(Originally Written May 26, 2008 in the Journal)
Thank you God for her safe passage home. Thank you for all the blessing you have bestowed upon us. Circumcise our hearts, ears and minds that we may submit to your love and grace. Teach me in your Word. Hear my prayer Heavenly Father.
Deuteronomy
Chapter 20
Instructions for battle, kill all people living in the land of Canaan.
Chapter 21
How to deal with a dead body when found. The purging of sin by washing away the blood.
You may marry a female captive, but if you lose your liking for her you must free her because she was married under compulsion.
You must stone an incorrigible son to death.
Those put to death must be buried the same day.
Chapter 22
When you find something that is lost, take care of it for the owner until he claims it.
Women ought not to wear men's clothing and men are not to wear women's clothing. This is an abomination.
Infidelity is a capital punishment. You must purge evil from your midst.
If a man lies with an unmarried woman he must marry her and cannot divorce her.
Chapter 23
You must keep your camp clean and holy for the Lord dwells with you.
Chapter 24
Take care of the poor, needy and alien.
Chapter 25
Weigh true and just, do not cheat.
Honor your brother and his family.
Chapter 26
You are a people of the Lord. He will bless you if you keep His commandments.
Chapter 27
12 Curses:
1. Cursed is the man who makes an idol.
2. Cursed is the man who dishonors his father and mother.
3. Cursed is the man who moves his neighbor's landmarks.
4. Cursed is the man who misleads the blind man.
5. Cursed is the man who violates the orphan, widow or alien.
6. Cursed is the man who sleeps with his father's wife.
7. Cursed is the man who practices bestiality.
8. Cursed is the man who sleeps with his sister.
9. Cursed is the man who sleeps with his mother-in-law.
10. Cursed is the man who murders his neighbor.
11. Cursed is the hit man.
12. Cursed is the man who does not follow the law.
Chapter 28
Blessed are those who follow the ways of the Lord.
"Though you betroth a wife, another man will have her. Though you build a house, you will not live in it. Though you plant a vineyard, you will not enjoy its fruits" (Deuteronomy 28:29-30, New American Bible). A prophecy of Christ.
Chapter 29
Warnings against idolatry
Chapter 30
The Lord will delight in you if only you keep His commandments.
Chapter 31
The Lord your God will never fail or forsake you.
Moses commissioned Joshua as his successor.
Chapter 32
The Song of Moses.
It is God and God alone who inflicts wounds and heals them.
Moses went to Mount Nebo to view Canaan and die.
Chapter 33
Blessings are bestowed on the tribes through Moses.
Chapter 34
Moses went up to Mount Nebo and viewed the Promised Land. He died and the Israelites mourned him for thirty days.
Showing posts with label Deuteronomy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Deuteronomy. Show all posts
Monday, May 26, 2008
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Brief Notes on Deuteronomy 18-19
(Originally written on May 25, 2008 in the Journal)
I call upon you Lord to look after her and her family as they travel back from Arizona. Grant them safe passage home. Be with Phillip and my Dad out in Oregon. May the time be precious to them and may they be mindful of you. Watch over Bob in Iraq and keep him safe. Bless all those who serve this country because by serving their country they serve you because you have ordered this nation and this world.
Lord, circumcise my heart and my mind. Remove the stiffness of my neck. Do not let your wrath flare up against me, but look on me with mercy and love. Restore her to you and redeem this morning. Lord it is in your power to mend this torn relationship. I beg of you to sew us back together and hem the seams so they rip no more. Above all else, may your will be done here because it is perfect and wise. Thank you Lord for everything you have bestowed upon me, even these trials. Refine me in the iron smelt. Make me pure and blameless in your sight. I love you Lord, thank you for who you are. May you be praised in every heart and soul.
Deuteronomy 18
The Levites have no physical heritage. Their heritage is the Lord. The Lord alone sustains them.
The Lord will give the Israelites prophets to speak the word of the Lord to the people.
Deuteronomy 19
You must purge evil from your midst.
I call upon you Lord to look after her and her family as they travel back from Arizona. Grant them safe passage home. Be with Phillip and my Dad out in Oregon. May the time be precious to them and may they be mindful of you. Watch over Bob in Iraq and keep him safe. Bless all those who serve this country because by serving their country they serve you because you have ordered this nation and this world.
Lord, circumcise my heart and my mind. Remove the stiffness of my neck. Do not let your wrath flare up against me, but look on me with mercy and love. Restore her to you and redeem this morning. Lord it is in your power to mend this torn relationship. I beg of you to sew us back together and hem the seams so they rip no more. Above all else, may your will be done here because it is perfect and wise. Thank you Lord for everything you have bestowed upon me, even these trials. Refine me in the iron smelt. Make me pure and blameless in your sight. I love you Lord, thank you for who you are. May you be praised in every heart and soul.
Deuteronomy 18
The Levites have no physical heritage. Their heritage is the Lord. The Lord alone sustains them.
The Lord will give the Israelites prophets to speak the word of the Lord to the people.
Deuteronomy 19
You must purge evil from your midst.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Brief Notes on Deuteronomy 1 - 17
(Originally written May 23, 2008 in the Journal)
Chapter 1
"Do not fear or lose heart" (Deuteronomy 1:21, New American Bible)
Chapter 2
The Lord would not give the Israelites any land of the Seir or of Moab because they are the descendants of Esau and Lot. He would also not give the land of the Ammonites to the Israelites because they too were the descendants of Lot. The Ammonites, Moabites and the descendants of Esau had all driven out the inhabitants of their land with the help of God. The previous inhabitants were the strong and tall people like the Anakim.
Who are the Anakim? Is there any other reference to them? In mythology? In archeology?
The Lord first delivered Heshbon, the kingdom of the Amorite ruler Sihon to the Israelites. The Israelites doomed them all, man, woman and child.
Chapter 3
The Lord then delivered the Kingdom of Bashan to the Israelites. They defeated King Og and captured over sixty cities. They left no survivors.
Og, the King of Bashan was the last of the Rephaim. His sarcophagus was nine cubits long and four cubits wide.
Moses asked the Lord to allow him to enter the kingdom of the Promised Land, but the Lord refused and showed it to him from a high hill.
Chapter 4
For the Israelites, Egypt was the iron foundry. God allowed the Israelites to be afflicted there for the sake of their spiritual purification. Contrast that with the furnace of affliction in Isaiah 48.
