The Bible in 50 Days Year 2 — 35 Books Rev. Chris Dowd, August 2020 Week 1 — Re-introductions, Overview, How We Read the Bible Recommended translation: New Revised Standard Version Recommended Bible: The Wesley Study Bible (cokesbury.com) Recommended reading: What Is the Bible? How an Ancient Library of Poems, Letters, and Stories Can Transform the Way You Think and Feel About Everything, by Rob Bell Syllabus — not cumulative! What the Bible Is • 66 books in Protestant Bibles • Written over the course of 1500 years or so • By we-don’t-know-how-many-for-sure authors and editors • A library — “ta biblia” = the books How It Functions • Inspired, written by human authors (we’re not literalists; we don’t believe “sola scriptura” like the Reformers) • What it’s authoritative for — “All things necessary for salvation” (Articles of Religion V; Confession of Faith IV) • Four sources and criteria — how we approach our theological task • Revealed in Scripture • Illumined by Tradition • Tested by Reason • “Vivified” in our Experience Week 2 — Gospels Review Background • euangellion = “good news;” used for victory in battle, emperor’s birth and presence • Timeline — Jesus’ ministry (first third of 1st century); apostolic preaching (2nd third); written gospels (final third) • Not biography; not history; a theological document meant to edify the faithful and bring new people to the faith • Each of the four have different theological emphases, and differ in some details • Written to be heard; 1st century was an oral culture — no more than 5% of the people were literate Two-Source Theory • Synoptic Gospels • Mark was the earliest Gospel and a source for Matthew and Luke • Mark — 661 verses; Matthew — 1,068; Luke — 1,149 • 80% of Mark is in Matthew; 65% is in Luke — “the Triple Tradition” • 220-235 verses shared by Matthew and Luke, not in Mark — “the Double Tradition” (Q) • John is something different altogether The Four Evangelists • Mark — 66-70 AD • written to a persecuted community; focus on redemptive suffering • Matthew — 80-90 AD • Greek speaking Jewish Christian; emphasizes Jesus’ teachings and fulfillment of Jewish prophecy; Sermon on the Mount • Luke — 80-90 AD • our greatest storyteller; themes of reversal and assurance; emphasis on the Holy Spirit • John — 90-110 AD • highest Christology; highly symbolic language; written to a community being rejected by the synagogue Week 3 — Esther Background • Set in the diaspora during the reign of King Xerxes, 486-465 BC • Echoes of the stories of Joseph (Gen 39-41) and Daniel (Dan 1-6 • Part of the Megilloth, the scroll of five short books read on feast days (Feast of Purim) • Two-day festival • “Blest be Mordecai” • “Cursed by Haman” • No direct mention of God • Plot-driven (as opposed to character-driven) narrative • Providence and human initiative combine for triumph of good over evil • Only book of the Old Testament not found in the Dead Sea Scrolls • Perhaps because the community at Qumran was disdainful of how raucous Purim had become Characters • Esther and Mordecai — complicated heroes • King — stock background figure • Haman (Persian prime minister) — the villain Themes • Importance of protecting the faith (and the faithful) • Divine help for persecuted faithful • Dangers of syncretism • Vengeance Week 5 — Job Background • Part of the wisdom tradition (see wisdom poem in ch 28) • Two or three sources — a poem bracketed by a prose prologue and epilogue; Elihu section may be a third source • Probably composed in its final form during or after the Exile • Set during the period of the patriarchs or earlier • Cattle and servants • Monetary unit from Genesis 33:19 • Job’s three friends and the enemy marauders (Sabeans and Chaldeans) are from era of the patriarchs • No priests to make sacrifices The Story • Prose prologue, ch 1-2 — Job loses a bet between God and “The Accuser” • Poem, ch 3-42:6 • Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar take turns trying to convince Job of his sin and God’s justice; Job defends himself repeatedly (ch 3-31) • Elihu shows up and fusses at all four of them (ch 32-37) • God and Job get into it and Job finally understands (ch 38-42:6) • An entirely unsatisfying (?) prose epilogue (42:7-17) Themes • The problem of theodicy • The problem of undeserved suffering • Counterpoint to theology of Deuteronomy (do good/get good, do bad/get bad) • Question of “The Accuser”: Is there such a thing as disinterested righteousness? Week 6 — The Pastoral Epistles Background • 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus — known as the Pastorals since 18th century • Probably written in the last decades of the First Century • Paul’s concerns — faith, law, justification, righteousness • Pastorals’ concerns — godliness, sound teaching, church order • Shift from evangelical fervor