Bible
- First step in understanding God.
- Readers are gradually prepared
and equipped with the necessary
knowledge, consideration, attitude,
and skills in comprehending the
Bible.
- Best-selling book of all time
- 25 million copies are sold every
year (Bandstra, 2009:6)
- Some merely equate it as a book
of morals and sermons for the
clergy.
- Others turn to it hoping to find
wisdom and guidance.
- Some readers simply find it as an
ordinary literature, an ancient one.
- 73 books in total, while Protestants
only consider 66 books.
Etymological Meaning
- Greek = ta biblia (“the books”)
- Latin = biblia (“written expression
of God’s revelation”)
- A collection or a library rather than
a single literary composition.
Writers
- The great number of authors and
editors who composed and edited
them from different generations
and settings for various audiences.
Divine Inspiration
- For centuries, the Catholic Church
has consistently taught that the
Bible is truly the Word of God.
Vatican Il, through its document,
Dei Verbum, states categorically
the role of the Holy Spirit in the
composition of the Bible.
- Committed to writing under the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit. For
holy mother Church, relying on the
belief of the Apostles (John,
Timothy, Peter) both the Old and
the New Testaments in their
entirety, with all their parts, are
sacred and canonical because
under the inspiration of the Holy
Spirit, they have God as their
author and have been handed on
as such to the Church herself.
- With God through the inspiration
and guidance of the Holy Spirit
and the Freedom and Creativity
of Humans Authors, The Bible
was formed.
- “Word of God in the words of
men”
In composing the sacred books
- God chose men and while
employed by Him they made use
of their powers and abilities, so
that with Him acting in them and
through them; they as true
authors, consigned to writing
everything and only those things
which He wanted.
Divine Dictation Theory
- the Holy Spirit simply "dictated" on
the human authors the content and
the manner of writing the Bible.
- the human authors are
stenographers, and recorders of
what was dictated upon them,
devoid of any room for human
freedom and creativity, as well as
originality of literary approach and
style.
CRITIQUE:
- the Bible-reflects a rich variety of
stories and uniqueness of human
experiences, reveals diversity of
contexts and circumstances, and
displays multiplicity of mindsets
and perspectives
Negative Assistance Theory
- "The Holy Spirit acts upon a
human author in such a way as to
preserve him from error"
- "The human authors were alone
responsible for the writing of the
books"
CRITIQUE:
- God's involvement in the Bible
cannot be strictly limited to
avoiding error during the entire
composition of the sacred text.
- Both God and human authors
worked together from the start to
its completion in communicating
the truth of God, and his message
to mankind.
Subsequent Approval Theory
- By a Benedictine monk by the
name of D. B. Haneberg in mid-
1800s
 - "that inspiration took the form of
the church's approval of the work
at the time of its canonizations"
- In other words, the Bible only
become the Word of God after it
was declared by the Church as
inspired; thus, it was the Church
that truly made it to be the Word of
God by reason of its gift of
infallibility.
CRITIQUE
- "was expressly disapproved by
Vatican I: "These [OT and NT
books] the church hold to be
sacred and canonical, not because
having been carefully composed
by human industry, they were
afterwards approved by her
authority, nor merely because,
having been written by the Holy
Spirit, they have God as their
author and have been delivered by
the Church as such to the church
herself"
Inerrancy
- If the Bible is truly the Word of
God, would it be truthful to claim
that the Bible contains no error?
- If God is its primary author and
God himself is the perfection of all
truth, then all that Scripture claims
to be true must necessarily be
true.
CRITIQUE
- Modern critics to biblical study
raise doubts and even objections
to the "scientific errors in the Bible
- like the claim of an immovable
world”
- "which tends to interpret the words
of the Bible at face value -
literalistically rather than literarily
according to the type of writing
used to express the author's
intent"
- the Church made it clear that the
authors of the Bible did not intend
to hand down a scientific treatise
of the universe, or a
comprehensive history textbook.
Bible as Faith-Testimony
- there are scientific or historical
accounts which may be difficult to
reconcile with the findings of
advanced scientific inquiry but it
was precisely because the Bible
was written within a specific era
and context - with all its strength
and limitation, and influenced by
the prevailing historical and
scientific mindset and perspective
at that time.
- the Bible was made from the
perspective of faith by its writers
who intended to share their faith-
experiences by conveying the
