is communicating to us through His Words. • Experts at the culture of the time the Bible was written, the language, etc.

  12. Biblical Exegesis and the Fives Senses • Literal Sense – meaning conveyed by the words of Scripture and discovered by exegesis (the obvious meaning of text/actual events being spoken about. • Spiritual sense – goes beyond the literal sense to what the realities and events of Scripture signify. This is broken into 3 categories:

  13. Allegorical Sense – looks at how the people, events, and things in the literal sense point to the mystery of Christ. • Moral Sense – the way the Scripture teaches us how to live a good life. • Anagogical Sense – investigates “realities and events in terms of their eternal significance” how does it lead and direct us toward our future heavenly home?

  14. Fundamentalism vs. Contextualism • The fundamentalist approach to Scripture is that the Bible is the perfect (in every way) word of God: believing people make mistakes, God does not. • People who are fundamentalists believe that if scientists or historians ever disagree with the Bible, they must be wrong. To them, the Bible teaches theology, history, and science.

  15. Catholics are NOT fundamentalist • The Catholic Church does NOT believe Adam and Eve existed, a flood wiped out almost all of creation, a tower was built to conquer heaven, four horsemen will announce the Apocalypse, etc.

  16. Because these are written as types of religious fiction… And so we read them as such.

  17. We DO believe Jesus healed people, walked on water, multiplied loaves, and fishes, and rose from the dead. It’s all about context– the CONTEXTUALIST approach.

  18. Biblical Archaeology • Biblical Archaeology studies ancient texts, artifacts, even cities, to enhance their understanding of the Bible.

  19. Discovered in 1947 by a young Bedouin goat herder, this was the most significant find of the 20th century. • It contained the oldest Biblical texts (by 8-11 centuries). • Everything was a copy of a copy of a copy…back then, so the older you could get, the more reliable a copy it should be.

  20. Literary Analysis & Redaction • You wouldn’t read a bio of Abe Lincoln and a Harry Potter book the same way: similarly, in Scripture, there are many types of literature. How does the TYPE dictate the reader’s approach? • Redaction – trying to analyze WHAT the author did with his source. • Often, this is difficult to discern. With Mt. and Lk., almost all scholars believe Mk. was their primary source. • Also, HOW has the author arranged material, what is the author’s purpose, what are his main ideas, etc.

  21. For example: • Luke – Jesus shows concern for the poor in all Gospels, but there is A LOT of it in Luke. Scholars believe Luke was writing to a wealthy audience, urging their generosity.

  22. Matthew – many things in Matthew’s Gospel are described as fulfilling OT prophesy. Scholars believe his audience was Jewish, and he was proving Jesus fulfilled the OT.

  23. Old Testament NewTestament • 46 books* 27 books

  24. *But why is my Bible smaller?

  25. The Protestant ReformationIf you are Protestant, your OT has only 39 books

  26. The Septuagint • This was a Greek version of the OT written in the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC. • Its name comes from the belief that 70 translators translated it from Hebrew into Greek. • The Septuagint had 46 books, a few of which were originally written in Greek.

  27. The Septuagint • Near the end of the first century, the Jewish people closed their canon, excluding several books from the O.T. • Jews and Christians, however, were not exactly on speaking terms at this time (Christians had been expelled from the Temple – before its destruction – and synagogues ). • Christians were already using the Septuagint and continued to do so.

  28. Deuterocanonical Books Also known as Aprocraphyl, they are the books that were originally written in Greek and left out of the Hebrew Bible. They include Tobit, Judith, 1st and 2ndMaccabees, Wisdom, Sirach, and Baruch.

  29. Why Reformers preferred the Hebrew OT • One of their biggest complaints with the Catholic Church was the practice of indulgences. • Without the apocrypha, there is no reference to Purgatory in the OT. • No Purgatory means no indulgences.

  30. 2 Maccabees 12:43-45 43 He also took up a collection, man by man, to the amount of two thousand drachmas of silver, and sent it to Jerusalem to provide for a sin-offering. In doing this he acted very well and honorably, taking account of the resurrection. 44 For if he were not expecting that those who had fallen would rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead. 45 But if he was looking to the splendid reward that is laid up for those who fall asleep in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Therefore he made atonement for the dead, so that they might be delivered from their sin.

  31. Old Testament • Torah “Law”/Pentateuch “Five books”: • First 5 books : Creation, Covenant, Instruction and Law (613 of them) Historical Books: Jewish history, trials and triumphs of kings, judges, warriors, prophets, c. 1200 BC – 150 BC Wisdom: 4 books, 150 psalms about peoples relationships with God – poetry praising God, practical advice for being wise, patient, honest, humble, respecting elders, self-control, etc. Prophetic Books: 18 books- remembrance of the prophets and their writing

  32. New Testament - Gospels : Tell of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John • Mt., Mk., and Lk. are called “Synoptic” because they are very similar Acts: Continuation of Luke’s Gospel- 1st half is about church community 2nd half follows Paul’s journey Letters: writings to the early church • There are 21 letters, 13 of which are attributed to Paul • Probably half of those 13 were actually written by him Book of Revelation: The last book of the New Testament- Apocalypse: meant to bring hope to the oppressed

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