The thoughts of God in the words of men Chapter 6: Revelation The thoughts of God in the words of men

Church has 1 deposit of faith = the truths we believe Transmitted to us in 2 ways Sacred Scripture = Bible Sacred Tradition = oral tradition

Def. of Bible = the books which contain God’s Revelation and were composed by human authors inspired by the Holy Spirit

Also called Sacred Scripture A library of books – many different styles, many different stories Name comes from Greek word biblia meaning books

Divided into Old Testament and New Testament Testament – means covenant Scripture all about the covenants God makes with His people Old Testament = 46 books New Testament = 27 books

Old Testament divided into 4 sections Pentateuch, historical books, prophetic books, and wisdom books The pre-history of Jesus promises the Messiah to come

New Testament divided into 4 sections Gospels, Acts of Apostles, epistles or letters, and Book of Revelation Life and preaching of Jesus, early Church, and Heaven

We believe that Scripture is inspired by God Scripture is written by human authors and inspired by Holy Spirit

Holy Spirit chose certain people to pass on the revealed truths of God – He inspired them to write Biblical Inspiration = gift of the Holy Spirit given to a human author to completely and truthfully write the Revelation of God All authors of Scripture were inspired

Through Apostolic Tradition and Succession the Church determined which books were inspired and those that were not

List of books in Bible called Canon Church’s complete and official list of books in the Bible 46 books in OT, 27 books in NT, 73 Total

393 AD Council of Hippo declared the OT we have today as canonical Canoncial means included in official list of books of Bible; All canonical books are inspired by the Holy Spirit

Protocanonical books = books in Bible that were always accepted as canonical There were doubts about some books, but upon further investigation it was found that they were in the canon Had to determine their apostolic origin and authenticity Called Deuterocanoncial 7 books of OT: 1 and 2 Maccabbees, Judith, Tobit, Baruch, Sirach, Wisdom 7 books of NT: Hebrews, Revelation, James, 2 Peter, 2 and 3 John, Jude

Books considered non-canonical are called apocryphal – means not genuine and lacking canonicity Book of Enoch, Assumption of Moses, Gospel of Peter, Gospel of Thomas We believe they are not divinely inspired, therefore they don’t belong in the Bible

5 step process of how the Scriptures were developed Events occurred Oral Tradition The story was told, the truths passed down Written pieces Edited books Things written collected and revised

Canonical Status Recognized as inspired by God and revealing His truth Had to meet 3 criteria Apostolicity = origin traceable to the Apostles Orthodoxy = conformity to Jesus’ teachings Catholicity = used in the universal Church Holy Spirit guided this process Bible we have today was declared at Council of Trent in 1546

Church takes Scriptures and Tradition together as the supreme rule of our faith

Sacred Scripture is written in several different but complementary senses (ways) Often the writers wrote a deeper meaning into their text Example = Isaiah 7:14 “A virgin will conceive and bear a son” = Mary

To interpret Scripture must take into account The nature of the document, the character of the author, author’s way of expression, context and time of the author, setting in which the text is to be read

Must always remember the dual authorship of Scripture: God and Man Must always remember the unity and context of Scripture – includes Tradition and the Magisterium

Scripture interpretation is a scholarly task and work

Difference between Revelation and private revelation Revelation is for the whole Church, contained in Scripture and Tradition Private revelation are events of a miraculous nature when God or Mary appear to a person or group to relate a message Doesn’t add to the deposit of faith nor change it

Conclusion Bible contains truths that God wants us to have Holy Spirit breathed into the writers what they were to write God gave the Church the authority to interpret Scripture so we can understand it and Him