Exploration of the Christian Faiths
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rel-150_pp2.pptxIntroducing the Bible
Christianity: An Introduction
The Bible: Origin of the Term
“The Bible” – a collection of writings
La biblia – “the books” (Plural)
“Sacred Scripture”, “Holy Scripture”
Old Testament and New Testament
Old Testament: written in Hebrew (small sections in Aramaic), 39 or 46 books
New Testament: written in Greek, 27 books
Old Testament Overview
Five books of Law – also called the five books of Moses, Pentateuch, “scrolls”, Torah.
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteonomy
Show how people came to be up until entry to promised land
Historical books –
Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther
History of the people of God from entry to promised land until Babylonian Exile
Old Testament Overview
The Prophets – writings of a group of individuals, inspired by the Holy Spirit, who made God’s will known to people over a period of time
Wisdom Writings – (Often grouped with the historical books)
Apocrypha – 7 books in dispute
Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes; deal with questions about how wisdom may be found
New Testament Overview
New Testament – importance to Christians, as it sets out the basic events and beliefs of the Christian gospel
Written in Greek
Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke John – “good news” – describe life of Jesus Christ, reaching climax in the resurrection
Synoptic Gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke
New Testament Overview
Letters/Epistles – teach about Christian beliefs and behaviors
Pastoral Letters – letters to Timothy, to Titus
History book – Acts of the Apostles
Revelation – theological vision at the end of history
Continuity between Old and New Testaments
“Old Testament” and “New Testament”: Christian Theological terms
The “Old” Law, prophets, writings: Torah, Neviim, Kethuvim: T + N + K = Tanakh
The “New”: Coming of Christ
What do you think of using “Old?”
Two options: treat Tanakh as something unrelated to Christianity, or show continuity?
Marcion – Christ was there to depose the old testament; was the Gnostic demigurge
Augustine of Hippo – “The New Testament lies hidden in the Old, and the Old Testament is unveiled in the new”
Continuity between Old and New Testaments
Matthew’s Gospel constantly brings continuity between Jesus and Moses; Paul’s letters trace lineage to Abraham
God of Israel is the God of the Christians
Old Testament institutions: prophecy, priesthood, monarchy
Jesus’ identity: Priest, prophet, king
How are these fulfilled?
Contents of the Bible
Christian Bible – 66/73 books; what is called “Scripture?”
Process – “fixing of the canon”
Greek kanon – “a rule” or “a fixed reference point”
Luke – Canonical
Thomas – “extra canonical”
Paul: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness
Contents of the Bible
Early Christian writers – Justin the Martyr, for example: to be treated with equal authority
2nd century: Irenaeus: writings show by then there were four accepted Gospels, and Acts of the Apostles and Letters had status of Scripture
Clement of Alexandria: recognized four gospels, Acts, fourteen letters of Paul, and Revelation; alongside “law and the prophets” were the “evangelical and apostolic writings” which were to be treated with authority
Contents of the Bible
367 – Athanasius – circulated a letter which identified the 27 books of the New Testament; consensus fidelium “consensus of the faithful”– was important
Three criteria of evaluation to see if a writing was canonical:
Apostolic origins or connections; attributed to or based up one of the first generation Apostles
To what extend had they secured general acceptance within Christian communities throughout the world?
The extent it could be used liturgically
Athanasius
Contents of the Bible
This process was not always easy or straightforward
Other items were seen as “regarded with favor” but not included:
First letter of Bishop Clement
Didache
Basic principle: recognition, not imposition
Contents of the Bible
The Reformation: New questions about Scripture
Martin Luther – caused doubt concerning four letters in the New Testament and seven in the Old Testament
Distinction drawn: Old Testament/Apocrypha – Seven books appeared in Greek and Latin Bibles but not some Hebrew Bibles
Council of Trent (1546) – these are regarded as scriptural; some Protestant groups dismissed them
Translation of the Bible
Written in Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, classical languages
In Islam, the Qur’an stays in Arabic
Vulgate – Jerome - Latin
Protestant reformers Luther & Calvin demanded access to all through the Bible being in everyday language
14th Century – John Wycliffe – “champion of Bible translation” arguing English people had a right to read the Bible in their own language, rather than be forced to listen to Latin.
John Wycliffe
Translation of the Bible
Early translations to English – from the Vulgate
Erasmus of Rotterdam
“Do penance the Kingdom of heaven is at hand”
“Repent, the Kingdom of heaven is at hand”
Luther – people had the right to read and interpret the Bible
Translated it to German himself
William Tyndale – compiled first English translation anonymously in Coverdale Bible
1624: James I – commissioned a new translation, published in 1611, “King James Version”
King James Version
Translation of the Bible
Today, the translation is much different.
