Welcome to the Bible

by Vicki K. Black, Peter Wenner

Overview

New Episcopalians may be nervous about opening the Bible; others simply don't know how to begin. An often-overlooked gift of the Episcopal Church is that the texts and doctrines of the Bible are embedded in its prayers, liturgies, and creeds. Making that knowledge explicit and placing it in context can open the way for further and more in-depth study.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780819222367
Publisher:	Church Publishing, Incorporated
Publication date:	04/01/2007
Series:	Welcome to
Pages:	122
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Vicki K. Black is a writer, editor, and book designer. She is the author of Welcome to the Bible, Welcome to the Book of Common Prayer, and Welcome to the Church Year, three popular church titles all published by Morehouse. She and her family live in Maine.

Peter Wenner is an Episcopal priest in the Diocese of Massachusetts. He lives in Newton, Massachusetts.

Table of Contents

Introduction     1
The Bible as the Church's Book     3
Encountering the Bible in an Episcopal Church     4
The Bible's Story, Our Story     7
Why Read the Bible?     11
Questions for Reflection and Discussion     13
What is the Bible?     14
What Do We Mean by "Scripture"?     15
The Development of the Canon     17
Major Sections of the Christian Bible     20
The Literature of the Bible     21
The Hebrew Scriptures     22
The Christian Scriptures     28
The Apocrypha     32
Questions for Reflection and Discussion     35
How Do We Know What the Bible Says?     37
The First Interpreters     38
Different Languages, Same Scriptures     39
The Bible in English     42
Different Cultures, Different Interpretations     44
The Development of Christian Interpretation     47
New Times, New Interpretations     51
The Value of Biblical Criticism     53
Questions for Reflection and Discussion     56
The Bible in the Church's Life     57
Authority and Controversy     61
Tradition as anInterpreter of Scripture     63
Reason as an Interpreter of Scripture     66
The Bible's Authority Today     69
Questions for Reflection and Discussion     74
The Bible in the Prayer Book     75
Scripture in Episcopal Worship     77
The Lectionary     84
Interpreting the Bible in Worship     87
Sermons as Biblical Interpretation     92
Questions for Reflection and Discussion     94
Reading the Bible Again for the First Time     95
Daily Offices     97
Reading Through a Book of the Bible     99
Group Study     101
Some Methods of Bible Study     102
Lectio Divina     102
Three Senses of Scripture     104
African Bible Study     106
Thematic Studies of Scripture     107
Literature Studies     109
The Bible in the Arts     110
Just Do It     111
Questions for Reflection and Discussion     112
Notes     113
Resources     116