It is possible to write on the life of Jesus from the information gathered from the bible. I will be dividing my essay into three parts. In the first part of the paper, I will talk about the nature of the gospels, John’s views vs. the Synoptic, discuss if the authors of the gospels are eyewitnesses and how they used written sources. Also I will talk about the Q source. Then I will elaborate on the topic of how Matthew and Luke were similar. Then I will continue on by discussing how the Old Testament uses Moses, Samuel and Elijah to interpret Jesus, and finally whether or not the Sermon on the Mount happened. In the second part of my paper, I will talk about Jesus’s birth and childhood, his miracles, his resurrection, and what Jesus did to cure people, spirits and how they are interpreted to the prophet, magician and the mad man compared to Saul and Elijah. The final part of the paper I will talk about what Jesus talked about as regards to the Kingdom of God vs. the Kingdom of the Romans and what he intended by speaking of the end of the world. I will also speak of the reasons behind the Romans executing him. My sources for this paper will be the New Jerusalem Bible Readers edition as my primary source and lecture notes from Professor Trumbach.
As Scott Duvall and Daniel Hays state in Grasping God’s Word, every copy of the Bible today is a translation, “unless everyone wants to learn Hebrew and Greek (the Bible’s original languages)… (Duvall and Hays 23). This being the case, people may debate which translation is more accurate; however, the best way to understand the Bible is by reading several different translations and comparing them to one another. The main reason several translations helps people grasp the full meaning of Scripture is because some translations are word for word, which is the formal approach in translation and gives a reader the closest possible words from when the text was written. On the other hand, the more functional approach in translation is thought for
Let’s talk about the world about 2,000 years ago. It was a world where the mass of people were illiterate, taxes were extremely high, and the leaders would cheat and kill to feed their ever growing need for power. We all can relate to having a good storyteller in our lives, most were read to at night by their parents or are parents themselves that read to their children. What is the purpose of storytelling? It’s simple, comfort. A good story can ease your psychological unrest as well as offer a moral purpose. Sometimes you can even relate a story to your own life and offer an explanation to something you may be experiencing. This is exactly what the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were. They told their stories of Jesus to offer comfort to their people in a time when people could not pick up a story and read it themselves. It is part of human nature to have the desire for a good story. This paper will describe several events that were written by great storytellers in the bible.
When studying the Bible, it is important to understand its origins; for me, I I have become enlightened, but troubled after learning about the subject. I found the unit, as a whole, very important and a positive experience for me. But, with this comes much apprehension and confusion as to the strength of the Bible.
For Part 1 of this assignment, you will complete this worksheet by reviewing the "The Story of the Bible" "flags" and fulfill each writing requirement. http://lc.gcumedia.com/zwebassets/courseMaterialPages/cwv101_biblical-timeline-v1.1.php
The Bible is divided into two sections, the Old Testament and the New Testament. This paper mainly focuses on the Old Testament. The Old Testament has 39 books in total which is also subdivided into four categories namely; Pentateuch books (5 books), the historical books (12 books), the poetic books (5 books) and the prophetic books (17 books). The Old Testament books were written back in 1400 B.C. The Pentateuch books were written by Moses during his time in Canaan, while the other 34 books were also written by different authors at different stated time. The aim of this paper is therefore, to analyze the authorship, dating, content, outline, themes, and unique features of one book of the Old Testament, and the book chosen is the book of Leviticus.
Throughout the course of the semester, we have constantly talked about and expressed the idea of reading the Bible in a historical context. Picking out the pieces that coincide with evidence that has been found with archeological findings, the accuracy of dates, and important people. The critical study of the Bible is to look at the book as a piece of historical text. The use of our “historical lens” allows us to pick out to various pieces that appear to be factual. Using this analysis of looking at the Bible through our “historical glasses”, we can understand the true meaning of the Bible in its original historical setting.
Religion plays a critical role in the lives of many people across the world. Some of the responsibilities of following a religion include understanding its history and knowing the stories that have been passed down from generation to generation. However, it isn’t always clear about how historically accurate some of these stories are. While some of the accounts may in fact be true, it is possible that some of the people and stories found in the bible were written as a symbol, with the intention that the morals of the stories would be understood.
