Introduction To The Bible 6y155r

TREDTRI Notes (1) 2nd Term, SY 2010-11

INTRODUCTION TO THE BIBLE - We can never underestimate the power of the word of God for it shall endure forever. That was the faith of Israel. The Book of Isaiah says: A voice says, “Cry out!” (Is 40:6-7). In the same book the prophet attests, “so shall my word be that goes out from mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” (Is 55:11). - The Bible confronts, rebukes, challenges, consoles, inspires, transforms, and moves those who listen and hear it. The Letter to the Hebrews tells us that “the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword…it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart…(Hebrew 4:12-13). The Nature of the Bible 1. The Bible is a book of shared memories -

If there is one factor that unites the Jews and the Christians, or one element that gives them their uniqueness and identity as communities, it would be their story.

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Memory is tenacious in the East. In Ancient Israel, the people would gather together in the evenings around a bonfire and they would narrate the story of their forefathers, their ups and downs as a people, how Yahweh manifested himself as their liberator and defender.

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Telling the story was at the heart of their community’s

life of faith and worship. -

ing to tell their story of God and his saving goodness is an obligation of the children of Abraham: “ the long way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, in order to humble you…” (Deut. 8:2)

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It was the memory of the Exodus that convinced Israel of God’s power and mercy.

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ing is for learning. But memory is not just intellectual; it strengthens the solidarity of the . ing to tell the story encourages hope.

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The book of Deuteronomy reminds us: “If you do forget the Lord your God…I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish.” (8:19)

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As a book of shared memories, it is a record of a people’s past experiences woven into a life-story. It is a story of God’s dealings with his people.

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It is a record of past events that have given both Jews and Christians a sense of identity and destinty.

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Israel is human community bound together primarily by shared experiences. Its most distinctive feature is a strong sense of tradition.

2. The Bible is the word of God -

it is a divine revelation in human expression, i.e. God’s word expressed in human words.

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It is a work of God and the work of human hands written in faith and can be understood only in faith.

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The Vatican II document, Dei Verbum (21) affirms that it is through the Bible that God speaks – that “the Father who is in heaven comes loving to meet his children and converses with them.”

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Through the Bible God discloses himself inviting us to interiority through mutual self-disclosure. This shared life is primordially realized in dialogue, in speaking and listening.

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When a believer reads and contemplates on the word of God, the proper attitude is: “Speak, O Lord, your servant is listening.”

3. The Bible as a means of divine revelation -

the Bible is a symbol or sacrament that points to divine revelation. It is in fact the privileged place for divine revelation.

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The biblical text deeply participates in divine revelation. It reveals and conceals God’s self-gift. It invites us to an ever deeper encounter with the divine self-gift.

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Jesus Christ made flesh (John 1:1-18), which implies that the Word of God may not be reduced simply to written texts. To do so would be fundamentalism which defined as idealization of words which leads us to rigid, close-minded, dead-end approach to the Bible.

4. The Bible as a library of books -

The Bible text were not written at a single sitting by one human author and their contents have never been easy to master.

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In fact, they contain books of different literary genres, written at different times and different places and for varied situations.

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Hence, they need to be studied across a thousand or more years of history.

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This book has become a rule of faith, moral integrity and worship for Jews and Christian alike.