unmistakable truth of God's
presence and loving intervention at
work within the flow of time and
history.
- the Bible must be regarded as a
faith-testimony that instructs divine
wisdom and directs man to his
ultimate destiny after being created
in the image and likeness of God.
- Readers are constantly reminded
not to take a very literal
interpretation of the biblical text.
- Great attention must be dedicated
in pursuing the religious message
of every account and careful study
must be observed in discerning the
message of the Bible.
Canonicity
- Canon = Hebrew work “qaneh”
which is a measuring stick
- A measure, rule, norm, or standard
Canon
- the list of inspired books.
Three-part division
- followed by the Jews
- Pentateuch (Torah), Prophets
(Neviin), and Writing (Kethuvim)
Jews
- Even to this day, still hope for their
unnamed Messiah to come,
whereas the Christians center their
faith in Jesus of Nazareth, the
risen Christ.
- the New Testament which is
centered on Jesus and his
message is not essential for the
Jews.
- On the other hand, Christians put
their trust and faith on Jesus as the
ultimate fulfillment of the promise
of salvation foreshadowed in the
Old Testament.
The Tanak
- Or Tanakh
- Jews
- an acronym derived from the initial
consonants of the three sections
into which Scriptures are divided:
Torah, Nevi'im, and Kethuvim"
Torah (Law)
- implies a rule of life and teaching
to be followed by the people of
Israel
- when Moses received the Torah
from Mount Sinai, all of Israel are
bound to observe what Moses
promulgated as the basis of their
way of life and their relationship
with God.
- First Five Books: Genesis, Exodus,
Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
- started from the calling of
Abraham, the gradual fulfillment of
God's promises
Three promises
- Posterity (Descendants), Property
(Promised Land), and Protection
- the liberation of the Hebrews from
Egypt led by.Moses and their
wandering in. the desert, and
finally, their approach in the
promised land.
Nevi’im (Prophets)
- the rise of persons and
messengers who are dedicated to
communicate the word of God
- giving warnings and
condemnations for their sins and
violations committed, pronouncing
judgment and punishment for sin.
- Starts with the succession of
Joshua, conquest of and
settlement in the promised land
- The establishment of monarchy
and unification of the twelve tribes
of Israel
- the Northern kingdom's protest
- against the forced labor and heavy
taxation demanded by king
Solomon of Judah.
- But history revealed the sinful
ways of Israel, their hearts
hardened by sin and pride; thus,
consequences followed.
- Israel amended its history of sin
and infidelity, returned to their
homeland (after the liberator Cyrus
of Persia decreed their freedom
from Babylonian rule), renewed
their relationship with God and
rebuilt their shattered nation and
unfulfilled dreams.
Prophets
- Joshua, Judges, I and Il Samuel, I
and Il Kings (6 books)
- Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea,
Amos, Micah, Joel, Obadiah,
Jonah, Nahum, Habakkuk,
Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah,
Malachi (15 books)
Kethuvim (Writing)
- collection of writings and literary
works contextualized after the exile
in Babylon.
- does not tell us stories or
prophecies to be fulfilled but offers
us a way of life guided by
righteousness and wisdom.
 - Provides maxims or short sayings,
like the Proverbs, on how to order
our lives according to God's
commandments
- Psalms, Job, Proverbs, Ruth, Song
of Solomon, Ecclesiastes,
Lamentations, Esther, Daniel,
Ezra-Nehemiah, I and Il Chronicles
(13 books)
- Day-to-day basis and real-life
application
Protestant reformation
- 16th century led Martin Luther to
separate from the Catholic Church.
- Luther also determined his own
biblical canon which followed the
Palestinian canon of the Jews.
- have sixty-six books (OT and NT).
- NO Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach,
Baruch, and 1 and 2 Maccabees.
Catholics
- followed the Alexandrian canon
which was written in Greek and
used by. Christians mostly outside
Palestine.
- have seventy three books (OT and
NT)
CONCLUSION:
- the divine communication
- recorded by human authors and
applied throughout centuries.
- speaks to us of God’s assurance of
love and promise for salvation
which was revealed in Jesus Christ
Genesis
• most familiar books of the Bible
• "genesis" means "origin" or "birth"
• The first book in the Bible because
it deals with questions pertaining to
the beginning of the cosmos,
plants, animals, and humankind
Six days of creation and the Sabbath
First Day
• "let there be light"
• God separated the light from the
darkness
• God called the light day and the
darkness night
Second Day
• God separated the waters from the
domes
• God called the dome "sky"
Third Day
• "let the dry land appear"
• God called the dry land "Earth"
and the waters were gathered
together calling it “Sea”
• Then the earth brought forth
vegetation
Fourth Day
• separate day to night (let them be
