THEO I - Notes for Prelims

P R E L I M S Theology I 1
MAN’S SEARCH AND GOD’S REVELATION

THEOLOGY: (from two Greek words: Theos and Logos/logy)
Theos=God
Logy=Study / reason / science
Logos=meaning

Theology:
a. a science thatdeals about God (study of God)
b. Faith seeking understanding (by St. Anselm)
- systematic and organic study of what God has revealed and what believers have accepted.
c. Study of things related to God

One method of Theologizing / See – Discern – Act
or process how to do Theology (judge)

See – we perceive the reality around us through our human experiences
Discern – we judge with the use of our reason, guided by our conscience
Act – we use our freewill to do good and avoid evil.

Two Poles of Theology:
1. Human Experience
2. The Judeo-Christian Tradition

THE HUMAN PERSON - A Searcher
Human person –The Questioner ( homo –sapiens)
He asks existential questions such as Meaning of Life? Purpose of Life? Man’s Existential Questions:
Who am I? (identity)
What am I doing here? (mission)
Where do I go from here? (destiny)
He tries to find ANSWERS in Science (experimentation), Philosophy (reason), Human answers, Christian faith and others
The Christian Faith – leads us to the meaning of life.


JUDEO-CHRISTAN TRADITION – source of Christian Faith.

1. Judaism – Religion of the Jews Jews – people living in Judea (Judah)

Oral Tradition – handing down of their faith and traditions from one generation to generation.
Oral tradition continues to be passed on through the life of the Church.

Written Tradition – when some of these oral traditions came to be written down.
The Sacred Scriptures/ Bible is now a rich deposit of these traditions.
Thus, the Sacred Scriptures is not the only source of tradition.
The Sacred Scriptures does not contain all tradition.
What it contains is the written tradition.

Some Basic Considerations About the Jews

1. They are people in covenant with YHWH. (They are the chosen people of God)
2. They are Theocratic (people ruled by God; Ruler is God. Their Kings are Mashiah- anointed by God)
3. Their lives are centered on the Covenant and The Law. (The covenant – YHWH is their God, Israelites are His chosen people)
4. They have a strong Apocalyptic Expectation (The coming of the promised 2 Messiah at the end of time)

NOTE: For Judaism – Jesus Christ is not the Messiah. They are still waiting for the coming of the Messiah. (We Christians believe that Jesus is the Messiah.)

2. Christianity – a religion inspired by the Words and Deeds of Jesus

Words – ex: preaching
Public Ministry of Jesus -- Shows that Jesus is Deeds – ex. healing the Son of God,
The Messiah.

Jesus is fully human and fully divine, the mediator between God and men.
Jesus is the fullness or peak of God’s self – revelation to man.

Christianity – founded by the Incarnate Word, Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Christians – sons and daughters of God (based on the new covenant)
Condition – baptism

God’s Revelation – God revealed Himself in Creation, in the Sacred Scriptures, in the Church, in other Religions, and in our Human Experiences.

I. God’s will for man as revealed in the Old Testament

1. Creation – the first sign of God’s revelation
- human – peak of God’s creation (God’s image)
- Stewards of creation
- Task – develop himself and the world. (complete creation) through Work (perfect himself and the world).
2. God entered man’s history and made a covenant with His people
- began with Abraham – renewed by the prophets.
- Finally renewed by the Jesus Christ.
- Covenant – requires obedience to God’s law. (sign of fidelity to God).

II. God’s will for man as revealed by Christ (New Testament)
- Christ revealed and preached the KINGDOM. This was the center of His message and ministry. (build or spread the Kingdom).
- Jesus Christ is the agent, content, and goal of revelation.

Introduction to the Sacred Scriptures

Bible -- Biblia (Greek) – books
-- mini – library (contains many books)
-- collection of sacred books which Jews and Christians believed were written under God’s inspiration.
-- Collection of books written under the positive influence of God (Inspiration of the Holy Spirit) by men chosen by God at various times and places, and is recognized by the Church as Word of God.
-- “Word of God in words of men, written for us and for our salvation.” (by Pope John Paul II)

Word of God – must be treated with reverence
For our salvation – must be read, and lived

* God has spoken His final words in/through Jesus Christ.
(Jesus – is the “fullness” of God’s revelation)

* God’s self – revelation and offer of salvation is perfectly found in Christianity.
1. Authorship of the Bible 3
Main Author = God
Human authors – they wrote with God’s influence / inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
-- instruments of God. (they used fully their human powers. Their world-view and background also influenced their writings. The Bibile was not dictated by God.)

