SOWA Flashcards
How is the Bible arranged?
OT divided into:
- Torah (first 5 books containing laws of Judaism and Ten Commandments
-The prophets (the history books, has messages from God to the people)
-The writings (such as Psalms - wise sayings such as Proverbs
NT divided into:
-Four Gospels
-Acts of Apostles
-The letters
-Revelation
Why is the bible important for Catholics?
-Records teachings of Jesus and tells Christians what to believe and how to live
-Records life, death and resurrection
-Contains the Decalogue - Gods basic guideline on how to live.
-Reveals what God is like and what he does for Christians
Different Christian views of the Bible
-No agreements in the early days on what books would make up the Bible
-Catholic Bible was decided at Council of Trent - included Greek old testament translated into Latin
-At the Reformation, Protestants used Hebrew Old Testament (34 books compared to 47 for Catholics)
Different ways to interpret the Bible: Inspired Word of God
View of Catholics. The idea that the Bible came from and was inspired by God but written down by humans.
Timothy - “All scripture is inspired by God”
God is the primary author - human writers were inspired by the Holy Spirit. There is truth in the message of the Bible.
Different ways to interpret the Bible: Liberal Word of God
Belief that the Bible is true, word for word. There are no mistakes (inerrant) and it must be taken literally. If there is a contradiction it is a deliberate one. If there is a contradiction with science, then science must be wrong.
Different ways to interpret the Bible: Liberal View
Belief that the Bible was written by humans who were inspired like many authors. The Bible contains spiritual but not literal truths. The Bible invites closeness to God by sharing human experience. Believes that some parts of the Bible are outdated and irrelevant to modern life.
What do Catholics believe about the Bible?
-It is inspired by the Holy Spirit which means it comes from God and should be accepted and followed by Catholics.
-God speaks through the Bible, showing his character and commands, so it should be followed
-The Bible contains God’s laws on how to behave, showing how God wants them to live, especially in the Gospels where Jesus teaches how to live Christian life.
