Chapter 1: What is the Bible?

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Chapter 1 What is the Bible?

• Understanding the Scriptures

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1. Introductory Lesson for first day of class

• Syllabus.
• How the lessons of this text will be taught.
• Instructional policy.
• Materials.
• Homework.

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1. Introductory Lesson for first day of class

• HOMEWORK
• Reading
• Read Chapter 1 through the sidebar Periods
  of Bible History (p. 69)

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2. Scripture, Tradition, and the Magisterium

• ANTICIPATORY SET
• Explain to the students St. Paul wrote the Second
  Epistle to Timothy near the end of his life when
  he was in prison for having preached the Gospel.
  St. Paul had ordained St. Timothy a bishop and
  gave him advice to carry out his ministry.
• Have each student complete a focused reading on
  2 Timothy 310-45, using the following question
• What is the nature of Sacred Scripture, and what
  are its purposes?
• Have each student work with a partner to focus
  on verse 16, and, using a dictionary if
  necessary, explain what the verse means.

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2. Scripture, Tradition, and the Magisterium

• BASIC QUESTIONS
• In what two ways is the Word of God transmitted,
  and who has the authority to interpret it
  authoritatively?
• KEY IDEAS
• The Word of God is transmitted by Sacred
  Scripture and Sacred Tradition, and its
  authoritative interpretation has been entrusted
  solely to the Magisterium of the Church.

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2. Scripture, Tradition, and the Magisterium
FOCUS QUESTIONS

• What does inspired mean?
• Literally, inspired means breathed in. With
  respect to the Sacred Scriptures, it means God
  the Holy Spirit guided the Sacred Authors who
  wrote the books of the Bible.
• Who are the two authors of the Sacred Scriptures?
• God is the principal author of Scripture the
  human authors are also true authors who, when
  they wrote, acted as free, subordinate,
  intelligent instruments of the Holy Spirit.
• What does inerrant mean with respect to the
  Sacred Scriptures?
• It means Scripture does not err in teaching the
  truth God wishes it to teach.

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2. Scripture, Tradition, and the Magisterium

• GUIDED EXERCISE
• Conduct a think/pair/share on the paragraph
  Reading Sacred Scripture . . . (p. 7), and then
  ask the students the following question
• How is reading Sacred Scripture like receiving
  the Eucharist?

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2. Scripture, Tradition, and the Magisterium

• GUIDED EXERCISE
• Conduct a think/pair/share using the following
  questions to better understand the Catechism,
  nos. 889892 (p. 8).
• 889 How do the People of God share in the
  infallibility of Christ?
• 890 What is the task of the Magisterium?
• 890 What is the pastoral duty of the
  Magisterium?
• 890 What charism (gift) of the Holy Spirit did
  Christ give the Magisterium to carry out its
  pastoral duty?
• 891 What two forms does infallibility take?
• 891 How should the faithful respond to an
  infallible teaching?
• 892 How should the faithful respond to an
  ordinary, or non-infallible, teaching of the Pope
  or the bishops with him?

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2. Scripture, Tradition, and the Magisterium
FOCUS QUESTIONS

• If Christianity is not a religion of the book,
  what is it?
• It is a religion of the divine Person of Jesus
  Christ, who is the living Word of God.
• Who is the central Person found in Sacred
  Scripture?
• Jesus Christ is the central Person in Scripture.
• Why should people study Sacred Scripture?
• People study so they can come to know Jesus
  Christ and his teachings.

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2. Scripture, Tradition, and the Magisterium

• CLOSURE
•  
• Have each student write a paragraph about the
  relationship among Sacred Scripture, Tradition,
  and the Magisterium.

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2. Scripture, Tradition, and the Magisterium

• HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT
• Reading
• How the Bible Was Written through The Bible Is
  Religious (pp. 1013)
• Study Questions
• Questions 111.
• Workbook
• Questions 18.

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2. Scripture, Tradition, and the Magisterium

• ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT
•  
• Have each student free write for five minutes
  about the relationship between the four Catechism
  questions on page 8 (nos. 889892) and the
  passage from 2 Timothy in the Anticipatory Set
  (p. 7).

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3. The Bible as Religious History

• ANTICIPATORY SET
• Explain the Bible contains a tremendous variety
  of writing styles. This is due to its many
  different authors, who wrote about different
  events and for different reasons over thousands
  of years.

