The Bible in our world
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iBible
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Charlton Heston as Moses - Turns Water Into Blood
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The Greatest Story Ever Told
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'Jesus and Peter' from the Epic movie "Son of God"
What is
the Bible?
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?
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?
 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?
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.
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
 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
 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”
Assignment…
Read Articles 25, 26, 27 –
about the Old Testament (pg
76 in book)
Read 28, 29, 30 – about the
New Testament
Unit1 Vocabulary
Article 25-30 1. What is the proper understanding of the Old
review
Testament?
2. How are the Catholic Bible and the Protestant Bible
different?
3. What are the four categories of books found in the Old
Testament? Explain the type of categories.
4. What is the “big picture” painted by both the Old
Testament and the New Testament together?
5. What is the Paschal Mystery?
6. What are the five categories of New Testament books?
What role did they play in spreading the message of
Jesus Christ?
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?
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.
How the Bible came to be in its
present form
A. 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
B. People shared the stories verbally
 Told about theirs and others experience with God
 Word spread throughout the community and down
through time
C.
People wrote down the stories
D.
Religious leaders selected the
central writings to be part of the
Scriptures.

E.
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.
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
B. People
Shared the
Stories
Verbally
 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
Oral Traditions:
handing on of the
messages of God’s
saving plan through
words and deeds
When was it written?
Book
Period Covered
Date Written
Genesis
Creation – 1500
BC
900 – 500 BC
Exodus
1500 – 1200 BC
900 – 500 BC
Prophetic Books
922 – 300 BC
865 – 300 BC
Gospels
5 BC – AD 30
AD 62 – 100
Paul’s Letters
AD 51 – 100
AD 51 - 100
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.
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
D. Religious Leaders Selected the Central Writings
to be Part of the Scriptures
 Canon comes 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

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
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
Hebrew
The Bible was written in more than
one language
The three biblical languages are
Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek
Aramaic
The Vulgate, basis for Catholic Bible,
was compiled from St Jerome’s
translation or Greek and Hebrew into
common language, Latin, in AD 405
Greek
In 1546, the Council of Trent
recognized the Vulgate as authoritative,
becoming the official Bible of the
Roman Catholic Church
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?
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.”
Different translations of Matt 5:13-16

In your assigned groups discuss the way the four translated passages
resemble 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.
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.
What are you
going to believe
about your self?
Catholic Church’s
Role Interpreting
the Scriptures
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
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
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
 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
Nothing taught or
proclaimed by the
Church ever
contradicts the
truth of Jesus
Christ.
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
In your opinion, how
does their attitude
affect how they feel
about their work.
Literal and
Spiritual Senses
We can analyze the Bible from many angles:
literal and spiritually
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.
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
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
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)
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?
Literal sense lays the framework for
all other senses of Sacred Scripture



Exegesis – (eksĭ jēsis)
If you found a letter written by one
person to another person what
would you need to consider in
order to truly understand it?
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
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
Compare and contrast
Parents Era

Phones
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

music
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
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 Sitz im
Leben 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
Partner practice: Biblical Exegesis Chart
 With your partner read the Biblical Exegesis Chart
paying close attention to “Questions This Method
Asks”
 As a group read the 5 different sets of verses
 Choose 1 or 2 types of biblical criticism explain who
your choice would help you to understand the
passage
 You will choice each type at least once.
Directions
 Come in quietly
Our Father who art in Heaven,
 take a seat –bag on
Hallowed be thy name;
floor
Thy kingdom come
Thy will be done
 Take a Music project
shet from back table
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
 Laptops out for
reflections title it:
And forgive us our trespasses
As we forgive those who trespass against us;
So Who’s Perfect
And lead us not into temptation,
 Be ready for prayer
But deliver us from evil.
Amen
Class work
 Read article 20-21
 Summaries each article
 Submit to turnitin.com: Article 20-21 summary
 Answer the review questions on page 75
 Use complete sentences
 Submit to turnitin.com: pg 79 Review questions
 Make sure the Unit 1 study guide is complete
 Test next week
 B day 10/20
 A day 10/21