The Bible as the Source of Revelation: 5 Models

1. The Consciousness Model and
the Bible

2. What is the Bible?
• Is a paradigm
• A source of illumination but not an
objective deposit of revelation

3. The Bible’s authority
• According to Schillebeeckx,
the inspiration of Scripture
originally meant the capacity
of certain writings to inspire
the community to discover its
own identity; its authority
came from its ability to
inspire.

4. • Later on, the authority of the Scriptures
was recognized as coming from God.

5. Revelation
• Occurs in contemporary
experience. This experience,
as the source of revelation,
is interpreted with the help
of Scriptures.

6. What do they say?
• Gregory Baum – Scriptures can yield new
“salvational meaning” when reread and
reinterpreted in the light of the experience of
the believing community

7. What do they say?
• Ray L. Hart – Past events (biblical history) have
power to interpret our
present situation
• Schillebeeckx – Bible must be read in a
contemporary context and against the
background of our remembered past

8. Interpreting Consumerism through Luke 16:19-
31 “Lazarus and the Rich Man”