Lord, am I in the iron foundry or the furnace of affliction? I have sinned and deserve the latter. Yet, I am redeemed by the blood of Christ. I am atoned. If this is the foundry then continue the smelting so that I can be pure and strong. If this is the furnace of affliction Lord, cool the fires of your righteous rage and heal me with the balm of your merciful touch. Hear my prayer oh God, for you answer those who call to you. Hear me for the sake of your righteousness and look on me with pity and mercy and love.
Moses warns the Israelites not to be tempted by Idolatry.
"Since the Lord, your God, is a merciful God, He will not abandon and destroy you, nor forget the covenant which under oath he made with your fathers" (Deuteronomy 4:31, New American Bible)
Chapter 5
The retelling of the commandments
Chapter 6
Follow the statutes of the Lord and He will prosper you.
Chapter 7
Do not take mercy or pity on the enemies of God. Loathe and abhor everything that is doomed lest you be doomed by it.
Chapter 8
Do not allow prosperity to make you forget the Lord your God.
Chapter 9
Understand that the Lord gives you good land not because the merits of your heart, but because of the wickedness of others.
Chapter 10
Circumcise your hearts; be receptive to divine grace and guidance.
Chapter 11
You will be blessed and rewarded for obedience to God. You will be cursed for disobedience.
Chapter 12
Destroy all the strongholds and places of idol worship. You will worship the Lord in the place he appoints for you, not wherever you fancy.
Chapter 13
Do not follow a prophet who correctly tells the future but leads you to other gods for the Lord is testing you. Stone to death even your brother, wife or friend if they tempt you to stray to a false god. If a city is led to idolatry, kill all the inhabitants and burn the city. Do not rebuild it.
Chapter 14
Do not follow pagan mourning rituals.
Chapter 15
About the slaves and the poor
Chapter 16
The observation of Passover, Pentecost and the feast of the Booths.
There should be judges in communities whose end should only be justice without partiality.
Do not worship as the pagans do.
Chapter 17
You must stone idol worshippers, but there must be at least two or three witnesses to put a man to death. You must purge evil from the community.
When judges cannot decide they must refer them to the Levitical priests. They will hand down the decision after studying the case.
If you decide to take a king he will be appointed by God. He must not have many wives, horses or silver.
Chapter 1
"Do not fear or lose heart" (Deuteronomy 1:21, New American Bible)
Chapter 2
The Lord would not give the Israelites any land of the Seir or of Moab because they are the descendants of Esau and Lot. He would also not give the land of the Ammonites to the Israelites because they too were the descendants of Lot. The Ammonites, Moabites and the descendants of Esau had all driven out the inhabitants of their land with the help of God. The previous inhabitants were the strong and tall people like the Anakim.
Who are the Anakim? Is there any other reference to them? In mythology? In archeology?
The Lord first delivered Heshbon, the kingdom of the Amorite ruler Sihon to the Israelites. The Israelites doomed them all, man, woman and child.
Chapter 3
The Lord then delivered the Kingdom of Bashan to the Israelites. They defeated King Og and captured over sixty cities. They left no survivors.
Og, the King of Bashan was the last of the Rephaim. His sarcophagus was nine cubits long and four cubits wide.
Moses asked the Lord to allow him to enter the kingdom of the Promised Land, but the Lord refused and showed it to him from a high hill.
Chapter 4
For the Israelites, Egypt was the iron foundry. God allowed the Israelites to be afflicted there for the sake of their spiritual purification. Contrast that with the furnace of affliction in Isaiah 48.
Lord, am I in the iron foundry or the furnace of affliction? I have sinned and deserve the latter. Yet, I am redeemed by the blood of Christ. I am atoned. If this is the foundry then continue the smelting so that I can be pure and strong. If this is the furnace of affliction Lord, cool the fires of your righteous rage and heal me with the balm of your merciful touch. Hear my prayer oh God, for you answer those who call to you. Hear me for the sake of your righteousness and look on me with pity and mercy and love.
Moses warns the Israelites not to be tempted by Idolatry.
"Since the Lord, your God, is a merciful God, He will not abandon and destroy you, nor forget the covenant which under oath he made with your fathers" (Deuteronomy 4:31, New American Bible)
Chapter 5
The retelling of the commandments
Chapter 6
Follow the statutes of the Lord and He will prosper you.
Chapter 7
Do not take mercy or pity on the enemies of God. Loathe and abhor everything that is doomed lest you be doomed by it.
Chapter 8
Do not allow prosperity to make you forget the Lord your God.
Chapter 9
Understand that the Lord gives you good land not because the merits of your heart, but because of the wickedness of others.
Chapter 10
Circumcise your hearts; be receptive to divine grace and guidance.
Chapter 11
You will be blessed and rewarded for obedience to God. You will be cursed for disobedience.
Chapter 12
Destroy all the strongholds and places of idol worship. You will worship the Lord in the place he appoints for you, not wherever you fancy.
Chapter 13
Do not follow a prophet who correctly tells the future but leads you to other gods for the Lord is testing you. Stone to death even your brother, wife or friend if they tempt you to stray to a false god. If a city is led to idolatry, kill all the inhabitants and burn the city. Do not rebuild it.
Chapter 14
Do not follow pagan mourning rituals.
Chapter 15
About the slaves and the poor
Chapter 16
The observation of Passover, Pentecost and the feast of the Booths.
There should be judges in communities whose end should only be justice without partiality.
Do not worship as the pagans do.
Chapter 17
You must stone idol worshippers, but there must be at least two or three witnesses to put a man to death. You must purge evil from the community.
When judges cannot decide they must refer them to the Levitical priests. They will hand down the decision after studying the case.
If you decide to take a king he will be appointed by God. He must not have many wives, horses or silver.
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Class Notes on the distinctiveness of Christianity
(Originally Written May 8, 2007 in Book 15)
Jesus
- Healing
- Healing on the Sabbath
- Referring to God as His Father
Therefore, equal to God
The Authorities look at all of this and claim that it is a lead-pipe cinch case that he must be killed.
The Jews put Jesus to death as a sorcerer (Deuteronomy 13). The Jews accused him of preaching apostasy.
However, Jesus was not preaching apostasy, He was fulfilling the Old Testament.
The "Lunatic-Liar-Lord" scenarios offered by many modern Christians is inadequate because the Jews saw Christ as demonic, sent from and powered by Satan to turn men away from YHWH.
Does the Bible have an "original" audience?
If the Bible is co-authored by God and men then the man-author is addressing an original audience while God is addressing man himself.
