1. The books of both the Old and New Testaments in their entirety, with all their parts, are sacred and canonical because written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they have God as their author and have been handed on as such to the Church herself. In composing the sacred books, God chose men and while employed by Him, they made use of their powers and abilities, so that with Him acting in them and through them, they, as true authors, consigned to writing everything and only those things which He wanted. Dei Verbum 11

2. Prayer: As we open our bibles We also open our hearts That these words of truth may fall upon the very fabric of our lives. May these ancient scriptures come alive within us, To inspire, to heal, to cleanse, to teach To restore and to guide our hearts and minds. Lord, come weave your words of life in us. Amen.

3. Objectives: The Bible as Inspired How to Read the Bible Literary Forms Explaining the Faith Understanding the Bible

4. Review: The Bible as Inspired (written by human authors and inspired by God) The Bible as the Inerrant Word of God (without error)

5. Reference 1. Jn—abbreviated title of the book 2.First number—chapter number; verse number follows the colon (:) 3. Hyphen (-) indicates several chapters or verses 4. Semicolon (;) separates two references; comma (,) separates two verses in the same chapter Jn 1:1-18

6. Inspiration God is the author of the Bible The Holy Spirit inspired the writers of the sacred books The Church teaches that: God is the author of the Bible, the Holy Spirit inspired the writers of the sacred books, and the Sacred Scriptures teach the Truth.

7. Inspiration We must pay attention to what the human authors wished to say and to what God wanted to reveal through their words. Vatican II: Scripture “must be read in the light of the same Spirit by whom it was written.”

8. Inspiration God is the author of the Bible—he used the human authors as his instrument to convey Divine Revelation to us. The end product: THE INERRANT WORD OF GOD

9. Inspiration Vatican II taught us 3 ways to interpret Scripture in accordance with the Holy Spirit who inspired it.

10. Inspiration 129 Christians therefore read the Old Testament in the light of Christ crucified and risen. Such typological reading discloses the inexhaustible content of the Old Testament; but it must not make us forget that the Old Testament retains its own intrinsic value as Revelation reaffirmed by our Lord himself. 105 Besides, the New Testament has to be read in the light of the Old. Early Christian catechesis made constant use of the Old Testament. 106 As an old saying put it, the New Testament lies hidden in the Old and the Old Testament is unveiled in the New. 107

11. Inspiration 113 Read the Scripture within "the living Tradition of the whole Church". According to a saying of the Fathers, Sacred Scripture is written principally in the Church's heart rather than in documents and records, for the Church carries in her Tradition the living memorial of God's Word, and it is the Holy Spirit who gives her the spiritual interpretation of the Scripture ("... according to the spiritual meaning which the Spirit grants to the Church" 81 ).

12. Inspiration 114 Be attentive to the analogy of faith By "analogy of faith" we mean the coherence of the truths of faith among themselves and within the whole plan of Revelation.

13. Inspiration For Review (Page 28)

14. Inspiration Interpreting Scripture Means... What the human author wanted to say. Influenced by: History Culture Language Literary Forms

15. Inspiration What God wanted to convey. Accomplished by: Looking at the content and unity of Scripture Reading within Church Tradition Paying attention to the analogy of faith

16. Vatican II Note the content and unity of the whole Scripture “Read the Scriptures within ‘the living Tradition of the whole Church’” Pay attention to the “analogy of faith”

17. Literary Forms Identifying the correct literary genre is vitally important in scriptural interpretation. This helps to determine the literal sense of the biblical text. Historical Book Prophecy Poetry Letters Genealogies Miracles stories Parables

18. Literary Forms Literal interpretation takes into account what the author intended to convey Literalist interpretation ignores various literary forms and the cultural and historical factors of the period in which the biblical authors wrote

19. Literary Forms Literal Sense: What the author intended by the words he wrote Spiritual Sense: Looks to the deeper meaning of various scriptural passages as part of God’s overall plan of salvation

20. Literary Forms Literal sense: teaches history; what the words say in a historical context Allegorical sense: teaches what you should believe; what the words means in the larger context of Salvation History Moral sense: teaches what you should do regarding how to live your life Anagogical sense: teaches where you are going; building up the virtue of hope while leading us to Heaven