2. Inspiration of the Bible
- the human authors were chosen by God, inspired by God, (Holy Spirit) directed by divine presence (God’s power) to write that God wanted them to write – the truth
- The Truth – truth about our salvation
- called salvific truth/ message or religious truth/message.

3. Inerrancy of the Bible
- The Bible is free from formal error – the Bible has no error in terms of its Salvific Message / truth (or religious message /truth.
- No errors in terms of faith and morals
There may be errors but in terms of science (scientific errors).
Ex. in literary form like in spelling, ( ex. O.T. – no vowel.)
word – view (cosmology) – ex. the world is flat etc.

4. Canon of the Bible / Biblical Canon
- Canon – (from the Hebrew word – qaneh means measurer (standard)
- The list of books which passed the criteria or standard to be recognized as Inspired by the Holy Spirit or by God.
- List of books which the Church recognized as Inspired by God (Holy Spirit) and are standard / norm of faith and morals.

Inspired by the Holy Spirit
List of Books

Norms of Faith and Morals

a. Proto-canonical books – first list of books which were universally accepted as Inspired by the Holy Spirit (no difficulty in accepting its being inspired)
Proto=Greek means first
39 books of O.T. and 27 books of N.T.

b, Duetero – canonical books – second collection of books who’s inspired character were only accepted later (studied, disputed before accepted)
Deutero (Greek) means second
- There are seven
1. Tobit – parts of Esther 10:4 – 16-24
2. Judith
3. Sirach - parts of Danniel - Story of Susanna
4. Wisdom - Bel and the Dragon
5. Baruch - Song of the 3 young men
6. I Maccabees
7. II Macabees
• The Deutero – canonical books are considered by the Protestants as apocryphal

c. Apocryphal (hidden)– non-canonical books or uninspired
Ex - I Esdras
- II Esdras
- Prayer of Manasseh
Two apocalypse / apocalyptic books in the Bible
- Daniel – figure her is Nebu _______________________
- Apocalypse / Revelation - - Criticizing the Roman Occupation
TaNak – has 24 Books 4

Catholic Bible: 73 books Protestant Bible 66 Books

1. O. T. - - - -- 46 - - - 39
2. N.T. - - - - -27 - - - 27
----- -----
73 66
- Pseudo-epigrapha (false writings) – somebody is writing in place of another.
e.g. 1 Esdras

Archbishop Stephen Langton ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬-¬¬¬¬- in 1226, divided the Bible into chapters
Sanctes Pagnini -- in 1528 – divided the O.T into verses
Robert Stephanus -- in 1551 – divided the N.T into verses
Robert Estienne -- (Protestant editor)
Rev. Fr. Bernard Le Frois -- “Most deutero-canonical books were preserved in Hebrew but survived in Greek”
The Council of Trent (1545 – 63) -- defined all the books of O.T – 45 and N.T – 27 “

*The Protestant followed the canon of the Jewish Bible! They have the seven books but only as additional reading materials.

* Two proofs for the canonicity of the deuteron-canonical books --- Septuagint and
-- the Dead Sea Scrolls. ( 1947- 1950)


The Jewish Bible
The Books of the TaNak - 24
1. Torah (Law)
- Genesis 3. Kethubim – ( Writings )
- Exodus - Ruth
- Leviticus - Esther
- Numbers - Ezra - Nehemiah
- Deuteronomy - I Chronicles,
- II Chronicles
- Daniel
2. Neviim (Prophets) - Lamentations
A. Former Prophets - Job
- Joshua - Psalms
- Judges - Proverbs
- I Samuel, - Song of Songs
- II Samuel - Ecclesiastes
- I Kings,
- II Kings
B. Latter Prophets
- Isaiah
- Jeremiah
- Ezekiel
- The twelve minor prophets


