Introduction to the Holy Bible… Session #1 (April 12 th, 2016) Presenter- Fr. Dave Snyder, Rector Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Mt. Holly

The Word of God!! See John 1:1-18 (the prologue to John) The LOGOS…(greek word for WORD) The Written WORD (the Bible) The Verbal WORD (preaching/teaching/singing the Gospel of Grace) The Visible WORD (sacraments of Baptism; Holy Eucharist) The LIVING WORD (Jesus the Christ…the Son of God)

Why Did You Sign Up for this Introduction to the Bible Course? What would you like to learn over the next ten weeks? How often do you read/study the Bible? How important is the Bible in your life as a Christian and Disciple of Jesus?

What do I need to participate in this course? A Bible (preferably a study Bible. If we could all have a copy of the New Revised Standard version-NRSV- that would be helpful) Workbook: Your Bible…The Study Begins!! 1-2 hours each week to read the lesson and do some preparation

What Will we be Studying?? 4/12-Introduction and orientation 4/19- What is the Bible? 4/26- How Did the Bible Come to Be? 5/3- What is the OT about? 5/10- What is the NT about? 5/17- How has the Bible been Preserved and Handed on? 5/24- How shall we study the Bible? 5/31- What is the place of the Bible in Our Live 6/7- The Bible and Stewardship; Heaven and Hell; the End of the World and other important topics? 6/14- Review and Final Exam

The Holy Bible…Not a Book but a LIBRARY (with a total of 66 Books)!! 39 Books in the Old Testament (or, more accurately the Hebrew Scriptures) The Law–(Torah) first five books (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers; Deuteronomy). The Major Prophets- (called MAJOR because of size, not necessarily importance) Isaiah; Jeremiah; Lamentations; Ezekiel; Daniel. The Minor Prophets- (Hosea; Joel; Amos; Obadiah; Jonah; Micah; Nahum; Habakkuk; Zephaniah; Zechariah; Malachi. Wisdom; Poetry- (Job; Psalms; Proverbs; Ecclesiastes; Song of Solomon)

The New Testament… Gospels- (Matthew; Mark; Luke and John) Pauline Epistles- Romans; I&II Corinthians; Galatians; Ephesians; Philippians; Colossians I&II Thessalonians; I&II Timothy; Titus; Philemon. General Epistles- Hebrews; James; I&II Peter; I,II,&III John; Jude. History- Acts of the Apostles Apocalypse- The Revelation to John

Why So many translations??? Google: English Translations of the Bible…96 different translations; Difference between a Translation and a Paraphrase (Living Bible; The Message) Biblical Languages: Hebrew (OT); Greek (NT); Aramaic (NT). There is not one English word for every Hebrew; Greek or Aramaic word. What is most important is not a “word-for-word” but a “thought-for- thought” or “message-for-message” Language changes over time and new, more contemporary translations are needed (KJV vs. NRSV).

Is the Bible Inerrant and Infallible?? Not a claim that the Bible makes of itself Honest investigation of the text does not support the concept of “infallibility” (exmp.- when did Jesus “cleanse the Temple”; what color was the Robe the Roman soldiers put on Jesus; What did Paul’s companions see and hear?). Cleansing of the Temple is in John 2:13-16; Mark 11; Matthew 21; Luke 19) Robe was Red in Matthew’s Gospel (Matthew 27:28); Purple in Mark and in John. Acts 9:7- : “they heard the sound but did not see anything”; Acts 22:9- “they saw the light but did not hear the voice”

Every Word of Scripture should be taken Seriously…NOT every Word should be taken LITERALLY!! “So, Jesus again said to them: truly, truly I say to you, I am the DOOR of the sheep”. John 10:7. Metaphor: “A figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable”. Simile: “A figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind. Exmp: “be wise as serpents and innocent as doves”- Matthew 10:16. Parables: “A simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson as told, most famously by Jesus in the Gospels”.