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3. The Bible as Religious History

• BASIC QUESTIONS
• What is the relationship between the human and
  divine authorship of the Sacred Scriptures?
• Why is it important to understand the books of
  the Bible as works of human literature?
• What kind of history does the Bible contain?
• KEY IDEAS
• The Bible was written by inspired Sacred Authors
  who wrote only what God wanted consequently, it
  is true and without error.
• To understand the Bible, one needs to take into
  account the authors intentions, which can be
  discovered through literary modes and
  circumstances.
• The Bible presents religion, specifically
  salvation history.

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3. The Bible as Religious History

• GUIDED EXERCISE
• The Bible contains a tremendous variety of
  writing styles. This is due to its many different
  authors, writing about different events and for
  different reasons across millennia.
• Conduct a think/pair/share to look up the
  following biblical passages and match each with
  the category that most accurately fits the
  passage.

Luke 114 Song of Songs 2813 Chronicles
2117 Romans 614 Revelation 1216
Complicated theology Symbolic vision Beautiful
poetry Accurate history Family genealogy
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3. The Bible as Religious History
FOCUS QUESTIONS

• Why is the Bible literature?
• The Bible uses literary forms and techniques to
  convey its meaning.
• How does the Book of Genesis shed light on
  Jeremiah 423?
• Jeremiah drew on imagery from the creation
  narrative to communicate how terrible Gods
  judgment would be against Judah. It was as if God
  would uncreate Judah.
• What does it mean to describe a Sacred Authors
  intention?
• Intention describes what the Sacred Author wanted
  to affirm and what God wanted to reveal by his
  words.
• Extension In every book of the Bible there are
  two intentions what the Sacred Author intended
  and what God intends. Gods intention often goes
  beyond the intention of the Sacred Author for
  example, many passages in the Old Testament
  foreshadow Christ without the Sacred Author
  having realized it.

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3. The Bible as Religious History

• GUIDED EXERCISE
• Conduct a think/pair/share using the following
  question
• How can the Sacred Authors intention be
  discovered in a particular passage of the Bible?

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3. The Bible as Religious History
FOCUS QUESTIONS

• Why are different personalities recognized in the
  books of the Bible?
• The various books of the Bible have very
  different human authors.
• Why is the Bibleunlike any human bookcompletely
  free from error?
• The principal author of the Bible is God, who
  cannot err.
• Why might some ideas in the Bible seem outdated?
• The Sacred Authors presented their messages in
  ways the people of their time could understand.

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3. The Bible as Religious History
FOCUS QUESTIONS

• What is the primary purpose of Sacred Scripture?
• It conveys religious truths, and it is ordered
  toward the salvation of all people.
• What are the two senses of Scripture?
• They are the literal, i.e., that which the Sacred
  Author intended to express, and the spiritual,
  i.e., the meaning when read under the influence
  of the Holy Spirit in light of Christ.
• How do modern people tend to view religion
  differently than ancient peoples, including the
  authors of Sacred Scripture?
• Modern people tend to see religion in terms of
  personal experience, whereas the ancient peoples
  saw it as an essential aspect of society
  religion held together history, culture,
  politics, and all else.

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3. The Bible as Religious History
FOCUS QUESTIONS

• In what way is every human historian biased?
• Every human historian writes from a point of
  view, selecting what he considers important and
  interpreting the facts according to his or her
  viewpoint.
• Why is the Bible unbiased?
• The principal author is God the Holy Spirit, who
  sees things exactly as they are.
• What is salvation history?
• All the history in the Bible is salvation
  history, i.e., the gradual unveiling of Gods
  plan to save all people unfolding through the
  ages.

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3. The Bible as Religious History

• GUIDED EXERCISE
• Have the students analyze the illustration from
  the Biblia Pauperum (p. 22), and then ask them to
  identify the stories in the three central panels.
• 1. Esau sells his birthright to his brother Jacob
  for a pot of stew.
• 2. The Devil tries to tempt Christ, promising him
  all the kingdoms of the earth if he will only
  worship him.
• 3. Adam and Eve eat the forbidden fruit to be
  like gods.
• Lead a class discussion using the following
  question
• How can the stories of Esau and Jacob and Adam
  and Eve be read in a spiritual sense, that is, in
  light of the mystery of Christ, who was tempted?

