God is the author of Sacred Scripture: CCC 105 The Holy Spirit inspired authors to write. God used them as His instruments.

Transcription

1 1.3: The Bible The Bible as God s loving communication with each of us What we mean when we say the Bible is inspired by God The Catholic approach to interpreting Scripture What books belong in the Bible? The Bible contains God s revelation for our lives Studying and praying with the Bible

2 The Bible What did the video say was the thread that runs through all 73 books of the Bible? Despite having different human authors, they all have one author in common: God. All the books come together to tell the one story of God s plan of salvation, culminating in Jesus.

3 Uniqueness Every other religious book is the story of man s search for God. The Bible is God s revelation to us The only one inspired by Him Through the Bible, He speaks to us, reveals Himself/His plan The Word of God expressed in the words of men (CCC 101)

4 God is the author of Sacred Scripture: CCC 105 The Holy Spirit inspired authors to write. God used them as His instruments. Inspiration

5 Inspiration God inspired the human authors to write: CCC 106 God inspired the truths He wanted revealed. They used their own words and their own styles to express those truths. They wrote what God wanted and nothing more.

6 The inspired books teach the truth: CCC 107 Inspiration This is called inerrancy. What the sacred writers affirm is what the Holy Spirit wanted affirmed, so it must be true. God is the Truth, and God reveals Himself in Sacred Scripture, so Sacred Scripture must be true.

7 Interpretation What did the video say about whether Catholics interpret the Bible literally? We read it literarily We examine the author s style to determine what truths he intended to present (what God wanted revealed) Song 1:15

8 Interpretation CCC 109 God speaks to man in a human way. What did the human authors want to say? What did God want to reveal to us by their words?

9 CCC 110 Interpretation In order to understand what the human authors intended, we need to consider their writing styles: time, culture, literary genres (types of writing), thoughts, expressions, etc.

10 Interpretation CCC 111: Must interpret scripture in light of the Holy Spirit: Unity of all the books (CCC 112) Living Tradition of the Church (CCC 113) Analogy of Faith (CCC 114)

11 Interpretation CCC 112 (Unity of Scripture) Recognize that all the books of the Bible make up one book. God has one plan, and Jesus is the center. Jesus life, death, Resurrection, and Ascension give us the key to understanding the Bible as one unified book.

12 Interpretation CCC 113 (The Tradition of the Church.) When trying to interpret any part of the Bible, consider: How has the Church always interpreted this? The Church is the living interpreter of God s Word. The Holy Spirit allows the Church to understand the proper spiritual interpretation of the words. The Traditional interpretations have been handed on from the apostles and guarded by the Holy Spirit.

13 CCC 114 (The Analogy of Faith) Interpret the passage by recognizing that it cannot contradict something else in the Bible. All the truths of faith in the Bible work together. They are consistent. Interpretation

14 The Canon of Scripture The Canon of the Bible = The list of books that belong in the Bible. Often it is referred to simply as The Canon. 2 Maccabees* Wisdom Literature Job Psalms Proverbs Ecclesiastes Song of Solomon Wisdom (of Solomon)* Sirach (Ecclesiasticus)* Prophets Major Prophets Isaiah Jeremiah

15 The Canon of Scripture In Jesus time: The New Testament wasn t written yet. The Jews didn t have an official canon yet. Different groups had different lists for OT books. There were at least 6 different OT lists.

16 The Canon of Scripture CCC 120 Church leaders wrote the New Testament. The Church has the authority to determine which books belong in the Bible. HS inspired Scripture HS guided Church to determine what books are inspired 2 Maccabees* Wisdom Literature Job Psalms Proverbs Ecclesiastes Song of Solomon Wisdom (of Solomon)* Sirach (Ecclesiasticus)* Prophets Major Prophets Isaiah Jeremiah

17 The Canon of Scripture Qualifications: Orthodox (true doctrine) Universal (used everywhere) Liturgical (read in churches) Apostolic (written by Apostles or their students) 2 Maccabees* Wisdom Literature Job Psalms Proverbs Ecclesiastes Song of Solomon Wisdom (of Solomon)* Sirach (Ecclesiasticus)* Prophets Major Prophets Isaiah Jeremiah

18 The Canon of Scripture The Church established a Canon early, and re-affirmed it over time: Pope Damasus 382 AD Synod of Hippo 393 AD Pope Innocent I 405 AD Council of Florence 1442 AD Eventually the Church needed to dogmatically define the Canon. Made it officially heretical to reject any of the books, prior to that one could debate it while still being Catholic Council of Trent 1546 AD (responding to Luther, etc.)

19 The Canon of Scripture After the Church determined the Canon, the Jews rejected some books that some Jews had previously accepted (Luther sided w/the post-jesus Jews). Deuterocanonicals: Tobit Judith 1 & 2 Maccabees Baruch Wisdom Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) Parts of Daniel Parts of Esther

20 The Importance of Scripture Scripture is the food for nourishing your spiritual life: CCC 131 The Church teaches: Access to Sacred Scripture ought to be open wide to the Christian faithful.

21 The Importance of Scripture CCC 133: The Church forcefully and specifically urges all Christians to frequently read Scripture. Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ. (St. Jerome)

22 The Importance of Scripture CCC 1100: In Mass, Sacred Scripture is extremely important. There are MANY scripture references at Mass. See the handout: Scripture at Mass

23 Call to Conversion Spend a few moments in prayer asking Jesus to help you to learn to love Sacred Scripture and use it on your journey of faith. Fill out Call to Conversion