If Jesus Christ and the Word of God are synonymous as Logos, then by identification it is both in time and out of time. Christ as man is in time with an "original" audience and yet, as God He is not bound by time.
What have we learned?
- John H. Hick was wrong (pluralism).
- Salvation is different in different in religions
- Scriptures in other religions cannot be viewed through the same lens as used to read the Holy Bible.
- Morality is inextricably connected with the religious elements
What does this mean?
1) MEIC PEARSE - "Countries cannot be Christian; only individuals can.
Christianity is not a set of rules. This is a major difference with Islam. Islam requires personal, individual community but it is not fully complete without the community.
Islam - Al-Umana
- community
- political entity
Christianity does not come with a political agenda. Christianity, at its heart and core is a correct relationship with the Living God.
Creating a Christian government is not a viable Biblical option for Christians living in a religious pluralistic world.
2) Give the Gospel the Highest Priority
Taking the gospel to the world should be the highest priority in a Christian's life.
The gospel is the redeeming power of Christianity, the outward actions of a Christian (feeding the poor, clothing the naked) are good but not on par with spreading the gospel.
3) Keep Christianity Christian!
There is no need for accommodation whatsoever. Non-believers will not find Christ if you package Him in a non-offensive, tentative way.
Christianity is distinctive because it is based on and rooted in historical events. If these historical events are ignored in worship then we are sacrificing our basis of religion.
That's it, that's all there is.
That's all folks.
Jesus
- Healing
- Healing on the Sabbath
- Referring to God as His Father
Therefore, equal to God
The Authorities look at all of this and claim that it is a lead-pipe cinch case that he must be killed.
The Jews put Jesus to death as a sorcerer (Deuteronomy 13). The Jews accused him of preaching apostasy.
However, Jesus was not preaching apostasy, He was fulfilling the Old Testament.
The "Lunatic-Liar-Lord" scenarios offered by many modern Christians is inadequate because the Jews saw Christ as demonic, sent from and powered by Satan to turn men away from YHWH.
Does the Bible have an "original" audience?
If the Bible is co-authored by God and men then the man-author is addressing an original audience while God is addressing man himself.
If Jesus Christ and the Word of God are synonymous as Logos, then by identification it is both in time and out of time. Christ as man is in time with an "original" audience and yet, as God He is not bound by time.
What have we learned?
- John H. Hick was wrong (pluralism).
- Salvation is different in different in religions
- Scriptures in other religions cannot be viewed through the same lens as used to read the Holy Bible.
- Morality is inextricably connected with the religious elements
What does this mean?
1) MEIC PEARSE - "Countries cannot be Christian; only individuals can.
Christianity is not a set of rules. This is a major difference with Islam. Islam requires personal, individual community but it is not fully complete without the community.
Islam - Al-Umana
- community
- political entity
Christianity does not come with a political agenda. Christianity, at its heart and core is a correct relationship with the Living God.
Creating a Christian government is not a viable Biblical option for Christians living in a religious pluralistic world.
2) Give the Gospel the Highest Priority
Taking the gospel to the world should be the highest priority in a Christian's life.
The gospel is the redeeming power of Christianity, the outward actions of a Christian (feeding the poor, clothing the naked) are good but not on par with spreading the gospel.
3) Keep Christianity Christian!
There is no need for accommodation whatsoever. Non-believers will not find Christ if you package Him in a non-offensive, tentative way.
Christianity is distinctive because it is based on and rooted in historical events. If these historical events are ignored in worship then we are sacrificing our basis of religion.
That's it, that's all there is.
That's all folks.
Sunday, November 12, 2006
The Coming of Christianity
(Originally written November 12, 2006 in Book 11)
The Mystery Cults all began to reflect the shift from human emphasis to superhuman. The acceptance and adherence to them paved the way for Christianity.
The cults brought hope to the masses who were in despair due to the collapsing of the Empire. "But the masses had doubtless been ignorant and superstitious, ready to put their trust in occult powers" (Jones, 19).
Neoplatonism was the first instance where, not only the uneducated lower class gravitated toward the supernatural, but the educated, middle and upper classes abandoned the natural, human mind set.
The emphasis on discovering the natural reality shifted to an emphasis on discerning why a transcendent Absolute Being created a natural world.
Another major shift was to view this world as evil and thus not capable of producing the good life.
Christianity first appealed to the uneducated, but when it became socially acceptable Neoplatonism proved to be a philosophical model and rival.
The survival of Christianity over the mystery cults has nothing to do with its possession of an objective truth or moral superiority, but its energy, ingenuity, polemical ability, administrative skill and the good luck of early Christian Fathers.
Linehan: really? luck? wow, that is quite ad hoc.
Jesus: The Jewish Heritage
Pagan View of the Christians.
Christ was born circa 4 BC during the reign of Augustus.
He was crucified in 29 AD during the reign of Tiberius.
The first three centuries after Christ's death, Christianity spread slowly.
The persecution was not as great as the Church fathers reported and was due mainly to their traitor status. They pledged allegiance to a divine God, not the divine Emperor.
The Christians refused to conform to the outward state religion so the officials viewed the tiny sect as ignorant and dangerous.
They were regarded as atheists and hopelessly immersed in the blackest superstition.
Jesus was a Jew and sought to reform Judaism, not destroy it.
Yahweh
Yahweh seems to be originally a war god, associated with meteorological phenomena.
Moses fused the tribes of Judaism together and made Yahweh a state god.
Yahweh chose the Jews as his people, but was the supreme creator of all. Why should a supreme god trouble himself with such a small group of people? The Jews never asked this question.
Linehan: Not true! "What is man that you are mindful of him?"
Israel developed a supreme national egoism.
Despite Yahweh's love for them, the Israelites had an unfortunate career. They lost their independence again and again.
Their intense nationalism deeply marked their religious thinking.
Their loss of independence led them to develop the notion of a jealous god who demanded strict, sole, individual worship.
The Israelites aimed to get back into the good graces of YHWH. This changed over the centuries from primitive outward signs to an inner righteousness. This gradual transformation took place through the Hebrew prophets.
Elijah was one of the earliest prophets. He sought to defend the worship of YHWH (Moses' god of wrath) from the new polytheism of King Ahab's foreign wife Jezebel.
Amos, who lived 100 years or so after Elijah saw YHWH no longer a vain monarch. Amos' YHWH could be won over by flattery and was angered by luxury and vice, not so much disobedience.
People seeking to formulate a single YHWH face a problem of harmonizing primitive beliefs with a more sophisticated version of God.