to care of evangelized communities Themes • Church leadership • Church order • Sound teaching/doctrine • Relationship of Church to Culture Week 7 — The Psalms Background • Written over the course of centuries • “Tehillim” — praises • Intended to be accompanied by music and sung • Helpful analysis in the discipline of form criticism • Boadt — “a vision of the just person at prayer” (p. 279) Organization • Book I, Psalms 1-41 — early collection of Davidic hymns (Yahweh) • Book II, Psalms 42-72 — northern collection (from Israel, the Northern Kingdom; Elohim) • Book III, Psalms 73-89 — collection from the temple • Book IV, Psalms 90-106 — royal collection, perhaps for New Year’s • Book V, Psalms 107-150 — second, expanded Davidic royal collection Types • Hymns of praise • Hymns of thanksgiving • Individual laments • Community laments • Royal psalms (honoring either Yahweh or the earthly king as his deputy) • Wisdom psalms Week 8 — Hebrews Background • Anonymous author (scholars have proposed Barnabas, Apollos, Priscilla) • “Hebrews” was title assigned by scribes in 2nd century, reflecting its (presumed) intended audience • Probably written to second generation (2:3) Christians in Rome who who experienced persecution • Elaborate theology reflects mid- to late-1st century (after 60 AD, quoted by 1 Clement in 95 AD) • More a sermon than letter (13:22 — “words of exhortation”) • Among most sophisticated Greek in NT, among most sophisticated theology in the New Testament • Septuagint (Greek translation of the Old Testament)• Parallelism of Hebrewinterpreted poetry in light of faith in Christ Themes • Direct access to God through Christ • Confidence through faith • Perseverance in persecution • High Christology • Christ in priestly role • Atonement Week 9 — Proverbs Background • Definition of wisdom: “The reasoned search for specific ways to ensure personal well-being in everyday life, to make sense of extreme adversity and vexing anomalies, and to transmit this hard-earned knowledge so that successive generations will embody it.” — Old Testament Wisdom: An Introduction by James L. Crenshaw, p. 3 • Attributed to Solomon • Includes sayings that date as far back as the Sumerians in 3000 BC • Proverbs as we receive it includes later additions and final editing after the Exile Outline 562 775 7879 • Prologue (post-exilic) — 1-9 • Proverbs of Solomon — 10:1-22:16 • “The Sayings of the Wise” — 22:17-24:34 • Proverbs of Solomon recorded under Hezekiah (2 centuries later) — 25-29 • Sayings of Agur and Lemuel — 30-31 Themes • Fear of the Lord • Character formation through a wide variety of topics • Woman Wisdom and Woman Folly Week 10 — James Background • Definition of wisdom: “The reasoned search for specific ways to ensure personal well-being in everyday life, to make sense of extreme adversity and vexing anomalies, and to transmit this hard-earned knowledge so that successive generations will embody it.” — Old Testament Wisdom: An Introduction by James L. Crenshaw, p. 3 • Christian wisdom literature • An essential text to John Wesley and Wesleyan piety • Raymond Brown — “the most socially conscious writing in the New Testament” • Attributed by tradition to James, the brother of Jesus • Was martyred in the years before the outbreak of the Jewish War, 66-70 AD • Letter probably written in the 80s or 90s Themes • Christian living • Works and faith • Social concerns Week 11 — Ecclesiastes Background • Wisdom tradition, attributed to Solomon • Most scholars date it very late — 300-200 BC • In Hebrew, “Qoheleth” = “teacher/preacher” • Includes variety of wisdom forms — proverbs, parables, admonitions • “…it teaches the great gulf between the transcendent God and our human striving to understand and so control him. In the end, Ecclesiastes’ message is one with that of Job — trust and surrender yourself to God’s loving care even if you cannot know where it will lead.” (Lawrence Boadt, Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction, p. 484-485) Themes • Life’s limits and contradictions • Realism/skepticism/pessimism (?) • Focus on the present Week 12 — 1 and 2 Peter Background • Both most likely pseudonymous; 1 Peter 70-90 AD • Written to a church wrestling with its place in a culture with very different values • Romans mistrusted “foreign” religions, believing they would lead to insubordination within the home and disloyalty to the state (or divided loyalty at best) • Christian moral standards were much stricter than pagan culture • 1 Peter is an encouragement, including in what ways to assimilate • 2 Peter is written as a final testament, and a warning about what not to accommodate • Some scholars believe 2 Peter was the last of the New Testament books to be written (Brown — 130 AD) Themes • 1 Peter • Encouraging Gentile converts (alienation vs persecution)