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

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

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

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

5. 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

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

7. 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

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

9. 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

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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

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

18. 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

19. 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

20. 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

21. Scripture interpretation is a scholarly task and work

22. 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

23. 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