1. Bible Reading for Orthodox Christians
It’s Good for You!
Part I

2. Overview of the Series Try to do this in four parts
Today: What is the Bible?
Next: Basic Avenues of Biblical Interpretation
Then: “Issues” That We Bring to Bible Study
Finally: How Then Should We Proceed
A Modest Proposal for Bible Study

3. Hyfalutin’ Term
Hermeneutics: “the science and methodology of interpretation, esp. the Bible”
American Heritage Dictionary

4. Presuppositions to this Study
I’m a Layman
No formal theological study
Advantages and disadvantages
There is a problem today with Bible Study
Two-fold Problem
We Orthodox don’t know much/enough about the Bible
And neither do most other Christians

5. Why a problem? For Protestants
Sola Scriptura: central unifying principle
Luther’s three sola
Sola gratia
Sola fide
Sola Scriptura
Everything based on Bible
“Bible-believing Christians”

6. Why is this a Problem?
Luther insisted Bible is essentially transparent
Any sincere Christian can understand/explain
And would come up with same interpretation
Result
Emphasis on Bible Study
33,000 different Christians sects (at last count)
Teaching opposing doctrines
Nature of salvation; Church; sacraments; ministries;
Mary; saints; Eschatology;

7. Why is this a Problem? For Orthodox Ill-equipped
To understand Orthodox dogma
To explain Orthodox dogma
To appreciate our Faith
To serve as missionaries
That outreach thing

8. Why don’t we read the Bible
Historic (part of our tradition---”little ‘t’”)
Levels of literacy
Availability of Bibles
Concerns of the hierarchy
Sense of Church = Scriptures
Liturgy
Icons

9. How Serious is the Problem?
Here’s one solution:
“No task is more important than for the church to take the Bible out of the hands of individual Christians in North America.”
Stanley Hauerwas, Methodist theologian & professor, Duke University.

10. Centrality of Scripture
For Catholics
Scripture & Oral Tradition
For the Orthodox
Centerpiece of Holy Tradition
For Protestants
Only Authority (sola Scriptura)
For the World
Book by which Christianity is evaluated/critiqued

11. So To understand our own Faith To outreach to other Christians
To evangelize among the non-believers
To defend the Faith from “the heathen”
WE NEED TO READ THE BIBLE!

12. What is the Bible? Book of Science? Book of history?
Book of Mythology?
Book of ethics/morality?
Book of God’s inerrant word (cf. Quran)?
As a “vicar of God?”
Context for Hauerwas’s comment

13. What is the Bible? Greek Term: βιβλιος = record; document; book
Greek speaking Jews: applied to Hebrew Scriptures
Holy Scriptures: used by (all?) Christians
From Latin scribo---to write

14. What is the Bible? Old Testament O.T. N.T.
Testamentum: will; (Vulgate mistranslates Greek)
Covenant best translation?
O.T.
Law (Torah); Prophets; Writings
Also includes history books (Joshua/Judges/Kings, etc.)
N.T.
Synoptic Gospels; Gospel of John; Acts; Epistles; Revelation

15. Where did bible Come From?
O.T.
Septuagint: Greek trans. of earlier texts
The Bible for the early Church
Masoretic Text (M.T.) Hebrew trans of 1st-2nd c. A.D.
Fewer books
Different trans.
Spurred in part by Church use of Septuagint

16. W. d. Bible c. f.? N.T. No writings by Our Lord An oral society
Lord’s imminent return
Apostles provided living, oral witness
No need for a new religion
Does Paul know he’s starting the Bible?

17. The N.T. Paul begins his written work in the ‘50s
Letters of encouragement/reproof/instruction to various communities
Gospels begin to appear in ‘60s
Apostles were dying
Church under persecution
In it for the long haul
Growing separateness from Jewish origins

18. The N.T. By around A.D. 100: all books of N.T. written
But so were a bunch of other allegedly Christian texts
Histories/Doctrines/Prophecies/Apocalypses
Many purported to be written by “authorities”
Gospels of Mary; Philip; Thomas
Acts of Peter and Mary; of Pilate
Apocalypse of Peter
Some were mainstream; others taught weird stuff
Abhorrent Gospel of Basilides

19. An Authorized New Testament
Quasi-Gnostic heretic: Marcion of Rome (2nd c.)
Dualist
God of love vs. Jehovah So
Rejects entire O.T.
Severely edits Luke; adds 10 Pauline epistles
In essence: starts the process
Was this authoritative Scripture?

20. An Authoritative N. T. St. Irenaeus of Lyons (177-200)
4 canonical Gospels
Muratorian Canon (c. 180)
Named for its discoverer (18th c. Fr. Muratori)
Churches around Rome?
Lists 4 Gospels; 13 Pauline epistles (no Hebrews); Jude; 1-2 John; and the Revelation.
Hebrews; 1-2 Peter; 3 John missing
Includes Wisdom of Solomon; Apocalypse of Peter

21. An Authoritative N.T. By early 300s: Eusebius’s History of the Church
Provides status update
Recognized: Today’s N.T. minus
Disputed: James; Jude; 2 Peter; 2-3 John
Spurious (doubtful): Acts of Paul; Shepherd of Hermas; Revelation of Peter; Epistle of Barnabas; Didache; and Revelation of John
Clearly heretical: Gospels of Peter; Thomas; Matthias; Acts of Andrew; John; other apostles.

22. An Authoritative N.T. St. Athanasius the Great (367)
Custom to write all his churches to announce Pascha (same date)
Includes list of books to be read in the churches
“in these [27 writings] alone the teaching of godliness is proclaimed. No one may add to them, and nothing may be taken away from them.”

23. An Authoritative N.T. Within 50 years near universal acceptance
382: Council in Rome
397: Council in Carthage
A New Testament Canon
Where did it come from?
Simplest answer: From the Church; from the scholarship and debate and mistakes and prayer of the Church

24. The Christian Bible
Of course---Church did not attribute this prodigious, four centuries long work of scholarship to its own efforts alone.
But this leads us to the interpretation of these writings, which we will consider next time.