Introduction to the Bible

Unit Six: After the New Testament

2008-05-06T10:54:00.001-07:00

It is important for us to know that there are books that were not included in the New Testament.

Gnostic Gospels Lecture

It is helpful for us to understand the nature of gnosticism, a spiritual movement that is still influential today under different names. Darrell Bock has a helpful summary here. One of the most well known extra-canonical Gospels is the Gospel of Thomas. You can find Thomas on-line here.

English Bible Lecture

New Testament scholar Ben Witherington III has a helpful video resource on choosing a translation of the Bible that you can find here.

Questions For Discussion

Having read the Gospel of Thomas from the link provided, what is the difference between Thomas and Mathhew, Mark, Luke and John?

What is the difference between gnosticism and orthodox Christianity?

Do you think that the early church made the right decisions regarding the New Testament? Why?

What translation of the Bible do you use? Why?

What are the advantages of a literal translation?

What are the advantages of a less literal or even a paraphrase translation?

Unit Five: The New Testament

2008-02-28T11:34:00.000-08:00

Although all of the Bible is important to us, as Christians, our faith is really shaped by the New Testament. As we begin this study, you may be interested in the relationship between the New Testament and the Old Testament. Go to this link to get a perspective on that relationship.

New Testament Canon Lecture

Here is some more information about the canon for you to take a look at.

Gospels Lecture

Some Christians are concerned that the Gospels were written thirty or more years after the events. That concern is based on a lack of knowledge about oral cultures. Go to this link to learn more about oral cultures and the New Testament.

In our lecture, we saw that many scholars explain the material common between Matthew and Luke but absent from Mark as belonging to a source called Q.

This diagram gives a simple presentation of the issues and the relationship between the Gospels. The first column is Mark, the second is Matthew and third is Luke. 'M' represents material unique to Matthew and 'L' represents material unique to Luke. Not all scholars accept that explanation and you can find the other side here. Here is another article that deals with some of the differences between the Gospels.

Regarding the theory that Lazarus was the Beloved Disciple and the author of the Gospel of John, go to this link for more information. Go here for a link to a Youtube video on who wrote the Bible. I do not agree with all that is said and I think that the host misunderstands (or misrepresents) what the Bible scholar says, but I do think that it is a good introduction to the issues.

New Testament Lecture

Darrell Bock has an interesting post on the theme of suffering in the Book of Acts that you can read here. Ben Witherington has an interesting blog post on some themes in Paul that you can find here.

Questions for Discussion
Why do you think certain books were chosen to be in the New Testament and some were not?

Why do the Gospels come first in the New Testament, when they were written after Paul's letters?

How do you explain the similarities and differences between the Gospels? Does using sources contradict inspiration?

What are the differences and similarities between the Synoptic Gospels and the Gospel of John?

Why does the Christian Church rely so much on the Epistles of Paul?

Why would early Christians who were being persecuted be encouraged by the Book of Revelation?

Unit Four: Intertestamental Books

2008-02-15T18:58:00.000-08:00

This timeline will help you to understand the historical context of these books.

538-332 BC – Persian Period –
333 BC – Alexander the Great defeats Darius III
323 BC – Alexander dies and his kingdom is divided
283-246 BC – Greek translation of Torah in Egypt
175-164 BC – Antiochus IV becomes king of Syria
167 BC – Antiochus IV defiles the Jewish Temple
165 or 164 BC – Temple rededicated under Judas Maccabeus
40 BC – Herod the Great becomes king

Apocrypha Lecture

You can find the Apocrypha online here. For a taste of the Apocrypha, I would suggest that you read Susanna and 1 Maccabees. You can find some of the background of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah here.
One of the important things about 2 Maccabees is its value in understanding the development of the Jewish doctrine of the resurrection. Here is a helpful blogpost on this subject.

Pseudepigrapha Lecture

You can find an online version of the Pseudepigrapha here. Read the Story of Aseneth found here.

Dead Sea Scrolls Lecture

Some very helpful information on the Dead Sea Scrolls can be found here.

Questions for Discussion
Why do you think the Apocrypha is not in Protestant Bibles?

Why do you think the Apocrypha is in Catholic and Orthodox Bibles?

What value does the story of the Maccabees have for Christians today?

Why did the authors of the Pseudepigrapha not use their real names?

What is the significance of the New Testament book of Jude's use of the Pseudepigrapha?

How does the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls help our understanding of the Bible?

Unit Three: Old Testament II

2008-01-31T11:00:00.000-08:00

As we continue our study of the Old Testament, I thought you might be interested in this video on the accuracy of the Old Testament texts.

Former Prophets Lecture

You can find a helpful list of the kings of Israel and Judah here that might be worth printing off.

One of my favourite parts of 1 & 2 Kings is the Elijah stories. I wrote an article on Elijah for the American Journal of Biblical Theology that you can read here.