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3. The Bible as Religious History

• GUIDED EXERCISE
• Conduct a think/pair/share using the following
  questions according to the chart Archaeological
  Periods and Biblical Events (p. 13).
• How many archaeological periods span biblical
  events?
• Which book of the Bible covers human prehistory?
• When did Abraham live?
• In what archaeological period was the Exodus?
• When was David King of Israel?
• During which archaeological period did Christ
  appear on Earth?

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3. The Bible as Religious History

• CLOSURE
•  
• Put the students in groups of three or four to
  brainstorm reasons people might think there are
  errors in the Bible.

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3. The Bible as Religious History

• HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT
• Reading
• What Salvation History Is through How the Canon
  Came to Be (pp. 1418)
• Study Questions
• Questions 1214.
• Workbook
• Questions 915.

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3. The Bible as Religious History

• ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT
•  
• Have each student write a paragraph exploring the
  parallel between the human-divine authorship of
  the Bible and the human-divine Incarnation of God
  in Jesus Christ.
• Briefly share answers.

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4. Salvation History and the Canon of Scripture

• ANTICIPATORY SET
• Administer a closed-book, open-workbook quiz.

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4. Salvation History and the Canon of Scripture

• BASIC QUESTIONS
• What is salvation history?
• How do the Catholic faithful understand the
  content of their Faith, including the Bible?
• How did the Church determine which books are
  canonical?
• KEY IDEAS
• Salvation history is Gods plan to save humanity,
  specifically the story of the covenants made
  between God and his people.
• The Church is a guide to understand the Faith,
  including the Sacred Scriptures.
• The Church formally declared the canon of
  Scripture, based on apostolic Tradition, at the
  Ecumenical Council of Trent.

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4. Salvation History and the Canon of Scripture
FOCUS QUESTIONS

• What is salvation history?
• The Bible, taken as a whole, tells the story of
  Gods plan to save the human race as it has been
  unveiled in history.
• How is salvation history different from other
  kinds of history?
• Salvation history includes not only the past but
  the future as well.
• What is a covenant in the context of the Old
  Testament?
• In the Old Testament, a covenant was an agreement
  between God and man made through an individual to
  establish a family relationship between God and
  his people.

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4. Salvation History and the Canon of Scripture

• GUIDED EXERCISE
• Have the students analyze the illustration of the
  Garden of Eden (p. 15), and then lead a class
  discussion using the following question
• What four vignettes of the story of Adam and Eve
  does the artist portray?

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4. Salvation History and the Canon of Scripture
FOCUS QUESTIONS

• What are the two major divisions of the Bible?
• The Old Testament was written before the time of
  Christ, and the New Testament was written after.
• What prompted early Christians to determine which
  books are canonical, i.e., authored by God and
  should be included in the Bible?
• Early Christians tried to decide which books to
  include in liturgical worship. The Septuagint, or
  Greek translation of the Old Testament, was used
  in the early Church however, there was some
  disagreement over which of the many writings in
  existence should be included in the New
  Testament.
• What are some examples of Catholic doctrine found
  in the deuterocanonical books?
• The Book of Tobit speaks of guardian angels. The
  Second Book of Maccabees teaches people to pray
  for the dead, i.e., the existence of Purgatory.

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4. Salvation History and the Canon of Scripture

• GUIDED EXERCISE
• Deliver a mini-lecture on canonicity and the
  correct interpretation of Scripture.

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4. Salvation History and the Canon of Scripture

• CLOSURE
•  
• Have each student use his or her notes to write a
  paragraph summarizing the three criteria the
  Church used to determine which books are
  canonical.

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4. Salvation History and the Canon of Scripture

• HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT
• Study Questions
• Questions 1523.
• Practical Exercises 12.
• Workbook
• Questions 1625 and Vocabulary.

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4. Salvation History and the Canon of Scripture

• ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT
•  
• Divide the students into groups of three or four
  and complete the first part of Practical Exercise
  2 (p. 21), requiring them to interpret Luke
  125153 two different ways.
• Have a few students share their interpretations,
  and then lead a class discussion about the two
  remaining questions in Practical Exercise 2.

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The End