1. Divine Revelation

2.  Divine Revelation: Truths God has made known to us about Himself  Not revealed at one time Revealed slowly over time

3. Old Testament  Adam and Eve would have known Him first  Israelites were God’s chosen people Special keepers of His revelation Abraham’s Covenant  Story of the people written down Recorded God’s Revelation Written down in the Old Testament

4. New Testament  Word of God was made flesh Jesus Christ 2000 years after Abraham  Christ taught about God Corrected misunderstandings about God  Chose 12 Apostles and made them the protectors of His teaching Deposit of Faith  Apostles both taught the people and wrote down their teachings in the New Testament

5. Sources of Divine Revelation  Two main sources: Sacred Scripture Sacred Tradition  High point of God’s Revelation was in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ Summed up in the Apostles Creed (statement of belief) Mystery of Faith: Something we don’t entirely understand, but trust in God and believe  When St. John died around 100AD, public revelation came to an end

6. Bible  Inspired Word of God  Collection of 73 books  Divided into two main sections: Old Testament ○ First 46 books ○ Put together by the Jewish people ○ Concerned with preparing for Messiah New Testament ○ Contains life and teachings of Jesus ○ Story of the early Church The two sections work together to tell the story of God’s plan

7. Old Testament Breakdown  Historical Books Contain religious and historical traditions of the Jewish people Pentateuch (Torah, first five books of the Law)  Wisdom Books Collection of prayers, wise sayings, advice Often in form of poetry Psalms, Proverbs etc.  Prophetic Books Words, stories, and messages of the prophets

8. New Testament Breakdown  Gospels Four accounts of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John  Acts of the Apostles Brief history of the early Church Focuses on missions of Sts. Peter and Paul  Letters of St. Paul Letters to different early churches he had founded Dealt with their individual needs  Letters to All Christians Other various early Church letters  Book of Revelation Written by Apostle John shortly before his death Meant to be encouragement to early Christians through their persecution, showing how God wins in the end

9. Authorship  Primary author is the Holy Spirit Inspired human writers ○ They used their own styles of writings ○ Holy Spirit worked through them  Free from error Religious error impossible Goal of the Bible is not to be a comprehensive history or science textbook, but to teach God’s will and Word

10. Protecting Divine Revelation  Church established to protect and spread the Church’s proper teachings  Magisterium Teaching office of the Church Bishops, in union with the Pope, pass on Church teaching  Infallibility Church cannot teach any error on matters of faith and morals ○ Guided by Holy Spirit ○ Only infallible if certain conditions (4) are met Church is given this gift so that people can know that they can trust and obey its teachings