Deuteronomy, written in the 7th century BC attempted to harmonize the two conceptions of YHWH. It stated that the rituals are important (primitive) because they were outward expressions of an inner righteousness (motive).
Motive for worship was key in Judaism's mature form.
The Deuteronomy harmonizing resulted in a codifying law. This law became unalterable and strict. The adherence to this law caused men to return to the primitive ritualism of Judaism.
Jesus' attitude toward the Law
Jesus was anti-legalistic. He wished for Judaism to return to being concerned with the spirit or motives, not the rigid ritualism of the law.
Jesus' main position was what matters is the thoughts of our hearts, not what we actually do.
Jesus did not however reject the Law totally. He simply believed that Jews were using the Law to justify unjustifiable conduct.
He wished to complete the Law, not destroy it.
He attempted to simplify the ever multiplying law into a few simple precepts.
Jesus' two main precepts were actually derived from the Law.
1) Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart
2) Love thy neighbor as thyself
Fatherhood of God
Jesus emphasized that God was the father of man.
This was not a discovery of Jesus. Many Eastern cults viewed God as a Father and the Jews even had come to the conclusion long before Jesus Christ.
Jesus' emphasis is on this point transferred the notion from the East to the West. The Gentile Christians who are unfamiliar with God as Father notion made it a pivotal part of the emerging religion.
The wrathful God of the Hebrews was also adapted and grafted into the teachings of Jesus,
Jesus' belief in imminent judgment day
Jesus was dominated by a conviction that the end was near. This imminent doom mentality affected all of his teachings.
The teachings of Jesus
There is no formal ethical theory or doctrine of virtues in Jesus' teachings.
Jesus' teachings were not systematic. He used paradoxes and parables.
Jesus' view of pleasure was similar to the Greek Cynic view, but his adoption of this view was for very different reasons.
Jesus was criticized for enjoying the company of low persons too much.
Jesus was not an ascetic, but his focus on the kingdom of Heaven led him to ignore the physical world to a point. Christianity would adopt an ascetic bias because of this aspect of Jesus.
Jesus did not place emphasis on tomorrow because there will be no tomorrow. He held that the more we concern ourselves with property and possessions the less we'll concern ourselves with readying for the judgment day.
Jesus criticized the wealthy for two reasons:
1) They got their riches unjustly
2) Their possessions naturally caused them to think about them.
The poor were at an advantage to focus on the judgment day for Jesus and this mind set caused Christianity to be popular with the poor.
Jesus' ethics compared with Greek ethics
Jesus' ethic is noticeably absent of any social ethic.
Jesus' focus on the Kingdom of God and on inwardness made him uninterested in overt social or political theorizing.
Christianity, when it became a state religion, had to concern itself with politics.
Jesus' ethics also varied from Greeks in that he placed no emphasis on intellectual virtues that Aristotle was so concerned with.
Jesus was vitally concerned with moral, practical virtues, but also differed from Aristotle here.
Jesus denigrated pride as a sin, which was a key virtue for Aristotle.
Jesus' starting point was God, whereas Aristotle's starting point was man. Pride was self-centered and thus it took away from God and sinful.
Jesus' altruism replaced Aristotle's egoism.
Jesus emphasized the equality of man or at least all Jews. Jesus was provincial.
Jesus' view was narrow compared to the Greek but possessed two advantages:
1) its altruism
2) its democratic outlook
The Messiahship of Jesus
Jesus' messiahship is not a philosophical issue and in philosophy it is more important what his followers thought of it, not what he thought of it.
The moral and eschatological meaning Jesus taught was understood in political terms by many of his followers.
The Romans were not worried with Jesus until he came into the urban centers and caused the crowds to riot.
The Jesus Movement
Christianity developed slowly by created a complex theology out of Jesus', Judaism's, Oriental Cults' and late Greek philosophical teachings.
How the movement survived
The crucifixion of Jesus and the scattering of the disciples could have easily killed the movement. Somehow, the disciples' belief in the Messiahship of Jesus was revived after his death.
Jesus miracles and resurrection convinced the disciples of his supernatural status.
The disciples formed a communal life after Jesus' death.
Shift of Emphasis to Jesus
Jesus began to become the focus of a new religion, rather than a reformer of an ancient one.
Jesus had always been considered anointed by his followers. The emphasis shift made him a deity.
The divinity of Jesus created problems. It faced monotheistic problems, conception of God problems and eschatological problems.
The Jews of the Dispersion
Only a small portion of Jews lived in Palestine. The Diaspora (dispersed Jews) lived all over the empire.
The Gentile Mission
The Orthodoxy of Judaism was primarily located in Palestine. The Diaspora and converts were less Orthodox and more open to Christianity.
The Hellenized Jews and Gentiles converting to Christianity continued to change the new religion.
Converts began interpreting Christianity and preaching it around the world. The most important of these converts was St. Paul.
The Mystery Cults all began to reflect the shift from human emphasis to superhuman. The acceptance and adherence to them paved the way for Christianity.
The cults brought hope to the masses who were in despair due to the collapsing of the Empire. "But the masses had doubtless been ignorant and superstitious, ready to put their trust in occult powers" (Jones, 19).
Neoplatonism was the first instance where, not only the uneducated lower class gravitated toward the supernatural, but the educated, middle and upper classes abandoned the natural, human mind set.
The emphasis on discovering the natural reality shifted to an emphasis on discerning why a transcendent Absolute Being created a natural world.
Another major shift was to view this world as evil and thus not capable of producing the good life.
Christianity first appealed to the uneducated, but when it became socially acceptable Neoplatonism proved to be a philosophical model and rival.
The survival of Christianity over the mystery cults has nothing to do with its possession of an objective truth or moral superiority, but its energy, ingenuity, polemical ability, administrative skill and the good luck of early Christian Fathers.
Linehan: really? luck? wow, that is quite ad hoc.
Jesus: The Jewish Heritage
Pagan View of the Christians.
Christ was born circa 4 BC during the reign of Augustus.
He was crucified in 29 AD during the reign of Tiberius.
The first three centuries after Christ's death, Christianity spread slowly.
The persecution was not as great as the Church fathers reported and was due mainly to their traitor status. They pledged allegiance to a divine God, not the divine Emperor.
The Christians refused to conform to the outward state religion so the officials viewed the tiny sect as ignorant and dangerous.
They were regarded as atheists and hopelessly immersed in the blackest superstition.
Jesus was a Jew and sought to reform Judaism, not destroy it.
