2.2 Sacred Stories and Scriptures October 8, 2018 Diego Alvarez, Diego Lechuga, Juan Pablo Lopez, Andres Neira, & Nicolas Veytia

Introduction The Bible is derived from the Greek word “biblia,” or book. The Bible is quite important as it is a collection of Sacred Christian writings, also known as Scriptures. The Bible is what Christians around the world study and pray with everyday; it is one of the roots of Christianity itself.

The Bible is not only limited to Christians writings however. The Christian Bible includes the Hebrew Scriptures used by Jews, which known to Christians as the Old Testament.

The Bible God played an important role in the writing of the Scriptures. He inspired the human authors of the sacred books. As already known, he inspired the writings of the Old Testament. However, he was also the inspiration for the writings of the New Testament as well.

The Bible (cont.) Through God’s inspiration, twenty-seven of the New Testament were written in the first century. Later NT writings came around in the second and third century. The New Testament consists of: Four Gospels One narrative history 21 letters One apocalyptic book Fun fact: All the authors of the NT were Jews except for Luke.

Requirements of the NT & its importance There are four requirements for a writing to be in the New Testament: Apostolic (attributed to an apostle) Ancient Widely read among the faithful Hold truth about God’s revelation (not heresy) The NT consists of Gospels, which help proclaim the Paschal Mystery. Additionally, writings such as the Acts of the Apostles, narrate history of the first Christian people and their missionary efforts.

Views of Christians on the Bible It is important to note that many viewpoints about the Bible exist between different religions. All branches of Christianity agree on what books are authoritative in the New Testament They do not agree on what books are authoritative in the Hebrew Bible. All agree on the same 39 books

Views of Christians on the Bible (cont.) Catholics include seven more books written during the Second Temple period Totaling the number of authoritative books in the Hebrew Bible at 46 Eastern Orthodox churches have more than 46 OT books in their Bibles. Protestants consider books outside of the agreed as apocryphal, meaning “dubious”.

Different Interpretations of the Bible While there is a general agreement among Christians regarding the content of the Bible, that cannot be said about their interpretations. Christians agree the Bible is the inspired Word of God. This includes the OT and NT.

Different Interpretations of the Bible (cont.) Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and some Protestant groups believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God in human language. These groups believe that there is no error in any matter regarding salvation, but there may be errors regarding certain historical and scientific details.

Different Interpretations of the Bible (cont.) Many Protestants believe that since God is the author of the Bible, it is the literal Word of God, meaning God directly dictated the Bible word-for-word to various writers over time. According to them, the Bible is completely factual in every way because God never errs. Christians use and pray from the Bible in private and public settings. All Christians use the Bible in their worship services. Good homilies and sermons have the potential to reach the thoughts and actions of all in the hearing with the Word of God.

Second century saw a rise in Christian writings called apologetics. Style of writing that explains and defends the Christian faith. Meant for Christians who feel they need to defend their faith to people who don’t understand them. Influenced by Greek philosophical writings, early Christian apologists tended to appeal to the intellect in explaining and defending Christianity Latin and Greek-speaking polytheists. Irenaeus of Lyon: one of the first writers of apologetic literature. Wrote Against Heresies, a treatise against the teachings of the Gnostics, from the Greek work meaning knowledge. Apologetics

Apologetics Gnosticism saw themselves as purer than the Apostles because they possessed the secret spiritual knowledge necessary for salvation. Justin Martyr: best-known apologist of the second century. Called himself a “disciple of Plato” Converted himself to Christianity and wrote numerous treatises on Christianity. Defended Christianity as legitimate religion and lifestyle in the wider pagan world. He was martyred for the Christian faith around AD 165.

Pop Quiz!!!!! Who is the best known apologist of the second century? When did Justin Martyr die? True / False : All branches of Christianity agree on what books are authoritative in the New Testament. True / False : All Christians use the Bible in their worship services. True / False : Protestants believe that the Bible has no error in any matter regarding salvation, but there may be errors regarding certain historical and scientific details.