As Bart Ehrman states in Misquoting Jesus, “Not only do we not have the originals, we don’t have the first copies of the originals.” In fact, Ehrman’s book and his standpoint on the validity of the Bible translations we do possess caused tens of thousands of Christians to abandon their faith altogether. Wallace uses Bart Ehrman’s book to segue into a discussion concerning the two main attitudes concerning Bible translations that should be avoided: radical skepticism in the case of atheists or agnostics, and absolute certainty in the case of Christians. The reason absolute certainty must be avoided is because there is no translation today that claims to have it all solved. There are thousands of textual variants among manuscripts because there are so many manuscripts. To close, Wallace asks the audience if they are ready to abandon their faith simply because they aren’t sure, and finishes with this statement: “No
The history of how the Bible came into existence has been explored for centuries and is an active area of study today. There are many facets to the Bible and each has its own set of unique characteristics and teachings. The Old Testament is considered a contemporary guide for daily living, even though it was composed hundreds of years ago. Where did the Old Testament come from? What are some of the influences that shaped the Old Testament? What are the significant events of the Old Testament? In order to gain a better understanding of the Old Testament and its message to Christians, special consideration is given to its historical and cultural context, and to the major milestones in its development. Personal application of the teachings offered in this section of the Bible should be the aspiration of all Christians today.
In biblical study, Narrative Criticism has been developed against the evolutionary models of historical criticism, which has been mainly focused to reenact the position and thought of the original writer and audience through certain ‘scientific and analysis of biblical material’. This discipline is the study of a narrative text most likely similar to any narrative literature. It is sub discipline of interpretation method under literary criticism, which emphases on ‘the literary form or shape of the text in its final form’ as pointer of what the texts meant. There is general agreement among the various disciplines of literary approach, that they all consider Scripture as a ‘literary document’, rather than a ‘historical’. These various disciplines,
When studying any piece of literature there are many different methods and techniques that can be used. The Bible, in specific, is often referred to as a source of moral code, hope, and answers to social, ethical, and political questions. However, this incredibly influential book can also be read as if it were any other novel. The events, settings, and characters can all be evaluated for what they are, forgetting the notion that they are from a religious text. This approach is called narrative criticism. When regarding to the Bible in this way, we do not need to know any historical information or focus on seeking a deeper theological meaning. Instead, the stories are evaluated in terms of how
The process by which the English Bible, as it is known to the English culture today, was compiled is an extraordinary thing to see. The Bible consists of two parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament. The process by which both Testaments were written and then canonized into one book transpired over a period of many years. Once the canonization of the Bible officially came to an end, it was translated into English. Since then, many versions of the modern Bible have been made. Since the individual books of the Bible became scattered as they were written, people set forth to preserve God’s Word by compiling them into one
Many people find fault in the fact that the Holy Bible has been written and translated so many times; however, the multiple translations offer a way to validate passages of the biblical text. For example, Isaiah 40:1-11 appears virtually the same throughout four different translations of the Bible. After comparing the King James, New Revised Standard, English Standard, and New International Versions I found no major discrepancies and only a few minor changes, such as the use of synonym or the inversion of a verse. For example, v. 4 says “Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain” (KJV). However, the term “exalted” was often replaced with a synonym such as, “lifted up” (NRSV, ESV), or “raised up” (NIV). All three terms mean the same thing the translators simply chose a different way of expressing the way that a valley would be filled in preparation for the Lord. Another example of the use of synonyms would be in v. 6, “The voice said, Cry. And he said, what shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field” (KJV). Whereas, in other versions the word “goodliness” is exchanged for “constancy” (NRSV), “beauty” (ESV), or “faithfulness” (NIV). In all four translations the flower is compared to a fleeting human characteristic resulting in the same idea even if the wording is slightly
It is important that we understand and preserve the many different languages the Bible is translated into because they are disappearing at an alarming rate. Through these translations we may find a deeper meaning and understanding. Jost Zetzsche stated it best when he said, “I believe that translations of Scripture are not secondary fill-ins but as integral part of the ongoing and primary expression of God’s message in written form.”