Old tESTAMENT

1. Old tESTAMENT The bible: A TIME CAPSULE FROM GOD

2. The bible: a time capsule from god • 2 Timothy 3:10-4:5 • Bible – Sacred Scripture: • The collection of all canonical (inspired) books. • The inspired and inerrant Word of God. • Inspired: guided by God. From a word meaning “breathed in.” Human writer’s wrote in their own language, but through God’s inspiration they wrote what God intended them to write and nothing more; God – principal author; writer – human collaborator • Inerrant: Making no mistakes or errors; Scripture is inerrant, that is, it teaches the truth, never falsehood

3. The bible: two parts • Old Testament: made up of books written before the coming of Jesus Christ • New Testament: made up of books written after the coming of Jesus Christ • The Bible: • 73 books – many books tell one story • How God gives humans the mean to salvation after original sin

4. Understanding sacred scripture • Sacred Scripture is literature. • Human authors so that we can understand • Stories, poems, dialogues, figurative language, etc. • Many authors • Different time periods • Different personalities/writing styles • How did the authors at this time see the world? “In Sacred Scripture, God speaks to man in a human way. To man in a human way. To interpret Scripture correctly, the reader must be attentive to what the human authors truly wanted to affirm and to what God wanted to reveal to us by their words.” (CCC 109)

5. Scripture and tradition • Scripture: inspired and inerrant Word of God • Tradition: the living transmission of the message of the Gospel in the Church • “Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture, then, are bound closely together, and communicate one with the other. For both of them, flowing out from the same divine well-spring come together in some fashion to form one thing, and move towards the same goal.” (CCC 80)

6. Tradition Tradition vs. tradition: • Tradition: preserves doctrines first taught by Jesus to the apostles and later passed down to us through the apostles’ successors, the bishops; cannot be changed • Doctrine: all church teachings that must be followed/believed in matter of faith • Ex: Jesus is Lord, Jesus is true God and true man, the Trinity, the Eucharist – body, blood, soul and divinity • tradition: the transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation, or the fact of being passed on in this way; can be changed • Ex: not eating meat on Fridays in lent, receiving the Eucharist in your hand vs. mouth, saying mass in Latin

7. How do we interpret sacred scripture and sacred tradition? • Interpretation expressed in the infallible teaching of the Church, the Magesterium • Infallible: incapable of failing; because of divine help, the Church cannot teach error in matters of faith • Magesterium: the teaching authority of the Church which, guided by the Holy Spirit, interprets Scripture and Tradition • Made up of the pope and bishops through apostolic succession • “The Christian faith is not a ‘religion of the book.’” (CCC 108) It is a religion of the Word of God, and the Word of God – Jesus Christ – is still living today and will live forever.

8. Sacred Scripture and sacred tradition • “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.” – St. Jerome • To get to know God we must understand how God prepared his people for the coming of Jesus • Studying and meditating on the Bible is the only way to get to know what Jesus is like

9. The bible is religious • Sacred authors see everything in light of religion • God sees the whole truth, Bible history is the only objective history • Bible history is salvation history • Literal vs. Spiritual senses • Literal sense: what authors intended to express; historical and linguistic analysis, sheds light on processes which gave rise to biblical texts • Spiritual sense: meaning when read under the influence of the Holy Spirit in light of the mystery of Christ • No contradiction between the two senses of Scripture • Scholarship w/ faith is needed to grasp religious meaning of Scripture

10. The bible is religious • Meaning of religion to ancient writers is different • We think personal – they think held everything together: history, culture, politics was a religious view • Idea of history is different: • We think wars, treaties, inventions; timeline of events • Our history is biased not objective b/c it’s written from someone’s point of view • Bible is told from God’s point of view (unbiased – seen exactly the way it is)

11. The bible is religous • Focuses on God’s relationship with his people • Ordinary people • Not emperors, kings, governors, mayors, etc. • Ordinary people carried God’s message • The Bible is “salvation history” • The history of God’s plan to save use unfolded through the ages

12. What is “salvation history”? • God always had a plan to save us from sin • Salvation history is the story of how that plan works in history • Deals with the past and the future • Salvation history looked at as a series of covenants between God and his people • Covenant – an agreement between God and mankind made through individual persons • Similar to a contract

13. covenant • Similar to, but more than, a contract • Covenant: establishes bond of sacred kinship • Contract: temporary business agreement meant to last as long as circumstances make it necessary • Covenant is meant to last • Covenant example: marriage

14. Salvation history • How we are brought into God’s covenant family • 7 covenants between God and his people • Made through a mediator and God with all of humanity

15. 7 covenants • Adam: the one from which all other covenants spring • With Noah and his household after the flood • With Abraham and his whole tribe • With the whole nation of Israel through Moses • With all nations through David and Solomon • The New Covenant with all humanity through Jesus Christ • At the end of time there will be a 7th covenant for all eternity