Yahweh
Yahweh seems to be originally a war god, associated with meteorological phenomena.
Moses fused the tribes of Judaism together and made Yahweh a state god.
Yahweh chose the Jews as his people, but was the supreme creator of all. Why should a supreme god trouble himself with such a small group of people? The Jews never asked this question.
Linehan: Not true! "What is man that you are mindful of him?"
Israel developed a supreme national egoism.
Despite Yahweh's love for them, the Israelites had an unfortunate career. They lost their independence again and again.
Their intense nationalism deeply marked their religious thinking.
Their loss of independence led them to develop the notion of a jealous god who demanded strict, sole, individual worship.
The Israelites aimed to get back into the good graces of YHWH. This changed over the centuries from primitive outward signs to an inner righteousness. This gradual transformation took place through the Hebrew prophets.
Elijah was one of the earliest prophets. He sought to defend the worship of YHWH (Moses' god of wrath) from the new polytheism of King Ahab's foreign wife Jezebel.
Amos, who lived 100 years or so after Elijah saw YHWH no longer a vain monarch. Amos' YHWH could be won over by flattery and was angered by luxury and vice, not so much disobedience.
People seeking to formulate a single YHWH face a problem of harmonizing primitive beliefs with a more sophisticated version of God.
Deuteronomy, written in the 7th century BC attempted to harmonize the two conceptions of YHWH. It stated that the rituals are important (primitive) because they were outward expressions of an inner righteousness (motive).
Motive for worship was key in Judaism's mature form.
The Deuteronomy harmonizing resulted in a codifying law. This law became unalterable and strict. The adherence to this law caused men to return to the primitive ritualism of Judaism.
Jesus' attitude toward the Law
Jesus was anti-legalistic. He wished for Judaism to return to being concerned with the spirit or motives, not the rigid ritualism of the law.
Jesus' main position was what matters is the thoughts of our hearts, not what we actually do.
Jesus did not however reject the Law totally. He simply believed that Jews were using the Law to justify unjustifiable conduct.
He wished to complete the Law, not destroy it.
He attempted to simplify the ever multiplying law into a few simple precepts.
Jesus' two main precepts were actually derived from the Law.
1) Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart
2) Love thy neighbor as thyself
Fatherhood of God
Jesus emphasized that God was the father of man.
This was not a discovery of Jesus. Many Eastern cults viewed God as a Father and the Jews even had come to the conclusion long before Jesus Christ.
Jesus' emphasis is on this point transferred the notion from the East to the West. The Gentile Christians who are unfamiliar with God as Father notion made it a pivotal part of the emerging religion.
The wrathful God of the Hebrews was also adapted and grafted into the teachings of Jesus,
Jesus' belief in imminent judgment day
Jesus was dominated by a conviction that the end was near. This imminent doom mentality affected all of his teachings.
The teachings of Jesus
There is no formal ethical theory or doctrine of virtues in Jesus' teachings.
Jesus' teachings were not systematic. He used paradoxes and parables.
Jesus' view of pleasure was similar to the Greek Cynic view, but his adoption of this view was for very different reasons.
Jesus was criticized for enjoying the company of low persons too much.
Jesus was not an ascetic, but his focus on the kingdom of Heaven led him to ignore the physical world to a point. Christianity would adopt an ascetic bias because of this aspect of Jesus.
Jesus did not place emphasis on tomorrow because there will be no tomorrow. He held that the more we concern ourselves with property and possessions the less we'll concern ourselves with readying for the judgment day.
Jesus criticized the wealthy for two reasons:
1) They got their riches unjustly
2) Their possessions naturally caused them to think about them.
The poor were at an advantage to focus on the judgment day for Jesus and this mind set caused Christianity to be popular with the poor.
Jesus' ethics compared with Greek ethics
Jesus' ethic is noticeably absent of any social ethic.
Jesus' focus on the Kingdom of God and on inwardness made him uninterested in overt social or political theorizing.
Christianity, when it became a state religion, had to concern itself with politics.
Jesus' ethics also varied from Greeks in that he placed no emphasis on intellectual virtues that Aristotle was so concerned with.
Jesus was vitally concerned with moral, practical virtues, but also differed from Aristotle here.
Jesus denigrated pride as a sin, which was a key virtue for Aristotle.
Jesus' starting point was God, whereas Aristotle's starting point was man. Pride was self-centered and thus it took away from God and sinful.
Jesus' altruism replaced Aristotle's egoism.
Jesus emphasized the equality of man or at least all Jews. Jesus was provincial.
Jesus' view was narrow compared to the Greek but possessed two advantages:
1) its altruism
2) its democratic outlook
The Messiahship of Jesus
Jesus' messiahship is not a philosophical issue and in philosophy it is more important what his followers thought of it, not what he thought of it.
The moral and eschatological meaning Jesus taught was understood in political terms by many of his followers.
The Romans were not worried with Jesus until he came into the urban centers and caused the crowds to riot.
The Jesus Movement
Christianity developed slowly by created a complex theology out of Jesus', Judaism's, Oriental Cults' and late Greek philosophical teachings.
How the movement survived
The crucifixion of Jesus and the scattering of the disciples could have easily killed the movement. Somehow, the disciples' belief in the Messiahship of Jesus was revived after his death.
Jesus miracles and resurrection convinced the disciples of his supernatural status.
The disciples formed a communal life after Jesus' death.
Shift of Emphasis to Jesus
Jesus began to become the focus of a new religion, rather than a reformer of an ancient one.
Jesus had always been considered anointed by his followers. The emphasis shift made him a deity.
The divinity of Jesus created problems. It faced monotheistic problems, conception of God problems and eschatological problems.
The Jews of the Dispersion
Only a small portion of Jews lived in Palestine. The Diaspora (dispersed Jews) lived all over the empire.
The Gentile Mission
The Orthodoxy of Judaism was primarily located in Palestine. The Diaspora and converts were less Orthodox and more open to Christianity.
The Hellenized Jews and Gentiles converting to Christianity continued to change the new religion.
Converts began interpreting Christianity and preaching it around the world. The most important of these converts was St. Paul.
Tuesday, May 9, 2006
Biblical backing for animal rights issues
(Originally written May 9, 2006 in 3 Subject Book)
Animal Rights
Rights/Duties
Sentient Rights
Genesis 1:26, 9:1-7 Divine image bearers exercising dominion
Genesis 2:16-17 - Pre-Fall diet, vegetarian??
