Oct 3rd /7th Grade Rel

Do Now: 1. Pass Out Journals and Bibles2. Finish classwork handout from last class on

your own if you have not already.3. Take out Ch 2 Notes Handout due today4. If done classwork, begin working on Journal

Handout. Answer the questions on the handout and place in your journal when done.

2 Timothy 3:1515 and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

Luke 24:3232 They said to one another, “[a]Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was [b]explaining the Scriptures to us?”

Romans 15:44 For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

Review (Chapter 2) Pictured below: God on one of his

magical floating blankets.

Words to Remember

• Divine Inspiration: the special influence of the Holy Spirit on the human authors of the Bible.

• Canon of scripture: The official writings of the Christian Bible selected by the church as sacred truth.

In the Bible, we can detect the hand of different authors at work. What are at least 3 of the many differences between these authors or their writing?

• Expressions/styles of writing• Points of view• Reasons for writing

How does the Bible have one author and many authors?

• Many authors: Human authors• One author: God is the author because all of

the words were written under the influence of the Holy Spirit

• Explain how the Bible can be authored by both many and one author at the same time: (see p. 21 left column): authors provided words, phrases, style, stories, etc. just like any written document; all this was done “under the influence” of the Holy Spirit: God is, in the deepest sense, the author of Bible

• Write and be very familiar with the quote from the Catechism, no. 136, on p. 21: “God is the author of the Sacred Scripture”,

Dictation Theory of Inspiration

• Theory that God dictated to human authors every single word of the Bible.

• Why is it rejected? The Catholic Church rejects this theory because God respects human beings and does not treat them like unthinking machines.

The Bible is the Church’s book

• The church chose the writings to be included in the Bible, passed them on through centuries, and helps interprets the message of the writings

If the Bible is an inspired book, can it contain any errors?

• The Bible does not contain errors about truths of faith.

• However, the Bible is not a primary source for scientific and historical data.

How did the individual books become part of the canon of Scripture?

• The 73 books of canon were chosen by the church for the following reasons:

1. Contained inspirational quality2. Expressed the Church’s tradition and history3. The Church saw the true message and

necessary reflection being expressed

3 Mistaken Theories of Inspiration

• Dictation theory• God-as-assistant theory• Later approval theory

Dictation theory

• God alone is author……• …human writer simply copied down the words…

therefore more like a robot than an author. • Does the human make contribution to what is

written? No• Why is this bad? God created us in his image

and would want each author to make his own contribution and reflect his own personality

God-as-assistant Theory

• Human beings alone are the authors.• God’s role is to prevent the human author

from falling into error. • Problem: Scripture is reduced to a “textbook”

on living and is no longer the Word of God.

Later approval theory

• Bible was written in the same way as every other book.

• When church accepted books, the Holy Spirit was approving them.

• Problem: This means that the holy spirit had nothing to do with writings before the church approved them.

“An ‘eye for an eye’ will make the world blind.”

• People who accept the Dictation Theory can be described as fundamentalists.

• Fundamentalists: People who take every word in the Bible literally.

Example

• Example of the danger in taking the Word of God so literally:

• Matthew 19:24 “Camel thru eye of needle, etc.”

Fundamentalism’s counterpart?

• The opposite of being fundamentalist would be not believing it is God’s Word.

• This approach is just as mistaken because it doesn’t take God’s word seriously at all.

Divine Inspiration

• Real truth about Divine Inspiration respects both the divine and human authorship.

Catholic ID

• Examples: • “The Word of the Lord” • “The Gospel of the Lord”• “Thanks be to God”

HW

1. Tests signed by parent/guardian

2. Read and give a brief (4-5 sentence) written summary of the two following passages:

MT 19: 16-26

MK 12: 21-44