2. This refers to the actual experiences of
ACTUAL God’s people which they interpreted
EVENTS as God’s intervention in their history.
So that the people will forever
ORAL remember these important events, they
TRADITION are handed on to succeeding generations
through storytelling.
WRITTEN These stories were sorted, edited, and
eventually put into to serve as norms
SCRIPTURES against which other stories and
traditions will be verified; and to more
effectively preserve tradition.
3. Gk. “τα βιβλια” – “the books” -refers the whole sacred volume
Lt. “biblia” – “The Book” -designates the eminence of the Bible
The Bible is a collection of sacred writings which
the Church solemnly recognized as the:
4. “God is the author of Sacred Scripture because he
inspired its human authors; he acts in them and by
means of them. He thus gives assurance that their
writings teach without error his saving truth”
Dei Verbum 11
To say that the Bible is the Word of
God is to acknowledge its Divine
Authorship.
5. The Bible did not fall from heaven. When God
gave us his word, he inspired some men to put in
into writing. The Bible was written by persons who
lived in a particular context, using the means
available to them as they went through the natural
process of data gathering, selection, and finally
writing down scriptures.
Because the Bible was written by men, then through the Bible God is able to speak to
us in human language- something we can understand and relate to.
"All scripture, inspired of God, is profitable to teach, to reprove, to correct to
instruct in justice" 2 Timothy 3:16
6. Lt. “in spirare” – to breathe into
“By supernatural power God so moved and impelled the
human authors to write - he so assisted them when writing -
that the things he ordered and those only they first rightly
understood, then willed faithfully to write down, and finally
expressed in apt words and with infallible truth.”
Providentissimus Deus, Pope Leo XIII
INSPIRATION IS THE SPECIAL INFLUENCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT ON
THE HUMAN AUTHORS, SUCH THAT THEY WERE ABLE TO WRITE
DOWN WHAT GOD WANTED THEM TO WRITE.
INSPIRATION IS NOT:
•DICTATION – God did not dictate the words to the human authors. As stated earlier, the human
authors had to go through all the processes involved in coming up with a written work.
•POSSESSION – The human authors were not coerced by God to write. They did not lose their free will
when they put God’s Word into writing. On their end, they had to cooperate with inspiration.
7. COVENANT BETWEEN COVENANT BETWEEN
GOD AND ISRAEL The Old Testament GOD AND HUMANITY
MEDIATED BY MOSES finds light in the MEDIATED BY JESUS
Central Event: New Testament. The Central Event:
New Testament
finds foundation in
the Old Testament.
The Church teaches
that both divisions
are equally
THE EXODUS inspired. THE RESURRECTION
Language: Language:
Predominantly Hebrew Predominantly Greek
8. Inerrancy means freedom from error. The inerrancy of Scripture is a
consequence of its inspiration. Because God is the principal author of
the Bible, then it cannot but contain the truth.
BUT THE BIBLE CONTAINS ERROR…
Errors in Science : This is because the Bible was not written to be a science
textbook. The authors had primitive knowledge of science. (e.g. the sun moves
around the earth: Joshua 10:14)
Errors in History : The Bible was a product of oral tradition. This tradition
preserves the essential content, not the trivial details, so it is possible to find
chronological errors, contradictory details, and inaccurate quotations once in a
while. (e.g. The animals Noah’s Ark: Genesis 6:19 and Genesis 7:2)
Errors in Moral Understanding : The people of the Old Testament did not learn of
God’s will instantly. It took time before they understood God’s precepts, hence
there were instances when they label something good as bad and vice versa. (e.g.
total extermination of enemies is God’s will: Joshua 11:13-14)
These errors do not in anyway affect the essential message of Sacred Scriptures.
THE BIBLE CONTAINS ERROR BUT TEACHES NO ERROR.
9. Gk. “κανον” – a stick; measuring rod
-the word implies “norms” or “standards”
CANONICITY IS THE CHURCH’S OFFICIAL
DECLARATION THAT A BOOK IS INSPIRED, AND IS
THEREFORE A WORTHY BASIS OF FAITH AND MORALS.
FOR A BOOK TO BE DECLARED CANONICAL, IT HAS TO
PASS CERTAIN STANDARDS. AS IT PASS THE
STANDARDS, IT BECOMES A STANDARD ITSELF.
N.B. Canonicity does not make a book inspired, neither does it
add to inspiration. It is simply a formal recognition of the
inspiration which the book has always possessed.
10. FOR THE OLD TESTAMENT: FOR THE NEW TESTAMENT:
•The scripture must not contradict the •Apostolic Origin - either the books
TORAH (five books of Moses). For the were written by the apostles themselves,
Jews, Moses was undoubtedly a man of or they were used as sources.
God and his “books” measure everything. •Coherence with the essential Gospel
•The scripture must be constantly used in Message- the content of the book must
liturgy. be consistent with the message of Christ.
•In some cases, language became a factor. •Constant use in the liturgy- the books
Some Jews rejected non-Hebrew writings. were used by the Early Christian
•Recognized Sacred Scriptures are stored Communities in their celebration of the
in the temple chests, available for public “breaking of the bread” and other
reading. Putting a book in the temple chest liturgical functions.
is tantamount to canonization.
11. When a book fails to meet the standards, it is labeled as
APOCRYPHAL i.e. of doubtful authority
When a book has passed the standards, it becomes part of the CANON OF SCRIPTURES.
The CANON OF SCRIPTURES refers to the official list of inspired books.
ROMAN CATHOLIC BIBLE PROTESTANT BIBLE
73 (72) BOOKS 66 BOOKS
46 Books in the Old Testament 39 Books in the Old
(45 if Jeremiah and Testament
Lamentations are 27 Books in the New
counted as one) Testament
27 Books in the New Testament
12. The word “Deuterocanonical” literally means: “second canon”.
These refers to the second set of canonical books.
During the Council of Trent, before the Catholic Church finally
closed the Canon (which means from then on, no other books
will be added to the bible), the Church also declared as
canonical some Old Testament books which were recognized
ever since as inspired but were not formally declared as part of
the canon of scriptures.
Unfortunately, the Protestants have already deviated from the
Catholic Church when this happened so they do not have the
Deuterocanonicals in their Bible. If ever they include it, they
simply label the books as Apocryphals. One thing is for sure,
the Protestant Canon was still a product of the prudent judgment
of the Catholic Church before the split took place.
13. The Bible did not always have its chapter and verses. Hence, when one would
look for particular passages, one has scan through the entire book.
The division of the bible into chapters was
done in the thirteenth century by Most
Rev. Stephen Langton, Archbishop of
Canterbury
Some time later, in the sixteenth century, the bible
was divided into verses by Robert Estienne, a French
printer.
14. CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
nos.101-141
Francis E. Gigot
SACRED SCRIPTURES, THE BIBLE
www.pax-et-veritas.org
Ian Knox C.S.Sp.
THEOLOGY FOR TEACHERS
Ottawa: Novalis Press, 1994
INSPIRATION AND INERRANCY
www.cathtruth.com
Notes on class: INTRO. TO THE BIBLE
with Fr. Steve Placente, SDB, SSL