Deuteronomy 12:15, 20 - Israelites may eat meat
Proverbs 12:10 - ethical treatment of animals
Mark 7:18-19: "Are you so dull? He asked. "Don't you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? For it doesn't go into their heart but their stomach, and then out their body" (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean).
Luke 12:24 - humans are more valuable in God's eyes than animals are
1 Timothy 4:1-5 - humans can eat animals
Isaiah 11:6 - the wolf, the lamb & the child
Animal Rights
Rights/Duties
Sentient Rights
Genesis 1:26, 9:1-7 Divine image bearers exercising dominion
Genesis 2:16-17 - Pre-Fall diet, vegetarian??
Deuteronomy 12:15, 20 - Israelites may eat meat
Proverbs 12:10 - ethical treatment of animals
Mark 7:18-19: "Are you so dull? He asked. "Don't you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? For it doesn't go into their heart but their stomach, and then out their body" (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean).
Luke 12:24 - humans are more valuable in God's eyes than animals are
1 Timothy 4:1-5 - humans can eat animals
Isaiah 11:6 - the wolf, the lamb & the child
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Just War v. Pacifism
(Originally written April 25, 2006 in 3 Subject)
Contemporary Issues of Philosophy
The morality of War
As a Christian do you feel war is right?
1. Violence
2. Obeying the government (Titus 3:1, Romans 13:3-5)
Rae:
War in the Old Testament
-Securing Israel's boundaries (2 Samuel 5:17-25)
-National Defense (1 Kings 20)
-Offensive Attacks (Joshua 6-12)
-Total Annihilation (Deuteronomy 25:17-19, 1 Samuel 15:1-3)
Does God's sanctioning of Israel's military action justify modern warfare?
-God chose Canaan for His people
-Canaan was very vulnerable to attack
-This vulnerability led to a necessary reliance on God
-Disobedience often resulted in war
The Spirit of Pacifism
-The Sermon on the Mount
-Forbidding resistance to evil
-Loving your enemies
-Jesus blesses the peacemakers
-Submitting to persecutors
-Submitting to the government, even that of Rome
However, there is no Biblical record of soldiers who had converted leaving the military for Pacifistic views
Major views:
Pacifism - Direct participation in war is completely wrong, indirect participation is sometimes wrong
Just war theory - participation in war is morally acceptable under certain criteria
Major Biblical support for Pacifism
-Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:38-48)
-Paul's teachings on non-violence (Romans 12:19-21)
-Peter's doctrine of non-resistance (1 Peter 2:18-24)
Nonviolence vs. non-participation
-Pacifists fall into various levels of pacifism
-All fighting though is considered wrong in every level of pacifism
-Participation in work supporting conflict is and is not acceptable depending on the level of pacifism
Criticism of Pacifism
-If a murderer is in your home with you and your family do you let your family be murdered? Do you fight back and try to subdue the attacker? Do you try to save your family?
-What is the definition of violence?
-Duty to the state argument (Romans 13:1-7, the state 'wields the sword' to keep order and peace). Does our duty to the state outweigh our personal disposition towards violence?
Just War Theory
7 Traditional Criteria:
1) War must be prompted by a just cause
2) War must have a just intention
3) War must be engaged as a last resort
4) The war in question must be initiated by a formal declaration by properly constituted authorities
5) The war in question must be characterized by limited objections (not total annihilation or wholesale destruction)
6) The war must be conducted with appropriate means (force must be proportional to the threat)
7) The war must respect noncombatant immunity
Robert Fullinwider article:
-We should focus more on innocence when assessing validity of violence (terrorism).
-There is a division between combatants and non-combatants, those this distinction is a difficult one to determine in some circumstances.
-We must rethink our definition of terrorism.
-International law brings some order to international affairs.
-Private judgment of a state undermines international law.
-One must be able to justify their actions in a manner that is satisfactory.
Contemporary Issues of Philosophy
The morality of War
As a Christian do you feel war is right?
1. Violence
2. Obeying the government (Titus 3:1, Romans 13:3-5)
Rae:
War in the Old Testament
-Securing Israel's boundaries (2 Samuel 5:17-25)
-National Defense (1 Kings 20)
-Offensive Attacks (Joshua 6-12)
-Total Annihilation (Deuteronomy 25:17-19, 1 Samuel 15:1-3)
Does God's sanctioning of Israel's military action justify modern warfare?
-God chose Canaan for His people
-Canaan was very vulnerable to attack
-This vulnerability led to a necessary reliance on God
-Disobedience often resulted in war
The Spirit of Pacifism
-The Sermon on the Mount
-Forbidding resistance to evil
-Loving your enemies
-Jesus blesses the peacemakers
-Submitting to persecutors
-Submitting to the government, even that of Rome
However, there is no Biblical record of soldiers who had converted leaving the military for Pacifistic views
Major views:
Pacifism - Direct participation in war is completely wrong, indirect participation is sometimes wrong
Just war theory - participation in war is morally acceptable under certain criteria
Major Biblical support for Pacifism
-Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:38-48)
-Paul's teachings on non-violence (Romans 12:19-21)
-Peter's doctrine of non-resistance (1 Peter 2:18-24)
Nonviolence vs. non-participation
-Pacifists fall into various levels of pacifism
-All fighting though is considered wrong in every level of pacifism
-Participation in work supporting conflict is and is not acceptable depending on the level of pacifism
Criticism of Pacifism
-If a murderer is in your home with you and your family do you let your family be murdered? Do you fight back and try to subdue the attacker? Do you try to save your family?
-What is the definition of violence?
-Duty to the state argument (Romans 13:1-7, the state 'wields the sword' to keep order and peace). Does our duty to the state outweigh our personal disposition towards violence?
Just War Theory
7 Traditional Criteria:
1) War must be prompted by a just cause
2) War must have a just intention
3) War must be engaged as a last resort
4) The war in question must be initiated by a formal declaration by properly constituted authorities
5) The war in question must be characterized by limited objections (not total annihilation or wholesale destruction)
6) The war must be conducted with appropriate means (force must be proportional to the threat)
7) The war must respect noncombatant immunity
Robert Fullinwider article:
-We should focus more on innocence when assessing validity of violence (terrorism).
-There is a division between combatants and non-combatants, those this distinction is a difficult one to determine in some circumstances.
-We must rethink our definition of terrorism.
-International law brings some order to international affairs.
-Private judgment of a state undermines international law.
-One must be able to justify their actions in a manner that is satisfactory.