for signs and for seasons and for
days and years)
• greater light = rule the day
• lesser light = rule the night - and
the stars
Fifth Day
• God created sea monsters and
every living creature that moves
(birds)
Sixth Day
• living creature of every kind
• cattle, creeping, and wild animals
• he created human kind to his
image and likeness
Seventh Day
• REST!!
Enuma Elish
• Babylonian Creation Epic
• 12 tablets written in Akkadian
language
• recovered from Henry Layard from
the ruins of Nineveh
Major points in the story
1. Everything started in the state of
primordial chaos
2. Apsu ( freshwater of springs and
rivers) and Tiamat (salt water)
mingled together.
3. From them, created Gods into
being- Lahmu (silt) and Lahamu
(slime, mud)
4. From the newly created God,
emerged new names Anshar
(whole sky), Kishar (whole earth),
Anu (sky god), and Ea (son of Anu,
god of storm and father of
Marduk)
 5. Apsu and Tiamat were annoyed by
the noise made by the increasing
number of Gods.
6. Apsu, with Mummu (his minister),
went to his wife, Tiamat wanting to
kill their children but Tiamat didn’t
want to.
7. Wise Ea acted cleverly by making
an incantation, a magic spell that
would bring Apsu to sleep, and
Mummu to daze. He then killed
Apsu.
8. A group of angry gods then
complained to Tiamat with these
she went on to avenge for her
husband through spawning
monsters
9. Marduk challenged Tiamat
spreading his net and catching her
then eventually killing her.
10. From the two eyes of Tiamat came
two rivers of Mesopotamia; the
Tigris and the Euphrates; from her
liver, the pole star; from her spittle,
the clouds, rain and fog; from her
tail, the Milky way; from her crotch,
the support of the sky
Chaos and Order
• The concept of primeval chaos
before creation was a common
mythical understanding among the
ancient people:
In Genesis
• we have the formless void and
darkness which covered the deep
(abyss)
In Babylonian Myth
• we have chaos and waters which
mingled together
Polytheism
• religious culture of the ancient
Near East
• ancient Mesopotamians feared the
gods because of their capacity for
violence and vengeance.
Monotheism
• only believing in one God like
Catholics
Six Days of Creation
• First, an Announcement ("God
said");
• Second, a Command ("let there
be");
• Third, a Report ("And so it was" or
"God made");
• Fourth, an Evaluation ("It was
very good"); [and]
• Fifth, a Placement in a temporal
framework (first day, and on and
on...)
GOD’S CREATION IS INTRINSICALLY
AND NATURALLY GOOD
Epic of Atrahasis
• Mesopotamian Epic
• man was created for the sole
purpose of carrying the toil of the
lower gods.
• Quite pessimistic, human beings
are simply slaves of the gods
Anthropomorphic Presentation of God
• Yahwist tradition
• human-like portrayal of God who is
intimate with human beings - He
even walked with Adam and Eve in
the garden, talked to them, and so
on and so forth).
Man
• in Hebrew is adam is the soil
• was vivified by God’s breath (in
Hebrew is ruah)
• adamah eventually reminds the
adam to return to adamar
• unlike the Mesopotamian concept
of man who was doomed to labor
for the gods as slaves, the
Israelite concept of man is far
more positive, and even,
special. Man was tasked by God
"to have dominion" over all
creation, and the power "to name"
the creatures
• "God created everything for man"
man was elevated by God, willed
from the start, to be God's
stewards
 • We find a God in Genesis who in the essential conviction that our
freely, deliberately and lovingly varied expressions always speak the
create and sustains. his creation. holy wild our gratuitous, loving Creator.

God creating both male and female

• female is inferior because she was
taken from the ribs of a man
(misconception)
• essentially refers to the unity,
complementarity, and equality of
man and woman, willed from the
very start by God

GOD IS NEITHER MALE NOR FEMALE

SINCE HE IS PURE SPIRIT

God’s Creation
• must never be understood as a
one-time event, but an ongoing,
sustaining creative act of God
• God was ultimately the cause of
everything, and from Him
everything received its life and
being.

Genesis
• Explained WHO
• Writers were more concerned on
narrating religious beliefs rather
than taking down notes on the
historical details of their life
• A testimony, a tribute to an all-
powerful, loving God who, out of
his immense gratuitous love,
exploded with so much goodness,
and love, and desired that every
creature, especially man, be made
sharers of the Divine life.

God's chief steward, and caretaker of

the entire creation. Having created in
the image and likeness of God, we are
then left with the inescapable and
imperative vocation of caring for
everything that God created--these
include ourselves, the people around
us, the environment, and the rest of all
creation. Also, and let our care find
expression in our passion and
advocacies, in Children's Protection
Program, Care for the Adults. and
Elderly, Campaign Against Iresponsible
Mining, and so many others, anchored