Reinterpreting The Canon Of The New Testament

Christians affirm belief in both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. This is important because the New Testament presents Jesus as the incarnate Son of God which died and was resurrected for the sins of the world. Christians who examine the Jewish views of Scripture must [also] question the equal authority assigned to God’s written law and the interpretations and commentaries later added by rabbis. This has resulted in a constantly shifting body of teachings that are based on human traditions. 2 Peter 1:20-21 debunks this Jewish reasoning when it declares: “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”

Throughout time biblical scriptures have been interpreted differently by different religions, scholar’s, and languages. Many theologians have provided different interpretations based off their mentors and time they lived. Using works from the Sacra Pagina Series, Norton Bible scriptures, and excerpts from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and teaching of John Calvin this essay will show the vast differences of interpretations in just one biblical scripture let alone throughout the entire bible and its many interpretations.

The Bible is a sacred book of scriptures that Christians and people of the Jewish faith believe is the written account of the word of God. Many different authors composed the works that make up the Bible. It is said that Jesus Christ is the son God who was sent to be the Lord and Savior of all people. Many Christians and Jewish people believe the Bible is the way of life. Those who believe and follow the beliefs of the Bible and God’s word will have eternal life if they accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. The Bible has been in print and given to others for hundreds of years. The first King James Bible was published back in the year 1611. Within the King James Version, it used to contain what are now known as the canons. A biblical canon is a set or series of related books. The canons, within the King James Version, these were called the books of the apocrypha. Apocrypha means ‘hide away’ in Greek. The apocrypha is a collection of books that were located in between the Old Testament and the New Testament. For over 270 years, the books of the apocrypha were published in the King James Version of the Bible.

To understand how each group looks at scripture as well as other documents to back up their view of the law, grasping others perspectives can be different. Paula

The discovery of the books like the Gospel of Mary, the Coptic Gospel of Thomas, and the Secret Gospel of John makes the Bible look less like the sacred, holy texts of God the Father, and more like a film in the theaters. Chunks of the story that were shot but never put into the final edit sit on the cutting room floor. Some parts even change the whole story. All religions do this sort of editing, both consciously and unconsciously. Sometimes, holy books are just lost to time. Paper rots, stone erodes, and oral stories are forgotten, and that’s all there is to it. In some cases, however, the editing is done with knives, or with blood, or with political change. In the case of the parts of the Bible that didn’t quite make it

The topic of this essay is to discuss how reading and interpreting stories within the bible can change when looked at from a contextual point of view and how when looked at from a fundamentalist mind set how easily the message behind the passage that is being read can be misinterpreted entirely.

Approaching the Scriptures from a Jewish viewpoint, as discussed in class, is well supported in Brettler’s book. Through his preparatory teaching on what the Hebrew Bible in itself is, and how one should read it, a ground is laid. Explaining the difference between the “Christian Bible” and “Hebrew Bible” is a vital inclusion. The Christian Bible passages, called the Old Testament, are read with the belief that they lead into the New Testament. The Hebrew Bible does contain a New Testament, so one would not read it within the same frame of reference.

The New Testament of the Christian Bible has been believed, critiqued, scrutinized, and intensely studied since it came into existence. Men and women around the globe have argued and interpreted sections of the book in several different ways. Whereas the entire book rarely agrees with most people’s ethical or spiritual values, portions of the book have become entwined with social and legal codes in the modern world. Chapters 5-7 of the book of Matthew, one of four gospel books that chronicle the life of Jesus, are commonly referred to at the Sermon on the Mount.

As I read and comprehend how our scriptures were penned within the culture and period of their history, the more my eyes are opened to the similarities between words, phrases, thoughts and ways of thinking. Much of what we have in the Apostolic Scriptures (AS) is understood in similar and oftentimes divergent ways among diverse people groups as illustrated by our readings of 2nd Temple literature. As “churched” people we oftentimes assume and may have been taught all concepts contained within the “New Testament” are completely new; ideas, words and phrases in the text were birthed as its words were recorded by the authors. Yet, one comes to understand with proper study these words and ideas are not completely new, rather they are given the

The modern world saw three theological movements representing various view on the nature and authority of the scriptures. The Liberal, Evangelical and Neo-Orthodox movements all attempted to define what was true in relations to God, Jesus, and the scriptures and how it should be applied to the Christian’s life. Each movement also had their own view on the history of the scriptures and Jesus Christ.

A great example of this was demonstrated in the in-class conference, where many of the people, who read the exact same text, yet had such different interpretations that they could read the same stories of Sodom and Gomorra and have such differing interpretations of the story, ranging from against homosexuality to the power of women. This quotation from Riches also demonstrates a fundamental oddity of the Bible, that a text that was intended for good can be interpreted in a way that causes destruction and oppression. This reaffirms a theme of this course, that the Bible is read by people in a way such that it is consistent with their worldview. People look to sacred texts to affirm that they are righteous, and that their worldview is consistent with holiness. This is how dualities of interpretations can be created.

The most important things I enjoying reading this assignment is that it helps me to understand the New Testament context so that I can presentation an accurate culture background to my audience. Second, organize and develop my sermon effective when I am dealing with Paul’s letters. I think multiple times throughout these readings, my questions were answered by itself. The Hubbard text communication his point clear, and encouraging me readers to understand the New Testament. It helps and leads me through any issues that may arise with me or with any questions I may have. I am intimidating as I am first stand

The third school of interpretation is Traditionalism. Traditionalists maintain that the Bible is full of truth, God is revealed within the Bible and that it is inspired by the Holy Spirit. One of the key characteristics of their approach to the Bible is its emphasis on the need to understand the nature of the different types of literature within the bible. However, traditionalists would not accept the fundamentalist’s notion of inerrancy as many would acknowledge that there are mistakes in the Bible. These are seen as a reflection of both the historical context in which they are written and the human fallibility of the authors. As with Liberals, traditionalists believe that some aspects of the Bible need to be reinterpreted for today. Traditionalists place a lot of emphasis on the process of exegesis. However, after establishing the intended meaning of the author the next step in the traditional approach is the question of how it should be applied to Christian today. However, whereas fundamentalists believe that the true meaning of a text should be clear to each reader;

Before the gospels and Pauline epistles, early church Christians related to the Old Testament as Scripture and viewed their Christian walk as the fulfillment of the promises made to Israel from the Old Testament, which foretold of the coming age of the Messiah. The first New Testament Christians understood the importance of the Old Testament; it was their “Bible” they preached from. Just as in the early church, Christians today need the Old Testament for preaching and in which to reference and understand Christ’s purpose for why he came.

During the early history of the church, there was no such thing as a New Testament “canon.” The selection of books that were to be included or excluded from the texts used by the church was the responsibility of each individual church body, and thus varied greatly from location to location. Because there was no canon – (books considered