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Notes on the Introduction to Acts
(Originally written January 12, 2006 in Book 20)
Matthew - Jewish Audience
Mark - Roman Audience
Rabbinic Debate: Shammai vs. Hillel
Shammai - Deuteronomy 24:1 Divorce for adultery
Hillel - Deuteronomy 24:1 Divorce for any cause
Jesus replies with Genesis 1:27 & 2:24
Crucifixion of Jesus
Saturday - Anointment of Jesus by Mary
Sunday - Triumphal entry
Monday - Curses the fig tree (again) and changes the Temple
Tuesday - See the fig tree withered, Jesus argues with religious leaders, Jesus goes to the Mount of Olives and tells the disciples of the signs of the End
Wednesday - inactive
Thursday: Last Supper in Mark's mother's house. Jesus arrested and taken to the Sanhedrin
5 Precautions taken in case that Jesus would not rise from the Dead
1) Prepared in accordance with Jewish burial customs
2) Placed in a new tomb "cut out of the rock"
3) A "Big Stone", "Extremely large" was rolled in front of the tomb's entrance
4) Roman Guard was place in front of the tomb (probably four men)
5) Seal of Rome placed on the entrance of the tomb
Introduction to Acts
Acts 1:8 gives the outline of the Book of Acts
I. The Witness in Jerusalem 1:1-6:7
II. The Witness in All Judea and Samaria 6:8-9:21
III. The Witness to the Ends of the Earth 9:32-28:31
-Antioch (Syria) * Antioch is the missionary church 9:32-12:24
-Asia Minor 12:25-16:5
-Aegean (Greece) 16:16-19:20
-Rome 19:21-28:31
"Progress Report" Refrains in Acts
6:7, 9:31, 12:24, 19:20, 20:31
Acts 8-12
8:1-3 The Church is being persecuted in Jerusalem and the members scattered. Stephen was buried while Saul tries to destroy the church.
8:4-8 Wherever the scattered members went they preached. Philip went to Samaria and cast out demons, healed and taught. There was great joy in the city.
8:9-25 Philip is preaching in Samaria when a sorcerer believed and is baptized. Peter and John came out to Samaria to bring them the Holy Spirit. The sorcerer offers to pay Peter and John to teach him the power. They rebuke him for his wicked and sinful heart, trying to buy God's grace.
8:26-40 Philip goes down to the road and hears an Ethiopian reading from Isaiah. Philip explained what the passage means to the man. Philip baptizes the Ethiopian eunuch and then he is taken away by the Spirit.
Matthew - Jewish Audience
Mark - Roman Audience
Rabbinic Debate: Shammai vs. Hillel
Shammai - Deuteronomy 24:1 Divorce for adultery
Hillel - Deuteronomy 24:1 Divorce for any cause
Jesus replies with Genesis 1:27 & 2:24
Crucifixion of Jesus
Saturday - Anointment of Jesus by Mary
Sunday - Triumphal entry
Monday - Curses the fig tree (again) and changes the Temple
Tuesday - See the fig tree withered, Jesus argues with religious leaders, Jesus goes to the Mount of Olives and tells the disciples of the signs of the End
Wednesday - inactive
Thursday: Last Supper in Mark's mother's house. Jesus arrested and taken to the Sanhedrin
5 Precautions taken in case that Jesus would not rise from the Dead
1) Prepared in accordance with Jewish burial customs
2) Placed in a new tomb "cut out of the rock"
3) A "Big Stone", "Extremely large" was rolled in front of the tomb's entrance
4) Roman Guard was place in front of the tomb (probably four men)
5) Seal of Rome placed on the entrance of the tomb
Introduction to Acts
Acts 1:8 gives the outline of the Book of Acts
I. The Witness in Jerusalem 1:1-6:7
II. The Witness in All Judea and Samaria 6:8-9:21
III. The Witness to the Ends of the Earth 9:32-28:31
-Antioch (Syria) * Antioch is the missionary church 9:32-12:24
-Asia Minor 12:25-16:5
-Aegean (Greece) 16:16-19:20
-Rome 19:21-28:31
"Progress Report" Refrains in Acts
6:7, 9:31, 12:24, 19:20, 20:31
Acts 8-12
8:1-3 The Church is being persecuted in Jerusalem and the members scattered. Stephen was buried while Saul tries to destroy the church.
8:4-8 Wherever the scattered members went they preached. Philip went to Samaria and cast out demons, healed and taught. There was great joy in the city.
8:9-25 Philip is preaching in Samaria when a sorcerer believed and is baptized. Peter and John came out to Samaria to bring them the Holy Spirit. The sorcerer offers to pay Peter and John to teach him the power. They rebuke him for his wicked and sinful heart, trying to buy God's grace.
8:26-40 Philip goes down to the road and hears an Ethiopian reading from Isaiah. Philip explained what the passage means to the man. Philip baptizes the Ethiopian eunuch and then he is taken away by the Spirit.
Thursday, January 5, 2006
Book Notes on the Biblical Canon & Interpretation
(Originally written January 5, 2006 in Notebook 20)
Book Notes
The Promise and The Blessing
Michael Harbin
- There are many ways of studying the Bible, this book will approach it from its historical context
- This book will help us to understand the books of the Bible as the original readers would have
- There are two basic approaches to understanding the Bible
1) The Traditional View
2) The Modern View
- The traditional view is a more conservative view and has been the widely accepted view until recent times
- The traditional view accepts the Bible on face-value and believes it to be historically accurate
- The Modern View is a more liberal view of the Bible that assumes it to be mythical until there is corroborating evidence
-The Modern view began to gain ground in the 1800's especially after Julius Wellhaven produced a theory that the Pentateuch was written much later than previously assumed
- Willhausen's theory (The Documentary Hypothesis) argues that God is limited and could not (or at least would not) perform miracles, or interfere with he space-time history
- The Traditional View holds that God will on occasion and has intervened in the time-space history
- Miracles cannot be proved or disproved by scientific research. Science can show us what is normal and by nature miracles are unnatural. This makes them out of the scope of science
- Archaeology constantly shatters the modern view's beliefs and presuppositions
- Archeology does not prove the Bible
- Archeology has limitations and problems
- One problem is that of historical loss. This occurs when items are destroyed either by disaster, humans or time
- Another problem is that of limited excavation. This occurs when archeologists cannot excavate areas because of politics, weather, funding or other restrictions
- Another problem is that of non-written sources. This problem occurs when we find artifacts that aren't written ones, like tools or pottery. These items sometimes cannot be figured out what exactly they were used for and that sometimes we can only deduce small amounts of information from them
- Another problem is that of dating. This is when artifacts are attempted to be dated. There is no exact way of being 100% accurate all of the time
- Another problem is the problem of history. Sometimes people in history were not thought of as important until after the fact.
