2 sacred scriptures
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The document discusses the origins and development of the Bible. It explains that the Bible was not written all at once, but was orally passed down through generations before being written and compiled. Over time, certain writings were collected, edited, and recognized as sacred scripture based on apostolic origin and consistency with church teachings. The canon of scripture was formed through a process of discernment, and includes 73 books for Catholics and 66 books for Protestants. The document outlines the key concepts of inspiration, inerrancy, and canonicity in determining the authoritative books of the Bible.
2 sacred scriptures
- 1. “Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.” St. Jerome
- 2. This refers to the actual experiences of ACTUAL God’s people which they interpreted EVENTS as God’s intervention in their history. So that the people will forever ORAL remember these important events, they TRADITION are handed on to succeeding generations through storytelling. WRITTEN These stories were sorted, edited, and eventually put into to serve as norms SCRIPTURES against which other stories and traditions will be verified; and to more effectively preserve tradition.
- 3. Gk. “τα βιβλια” – “the books” -refers the whole sacred volume Lt. “biblia” – “The Book” -designates the eminence of the Bible The Bible is a collection of sacred writings which the Church solemnly recognized as the:
- 4. “God is the author of Sacred Scripture because he inspired its human authors; he acts in them and by means of them. He thus gives assurance that their writings teach without error his saving truth” Dei Verbum 11 To say that the Bible is the Word of God is to acknowledge its Divine Authorship.
- 5. The Bible did not fall from heaven. When God gave us his word, he inspired some men to put in into writing. The Bible was written by persons who lived in a particular context, using the means available to them as they went through the natural process of data gathering, selection, and finally writing down scriptures. Because the Bible was written by men, then through the Bible God is able to speak to us in human language- something we can understand and relate to. "All scripture, inspired of God, is profitable to teach, to reprove, to correct to instruct in justice" 2 Timothy 3:16
- 6. Lt. “in spirare” – to breathe into “By supernatural power God so moved and impelled the human authors to write - he so assisted them when writing - that the things he ordered and those only they first rightly understood, then willed faithfully to write down, and finally expressed in apt words and with infallible truth.” Providentissimus Deus, Pope Leo XIII INSPIRATION IS THE SPECIAL INFLUENCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT ON THE HUMAN AUTHORS, SUCH THAT THEY WERE ABLE TO WRITE DOWN WHAT GOD WANTED THEM TO WRITE. INSPIRATION IS NOT: •DICTATION – God did not dictate the words to the human authors. As stated earlier, the human authors had to go through all the processes involved in coming up with a written work. •POSSESSION – The human authors were not coerced by God to write. They did not lose their free will when they put God’s Word into writing. On their end, they had to cooperate with inspiration.
- 7. COVENANT BETWEEN COVENANT BETWEEN GOD AND ISRAEL The Old Testament GOD AND HUMANITY MEDIATED BY MOSES finds light in the MEDIATED BY JESUS Central Event: New Testament. The Central Event: New Testament finds foundation in the Old Testament. The Church teaches that both divisions are equally THE EXODUS inspired. THE RESURRECTION Language: Language: Predominantly Hebrew Predominantly Greek
- 8. Inerrancy means freedom from error. The inerrancy of Scripture is a consequence of its inspiration. Because God is the principal author of the Bible, then it cannot but contain the truth. BUT THE BIBLE CONTAINS ERROR… Errors in Science : This is because the Bible was not written to be a science textbook. The authors had primitive knowledge of science. (e.g. the sun moves around the earth: Joshua 10:14) Errors in History : The Bible was a product of oral tradition. This tradition preserves the essential content, not the trivial details, so it is possible to find chronological errors, contradictory details, and inaccurate quotations once in a while. (e.g. The animals Noah’s Ark: Genesis 6:19 and Genesis 7:2) Errors in Moral Understanding : The people of the Old Testament did not learn of God’s will instantly. It took time before they understood God’s precepts, hence there were instances when they label something good as bad and vice versa. (e.g. total extermination of enemies is God’s will: Joshua 11:13-14) These errors do not in anyway affect the essential message of Sacred Scriptures. THE BIBLE CONTAINS ERROR BUT TEACHES NO ERROR.
- 9. Gk. “κανον” – a stick; measuring rod -the word implies “norms” or “standards” CANONICITY IS THE CHURCH’S OFFICIAL DECLARATION THAT A BOOK IS INSPIRED, AND IS THEREFORE A WORTHY BASIS OF FAITH AND MORALS. FOR A BOOK TO BE DECLARED CANONICAL, IT HAS TO PASS CERTAIN STANDARDS. AS IT PASS THE STANDARDS, IT BECOMES A STANDARD ITSELF. N.B. Canonicity does not make a book inspired, neither does it add to inspiration. It is simply a formal recognition of the inspiration which the book has always possessed.
- 10. FOR THE OLD TESTAMENT: FOR THE NEW TESTAMENT: •The scripture must not contradict the •Apostolic Origin - either the books TORAH (five books of Moses). For the were written by the apostles themselves, Jews, Moses was undoubtedly a man of or they were used as sources. God and his “books” measure everything. •Coherence with the essential Gospel •The scripture must be constantly used in Message- the content of the book must liturgy. be consistent with the message of Christ. •In some cases, language became a factor. •Constant use in the liturgy- the books Some Jews rejected non-Hebrew writings. were used by the Early Christian •Recognized Sacred Scriptures are stored Communities in their celebration of the in the temple chests, available for public “breaking of the bread” and other reading. Putting a book in the temple chest liturgical functions. is tantamount to canonization.
- 11. When a book fails to meet the standards, it is labeled as APOCRYPHAL i.e. of doubtful authority When a book has passed the standards, it becomes part of the CANON OF SCRIPTURES. The CANON OF SCRIPTURES refers to the official list of inspired books. ROMAN CATHOLIC BIBLE PROTESTANT BIBLE 73 (72) BOOKS 66 BOOKS 46 Books in the Old Testament 39 Books in the Old (45 if Jeremiah and Testament Lamentations are 27 Books in the New counted as one) Testament 27 Books in the New Testament
- 12. The word “Deuterocanonical” literally means: “second canon”. These refers to the second set of canonical books. During the Council of Trent, before the Catholic Church finally closed the Canon (which means from then on, no other books will be added to the bible), the Church also declared as canonical some Old Testament books which were recognized ever since as inspired but were not formally declared as part of the canon of scriptures. Unfortunately, the Protestants have already deviated from the Catholic Church when this happened so they do not have the Deuterocanonicals in their Bible. If ever they include it, they simply label the books as Apocryphals. One thing is for sure, the Protestant Canon was still a product of the prudent judgment of the Catholic Church before the split took place.
- 13. The Bible did not always have its chapter and verses. Hence, when one would look for particular passages, one has scan through the entire book. The division of the bible into chapters was done in the thirteenth century by Most Rev. Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury Some time later, in the sixteenth century, the bible was divided into verses by Robert Estienne, a French printer.
- 14. CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH nos.101-141 Francis E. Gigot SACRED SCRIPTURES, THE BIBLE www.pax-et-veritas.org Ian Knox C.S.Sp. THEOLOGY FOR TEACHERS Ottawa: Novalis Press, 1994 INSPIRATION AND INERRANCY www.cathtruth.com Notes on class: INTRO. TO THE BIBLE with Fr. Steve Placente, SDB, SSL