Sacred Scripture
NOW THAT YOU have come this far, congratulations! You have decided to accept the challenge! Now we turn to take a closer look at what is called Sacred Scripture, commonly called the Bible.
We know that God speaking to man is called revelation. Revelation is found in two sources: Sacred Scripture, already mentioned, and Sacred Tradition. Both are called sacred because they come from God. The essential difference between Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition is that Sacred Scripture is God's revelation found in the divinely inspired writings of the authors, while Sacred Tradition is found in the life of the Church. In this lesson, we will look at Sacred Scripture; next week we will look at Sacred Tradition.
Who Wrote the Bible?
Another name for Sacred Scripture is the Bible. The word Bible means "book," and since it is a book, it must have an author. The principal author of the Bible is God, who inspired human writers by directing their minds, wills, memories and mental faculties. Because they were inspired by God, they wrote only what God wanted them to write and no more. Since God is the Bible’s principal author, the Bible is free from error in all which the text affirms to be true. But determining what the text is affirming requires us to interpret the words correctly. It is easy to find “errors” in the Bible if one reads it in a way that God and his inspired authors did not intend.
If God inspired the human writers of the Bible, how much did the human writers contribute to the text, if anything? Did man simply take dictation from God? The answer to this is a very strong “no”! The human writers were also responsible for the writings. They contributed their own personal qualities, which made their writings unique. They contributed their own experiences, their own educational and social backgrounds, their own style of writing, and their particular purposes for which the books were written. We can see this, for example, in the Gospels. The four Gospels, which we traditionally list under the names of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, describe many of the same events in the life of Christ, but each account has differences in the telling. Take a moment to meet to four evangelists here. (On the landing page you will have to close the header to allow the video to load. To move through the show at your own pace, do not play the video but simply move forward when ready to progress. Hit esc when finished. Enjoy.)
The entire Bible was inspired by God but since it is revelation of God himself to a people, the Bible implies the existence of a people to receive and appropriate God’s revelation. This is why that to understand it requires careful interpretation in the Church, the people to whom God has revealed himself. And, since it was also written by human beings, it should be studied in its historical context and as a literary composition. On both levels, as the Word of God and as a literary composition, it must be interpreted according to the mind of the Church.
We know that God speaking to man is called revelation. Revelation is found in two sources: Sacred Scripture, already mentioned, and Sacred Tradition. Both are called sacred because they come from God. The essential difference between Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition is that Sacred Scripture is God's revelation found in the divinely inspired writings of the authors, while Sacred Tradition is found in the life of the Church. In this lesson, we will look at Sacred Scripture; next week we will look at Sacred Tradition.
Who Wrote the Bible?
Another name for Sacred Scripture is the Bible. The word Bible means "book," and since it is a book, it must have an author. The principal author of the Bible is God, who inspired human writers by directing their minds, wills, memories and mental faculties. Because they were inspired by God, they wrote only what God wanted them to write and no more. Since God is the Bible’s principal author, the Bible is free from error in all which the text affirms to be true. But determining what the text is affirming requires us to interpret the words correctly. It is easy to find “errors” in the Bible if one reads it in a way that God and his inspired authors did not intend.
If God inspired the human writers of the Bible, how much did the human writers contribute to the text, if anything? Did man simply take dictation from God? The answer to this is a very strong “no”! The human writers were also responsible for the writings. They contributed their own personal qualities, which made their writings unique. They contributed their own experiences, their own educational and social backgrounds, their own style of writing, and their particular purposes for which the books were written. We can see this, for example, in the Gospels. The four Gospels, which we traditionally list under the names of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, describe many of the same events in the life of Christ, but each account has differences in the telling. Take a moment to meet to four evangelists here. (On the landing page you will have to close the header to allow the video to load. To move through the show at your own pace, do not play the video but simply move forward when ready to progress. Hit esc when finished. Enjoy.)
The entire Bible was inspired by God but since it is revelation of God himself to a people, the Bible implies the existence of a people to receive and appropriate God’s revelation. This is why that to understand it requires careful interpretation in the Church, the people to whom God has revealed himself. And, since it was also written by human beings, it should be studied in its historical context and as a literary composition. On both levels, as the Word of God and as a literary composition, it must be interpreted according to the mind of the Church.
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