Latter Prophets Lecture

Please note that the ninth of the minor prophets is missing from your lecture notes. Please add in your notes:

9) Zephaniah = "The Lord Hides"
Date: 625 BC

"Be silent before the LORD God! For the day of the LORD is near, for the LORD has prepared a sacrifice, He has consecrated His guests." (Zephaniah 1:7, NASB)

Historical Time-Line

721 BC - Assyrians conquer northern kingdom of Israel
612 BC - Babylon conquers Nineveh (Assyrian Empire)
605 BC - Babylon exerts influence over Judah
597 BC - Babylon attacks Judah
586 BC - Babylon destroys Jerusalem and Temple
539 BC - Cyrus the Great conquers Babylon
538 BC - Cyrus releases Jews from Babylonian Captivity
536 BC - Work begins to rebuild Temple
516 BC - Second Temple is dedicated

You can find a helpful list of biblical prophets here that you might like to print off.

You can read an article arguing for the unity of the Book of Isaiah here.

Writings Lecture

Questions for Discussion
In what way are the Former Prophets prophetic?

Was David a good king or a bad king? In what way? (Read 2 Samuel)

Compare the prophets Elijah and Elisha (1 Kings 17 - 2 Kings 9). How are they similar or different?

How do you think the name 'Cyrus' appeared in the Book of Isaiah a hundred years before he was born? Why?

What is your favourite Psalm? Why?

Read the Song of Solomon and Ecclesiastes. Do you understand why the Jewish rabbis were unsure about these books?

Why do you think that God is never mentioned in Esther?

Unit Two: Old Testament I

2008-01-22T13:07:00.000-08:00

The Old Testament was the Bible that Jesus and the earliest Christians had and it is imperative that we have some understanding of it.

Old Testament Issues Lecture

Old Testament Canon Lecture

Old Testament Texts Lecture

For a Jewish tradition about the Greek translation of the Old Testament, go to this link which includes an on-line version of the Jewish writing The Letter of Aristeas.

Torah Lecture

Some people question Moses' authorship of the Torah. Go to this link for a brief introduction to the issues.

Go to this link for a discussion of the date of the Exodus out of Egypt.

Questions for Discussion
What is the difference between the Jewish and Christian order of the Old Testament?

Does a longer process of developing the canon (authoritative collection of books) fit with the doctrine of inspiration? How or how not?

Why would the New Testament writers quote from the Greek Bible rather than the Hebrew Bible?

Do you think the account of the flood in Genesis and that in the Epic of Gilgamesh are related? Why?

Do you believe that Moses wrote the entire Torah? Do you believe that Moses wrote Deuteronomy 34:5-12? How does that fit with Inspiration?

Josephus

2008-01-12T07:14:00.000-08:00

In Unit One, I mentioned that the Jewish historian Josephus gives us a context in which we can understand biblical history, especially in the first century. If you are interested in learning more about Josephus, you can find some useful information here.

Unit One: Introductory Issues

2008-01-10T13:55:00.000-08:00

I apologize for the quiet nature of the audio, if you turn your speakers up it should be quite clear. Please follow along with your lecture notes.

Revelation Lecture

For further information, go here for a discussion of types of revelation.

Inspiration Lecture

Go here for a discussion of inspiration by 19th century theologian A.A. Hodge.

Inerrancy Lecture

Interpretation Lecture

Ben Witherington has some interesting thoughts on interpretation here.
I highly recommend this book in understanding issues of interpretation.

Questions for Discussion
What does general revelation tell us about God? What does special revelation tell us about God?

What do you think the Apostle Paul thought he was writing as he began the epistle to the Romans?

What is the difference between the Bible and a book like C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity (or what ever your favourite religious book is)?

Imagine that a letter was discovered in a cave in Israel claiming to be by an eyewitness of the events from Mark 6:30-44. After eating his fill, he was somehow able to count the crowd and discovered that there were 3,652 people rather than the 5,000. Would you conclude that the story and therefore the Bible was mistaken and untrustworthy? Why or why not?

What does inerrancy mean to you?

How do you determine when something in the Bible is literal and when it is symbolic?

What do you find most confusing about the Bible?

These questions can be used for personal reflection or group discussion. I would also like to hear your comments and thoughts about what we have looked at here on this blog.

Introduction to the Bible Lecture Notes

2008-01-08T08:34:00.000-08:00

The lecture notes for this course are now on-line. It is recommended that you print them off in preparation for the lecture that will be posted next week.

Course Lecture Notes

How to Post a Comment

2008-01-08T07:49:00.000-08:00

It is strongly recommended that all students taking this course by Internet, post comments for each lecture. It can be as simple as saying "Yes, I read that" or as strong as "I totally disagree with you." You can leave questions, comments, ideas or information you have come across yourself.

How do you leave a comment? At the bottom of each lecture will be a link to comments. Click on that it will give you some options. If you have an account with Blogger/Blogspot, you can log in under that name and go from there. You can also choose "Nick Name" where you can type your name in. If you do not want to leave your name, choose "Anonymous." Then leave whatever comment that you would like. Once you have finished, type in the jumble of letters in the space provided for the word verification and click on "Publish your Comment."

I look forward to hearing what you have to say and I will do my best to answer your questions.

Welcome to An Introduction to the Bible

2008-01-05T10:12:00.000-08:00

Thank you for your interest in studying the Bible, its background and its importance for us today. The course will officially start on the week of January 15 but you are welcome to study at your own pace. Below you will find an audio welcome and a copy of the outline of the course. This will give you a sample of how the Internet version of the course will work. If you have any problems, please contact me immediately and I will do my best to get things working for you.

Welcome to an Introduction to the Bible

Course Outline