- History is defined as "the recording of eyewitness accounts in written form"
- History begins with writing, so any culture without writing is prehistoric by nature
- History began no earlier than 3200-3100 B.C. in Sumer at the mouth of the Tigris-Euphrates rivers.
- All writing began as pictographs:
Mesopotamia: Cuneiform
Egypt: Hieroglyphics
- All writing began as financial records
- Originally God intended to speak to Israel himself the books of Genesis, Exodus and Leviticus but after God spoke the 10 commandments to them they were frightened and asked Moses to tell them what God said
- Genesis, Exodus and Leviticus became the first canon (and probably Job)
- The canon is a group of writings regarded as authentic and used in the Bible
- The canon as we have it today gradually developed
- The Old Testament was written in Hebrew (except for three passages in Aramaic)
- The Old Testament was translated into their everyday languages after the exile to Babylon
- The most important Greek translation is the Septuagint
- The Early New Testament books fell into two basic categories:
1) Eyewitness accounts of the Messiah (the Gospels)
2) Letters from key witnesses to believers (the Epistles)
- Numbers and Deuteronomy were added to the Old Testament Canon 40 years after the original canon
- To be in the canon a book must be inspired by God. It must have two roles of the Holy Spirit:
1) Inspiring the writer
2) Verifying the inspiration to the community
- Christianity began with the assumption that the Jewish canon was authoritative
- The concept of the Messiah comes from the Jewish canon
- The New Testament was primarily written to groups of God's people throughout the Roman Empire
Review Questions
1) The traditional view of how the Bible was written is that it was written as a historically accurate account of events
2) The traditional view accepts the Bible at "face-value" and believes in its miraculous events
2) The Modern view looks at the Bible with skepticism and does not accept it until other evidence is produced to verify it.
3) The canon is the books believed to be inspired and authoritative. It's important because it makes up the Bible
4) The epistles were written before the Gospels because the apostles felt that a written account of Jesus as the Messiah was not needed because Christ's return was just around the corner.
5) It took so long for a New Testament canon to be agreed on because there were so many letters to be found and decided on.
6) The significance of the Dead Sea Scrolls is that it gave use written documentation of the Bible 1,000 years older than our previous oldest copies. With that we could compare the accuracy of the copying process.
Book Notes
The Promise and The Blessing
Michael Harbin
- There are many ways of studying the Bible, this book will approach it from its historical context
- This book will help us to understand the books of the Bible as the original readers would have
- There are two basic approaches to understanding the Bible
1) The Traditional View
2) The Modern View
- The traditional view is a more conservative view and has been the widely accepted view until recent times
- The traditional view accepts the Bible on face-value and believes it to be historically accurate
- The Modern View is a more liberal view of the Bible that assumes it to be mythical until there is corroborating evidence
-The Modern view began to gain ground in the 1800's especially after Julius Wellhaven produced a theory that the Pentateuch was written much later than previously assumed
- Willhausen's theory (The Documentary Hypothesis) argues that God is limited and could not (or at least would not) perform miracles, or interfere with he space-time history
- The Traditional View holds that God will on occasion and has intervened in the time-space history
- Miracles cannot be proved or disproved by scientific research. Science can show us what is normal and by nature miracles are unnatural. This makes them out of the scope of science
- Archaeology constantly shatters the modern view's beliefs and presuppositions
- Archeology does not prove the Bible
- Archeology has limitations and problems
- One problem is that of historical loss. This occurs when items are destroyed either by disaster, humans or time
- Another problem is that of limited excavation. This occurs when archeologists cannot excavate areas because of politics, weather, funding or other restrictions
- Another problem is that of non-written sources. This problem occurs when we find artifacts that aren't written ones, like tools or pottery. These items sometimes cannot be figured out what exactly they were used for and that sometimes we can only deduce small amounts of information from them
- Another problem is that of dating. This is when artifacts are attempted to be dated. There is no exact way of being 100% accurate all of the time
- Another problem is the problem of history. Sometimes people in history were not thought of as important until after the fact.
- History is defined as "the recording of eyewitness accounts in written form"
- History begins with writing, so any culture without writing is prehistoric by nature
- History began no earlier than 3200-3100 B.C. in Sumer at the mouth of the Tigris-Euphrates rivers.
- All writing began as pictographs:
Mesopotamia: Cuneiform
Egypt: Hieroglyphics
- All writing began as financial records
- Originally God intended to speak to Israel himself the books of Genesis, Exodus and Leviticus but after God spoke the 10 commandments to them they were frightened and asked Moses to tell them what God said
- Genesis, Exodus and Leviticus became the first canon (and probably Job)
- The canon is a group of writings regarded as authentic and used in the Bible
- The canon as we have it today gradually developed
- The Old Testament was written in Hebrew (except for three passages in Aramaic)
- The Old Testament was translated into their everyday languages after the exile to Babylon
- The most important Greek translation is the Septuagint
- The Early New Testament books fell into two basic categories:
1) Eyewitness accounts of the Messiah (the Gospels)
2) Letters from key witnesses to believers (the Epistles)
- Numbers and Deuteronomy were added to the Old Testament Canon 40 years after the original canon
- To be in the canon a book must be inspired by God. It must have two roles of the Holy Spirit:
1) Inspiring the writer
2) Verifying the inspiration to the community
- Christianity began with the assumption that the Jewish canon was authoritative
- The concept of the Messiah comes from the Jewish canon
- The New Testament was primarily written to groups of God's people throughout the Roman Empire
Review Questions
1) The traditional view of how the Bible was written is that it was written as a historically accurate account of events
2) The traditional view accepts the Bible at "face-value" and believes in its miraculous events
2) The Modern view looks at the Bible with skepticism and does not accept it until other evidence is produced to verify it.
3) The canon is the books believed to be inspired and authoritative. It's important because it makes up the Bible
4) The epistles were written before the Gospels because the apostles felt that a written account of Jesus as the Messiah was not needed because Christ's return was just around the corner.
5) It took so long for a New Testament canon to be agreed on because there were so many letters to be found and decided on.
6) The significance of the Dead Sea Scrolls is that it gave use written documentation of the Bible 1,000 years older than our previous oldest copies. With that we could compare the accuracy of the copying process.
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