For this we say until you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
For those translators, “prevent” means “precede”
Interpretation of the Bible
Hermeneutics – (Greek “to understand”) – method of biblical interpretation
Philo of Alexandria – Alexandrian school of thought: allowed literal interpretation supplemented by allegory
Deeper meaning was needed
Eisegesis – interpreter reads any meaning he or she likes into the text
Philo of Alexandria
Interpretation of the Bible
Antiochene school: (Diodore, John Crysostom, Theodore) historical location of Old Testament prophecies important; specific message relevant to those whom it was directly addressed; developed meaning for Christian readership
Western Church: Ambrose of Milan: threefold approach:
Natural sense
Moral sense
Rational/theological sense
Ambrose of Milan
Interpretation of the Bible
Augustine : two-fold approach
Literal-fleshly-historical approach
Allegorical-mystical-spiritual approach
Sometimes both fit; Jerusalem: earthy city, heavenly city; others both
A purely historical approach is unacceptable; it must be a spiritual interpretation
Old Testament not abolished in Christ, but Christ opens up concealed truth
Augustine
Interpretation of the Bible: The Quadriga
Middle Ages: Fourfold sense of Scripture or the “Quadriga”:
The literal sense of Scripture; all is taken at face value
The allegorical sense of Scripture; interpreted certain passages to produce ethical guidance for Christian conduct.
The tropological or moral sense; interpreted passages provide ethical guidance for Christian conduct
The anagogical sense; interpreted passages to indicate the grounds of Christian hope, pointing towards the future fulfillment of the divine promises in the New Jerusalem
Interpretation of the Bible: Allegorical Interpretation
Bernard of Clairvaux: Song of Songs
“Beams of our houses are of cedar, and our panels are of cypress”
Houses: mass of the Christian people, bound together with those of power and dignity.
Panels – firmly attached; the ordered lives of a proper clergy and administration of Church
Interpretation of the Bible
Potential weakness: idea that nothing should be believed if not literal
Luther: “In the Scriptures no allegory, tropology, or anagogy is valid, unless that same truth is explicitly stated literally somewhere else. Otherwise, Scripture would be a laughing matter”
Interpretation of the Bible
Universities tended to use the Quadriga method
Erasmus of Rotterdam: “Handbook for the Christian Soldier”: surface meaning of the text often conceals a deeper hidden meaning, which it is the task of the enlightened and responsible exegete to uncover.
Huldrych Zwingli- early Swiss Protestant reformers: interpreter is to establish “natural sense” of Scripture, not always the literal sense.
Make sue of various figures of speech: alloiosis, catachresis, and synecdoche
Christ with bread: “This is my body”
Erasmus of Rotterdam
Devotional Reading of the Bible: Christian Spirituality
Bible can be read as a historical document for people looking to learn about the time around King Solomon
A sourcebook of Christian ideas
Also – spiritual refreshment
Spirituality – Hebrew ruach – “spirit” – the live of faith and what drives and motivated; lived religious experience
To achieve and sustain a relationship with God, many Christians turn to the Bible
Devotional Reading of the Bible: Medieval Conceptions
Carthusian writer Guigo II: four processes of discernment:
Reading (lectio)
Meditation (meditatio)
Prayer (oratio)
Contemplation (contemplatio)
People encounter God in this way and with these ideas:
Reading without meditation is sterile
Meditation without reading is prone to error
Prayer without meditation is lukewarm
Meditation without prayer is barren
Prayer with devotion achieves contemplation
Guigo II
Medieval Conceptions
Geert Zerbolt van Zutphen: early mater of the devotio moderna –
Reading of scripture prepares the reader for meditation;
meditation prepares the reader for prayer;
prayer prepares the reader for contemplation
Ignatius of Loyola: imaginative engagement: imagine one’s self within the Biblical narrative
First exercise: “When the contemplation is on something that is visible…the image will consist of seeing with the mind’s eye the physical place where the object we wish to contemplate is present
Ludwig of Saxony – Life of Christ: “recount things according to certain imaginative representations”
Ignatius of Loyola
Protestant Spirituality
Protestant Reformation – 16th century – “rediscovery of the Bible” with new accessibility to laity
Invention of printing press helped accelerate the reformation
Three literary resources made available by reformers:
Biblical Commentary – Calvin, Luther, Zwingli had readers academic and lay
Expository Sermon – Continuous preaching – Calvin is known for 200 sermons on the book of Deuteronomy alone
Works of Biblical Theology – Calvin Institutes of the Christian Religion – allowed readers to gain a new appreciation
Calvin
Protestant Spirituality
Martin Luther: “A Simple Way to Pray” – written for his barber; an approach to prayer based on reading of biblical passes such as the Lord’s Prayer and the Ten Commandments
Only a framework and must not obstruct the Holy Spirit; four basic elements:
Instruction – Need to trust God’s word
Thanksgiving – Thanks for all God has done
Confession- Acknowledge own failings and weakness
Prayer – Composes a prayer weaving these together
Martin Luther
Protestant Spirituality
Charles Haddon Spurgeon – 19th century preacher – danger of an excessively technical approach to reading the Bible could be met by an emphasis upon meditation
Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Biblical Themes and Imagery
Biblical themes and imagery are used in Christian spirituality:
How has the image been used?
Sample theme: darkness
Biblical Themes and Imagery: Darkness
In Scripture, God creates light and the universe becomes a dramatically different place
“The people who walked in darkness will see a great light”
Jesus is the “light of the world”
God’s presence is also seen as darkness:
Moses approaches God through darkness and cloud: the human inability to understand God
Paul: “seeing through a glass darkly”
Biblical Themes and Imagery: Darkness
“Darkness”: illuminates the human situation and encourages action leading to its improvement or spiritual development
Darkness as doubt
Darkness as symbol of sin.
Darkness as a symbol of divine unknowability
Song of Songs: lovers “meeting in the darkness”
John of the Cross: “Dark wood” of the cross