The Catholic Christian Bible – 73, or 72, or 71
1. The Old Testament
a. Pentateuch -(Penta-- means five)
- Genesis
- Exodus
- Leviticus
- Numbers
- Deuteronomy
b. The Historical Books d. The Prophetic Books 5
- Joshua - Isaiah
- Judges - Jeremiah
- Ruth - Lamentations
- I Sammuel - Baruch*
- II Sammuel - Ezekiel
- I kings - Daniel
- II Kings - Hosea
- I Chronicles - Joel
- II Chronicles - Amos
- Ezra - Obadiah
- Nehemiah - Jonah
- Tobit* - Micah
- Judith * - Nahum
- Esther - Habakkuk
- I Maccabees* - Zephaniah
- II Maccabees* - Haggai
- Zechariah
- Malachi
c. The Wisdom Books
- Job
- Psalms
- Proverbs
- Ecclesiastes
- Song of Songs
- Wisdom*
- Sirach*

2. The New Testament
a. The Gospels d. Catholic Letters/Epistles
- Matthew - James
- Mark - I Peter
- Luke - II Peter
- John - I John
- II John
b. Acts of the Apostles - III John
- Jude
c. Apostolic Letters - Pauline and other Letters
- Pauline and other Letters e. Revelations
- Romans
- I Corinthians
- II Corinthians d. Catholic Letters/Epistles
- Galatians - James
- Ephesians - I Peter
- Philippians - II Peter
- Colossians - I John
- I Thessalonians - II John
- II Thessalonians - III John
- I Timothy - Jude
- II Timothy
- Titus e. Revelations
- Philemon
- Hebrews

Autographs – original materials (document) written by hand (no autographs has come down to us).

Scrolls – first written material (rolled and kept in jars), sheets of papyrus (6-9 inches, 50 ft. or ten meters. The words were written from right to left).
Language of the Bible 6
1. Hebrew (+ Aramaic) – O.T.
2. Greek – (Koine) – N.T

Versions of the Bible (compiled) (like the hexapla)
1. Massoretic Text – Hebrew text of the Bible (O.T. or the TaNaK.)

Translations:
2. Targum – Aramaic version of the O.T. (needed after the Babylonian exile)
551 BC

3. Septuagint – (LXX) Greek translation of the O.T.
(including the Deutero – canonical books)
– 300 to 100 BC -- greatly used by the Early Church
 by 72 scholars (Jews) in Alexandria, Egypt. There was a sort of miracle in the translation (Scholars worked independently but came up with exactly the same texts). (Ptolemy) – O.T. and N.T)
4. Vetus Latina – the old Latin translation
5. Vulgata – the revised Latin translation -- by St. Jerome

“Ignorance of the Bible is Ignorance of Christ.” (St. Jerome = Patron Saint of Biblical Scholars)

6. The English translations – ex. Douoay Rheims version – 1582 to 1610 – old English translation (antiquated).

Other English Versions:
NAB – New American Bible
RSV – Revised Standard Version
NRSV – New Revised Standard Version
KJB – King James Bible
CCB – Christian Community Bible
JB – Jerome Bible
ESV – English Standare Version
CEV – Contemporary English Version
TEV – Today’s English Version
LB – Living Bible

Filipino Bibles:
Y Dana anna Bagu nga Pakkasinabban anna Salmo Ira (Ybanag)
Ti Baro a Naimbag a Damag (Ilocano)
Ti Santa Biblia (Ilocano)
Marahay na Bareta (Bikol)
Maung a Balita (Pangasinan)
Ing Maayap a Balita (Pampango)
Baraan nga Balita (Samarenyo)
Maayong Balita nga Biblia (Hiligaynon)
Ang Biblia (Hiligaynon)
Ang Bag-ong Maayong Balita (Cebuano)
Maayong Balita (Cebuano)
Ang Biblia – Bugna (Cebuano)
Ang Biblia – Pinadayag (Cebuano)
Ang Biblia (Tagalog)
Magandang Balita (Tagalog)

* The Sacred Scriptures is not the only source tradition. It does not contain all tradition.
What it contains is the written tradition; the Church’s oral tradition continues to be passed on through the life of the Church.