God's Self-Revelation
All religion in some fashion seeks to make known divine communication to humanity. In the Old Testament, the God of Israel made the divine manifestly known through creation, through the “mighty acts” by which the Lord God saved Israel, and through the words spoken by the prophets. “To this people which he had acquired for himself, he so manifested through words and deeds as the one true and living God that Israel came to know by experience the ways of God with men” (Dei Verbum, 11, Second Vatican Council). And then Jesus, the beloved Son, the Word made flesh dwelt among us to reveal the fullness of God, the story of which is revealed in the New Testament.
To fully understand the Bible as God’s revelation, however, we cannot think of it merely as a book for people living two thousand years in the past. While it is indeed a record of the understanding of a communal faith lived and witnessed and passed on by a culturally unique people or group, the Bible still speaks to modern people. An so we must discern, when we read about the experience of Israel or of the early Christians, the living God still revealing God's self, even today.
When we say that the Scriptures are the Word of God we basically mean that they are inspired by God as a self-revelation. We would do well to remember, however, that the “Word of God” means, at one and the same time, a variety of overlapping concepts which include God’s self-communication, the events of salvation history, the spoken word of the prophets, God’s self-communication in Jesus Christ, the Apostolic proclamation (kerygma), the written words of Scripture, and the ongoing preaching of God’s message. Moreover, while understood as inspired by God, the Scriptures are also clearly the work of human authors, and they contain human words with all the properties of human words, including that they are culturally and historically conditioned.
The Canon
The Greek word canon (derived from the Hebrew qaneh) means “rod” or “bar", a tool used for measuring. In the earliest days of the Christian movement, canon would primarily be used to describe the rule or norm of faith (regula fidei) by which faithfulness to the apostolic preaching was measured. By the 4th century, canon would also come to describe a collection of writings with common ecclesiastical usage.
The canon as we now have it is a curated collection, selected and organized by a measure of expert knowledge and a recognized set of criteria. The first layer of curation involved the storyteller(s) deciding which stories to retell and the import they would impart to them. A second layer of curation involved Jewish and Christian leaders deciding which books to include, informally at first but eventually in more official and formal ways.
For Anglicans, the canon of Scripture contains Old Testament, Apocrypha (deuterocanon), and New Testament books:
All religion in some fashion seeks to make known divine communication to humanity. In the Old Testament, the God of Israel made the divine manifestly known through creation, through the “mighty acts” by which the Lord God saved Israel, and through the words spoken by the prophets. “To this people which he had acquired for himself, he so manifested through words and deeds as the one true and living God that Israel came to know by experience the ways of God with men” (Dei Verbum, 11, Second Vatican Council). And then Jesus, the beloved Son, the Word made flesh dwelt among us to reveal the fullness of God, the story of which is revealed in the New Testament.
To fully understand the Bible as God’s revelation, however, we cannot think of it merely as a book for people living two thousand years in the past. While it is indeed a record of the understanding of a communal faith lived and witnessed and passed on by a culturally unique people or group, the Bible still speaks to modern people. An so we must discern, when we read about the experience of Israel or of the early Christians, the living God still revealing God's self, even today.
When we say that the Scriptures are the Word of God we basically mean that they are inspired by God as a self-revelation. We would do well to remember, however, that the “Word of God” means, at one and the same time, a variety of overlapping concepts which include God’s self-communication, the events of salvation history, the spoken word of the prophets, God’s self-communication in Jesus Christ, the Apostolic proclamation (kerygma), the written words of Scripture, and the ongoing preaching of God’s message. Moreover, while understood as inspired by God, the Scriptures are also clearly the work of human authors, and they contain human words with all the properties of human words, including that they are culturally and historically conditioned.
The Canon
The Greek word canon (derived from the Hebrew qaneh) means “rod” or “bar", a tool used for measuring. In the earliest days of the Christian movement, canon would primarily be used to describe the rule or norm of faith (regula fidei) by which faithfulness to the apostolic preaching was measured. By the 4th century, canon would also come to describe a collection of writings with common ecclesiastical usage.
The canon as we now have it is a curated collection, selected and organized by a measure of expert knowledge and a recognized set of criteria. The first layer of curation involved the storyteller(s) deciding which stories to retell and the import they would impart to them. A second layer of curation involved Jewish and Christian leaders deciding which books to include, informally at first but eventually in more official and formal ways.
For Anglicans, the canon of Scripture contains Old Testament, Apocrypha (deuterocanon), and New Testament books:
Old Testament * - indicates the Apocrypha |
New Testament |
Torah (Pentateuch) - Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy |
Gospels & Acts - Matthew, Mark, Luke, John Acts of the Apostles |
"Historical" Books - Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1-2 Samuel, 1-2 Kings, 1-2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (incl. additions*), Judith*, 1-2 Maccabees* |
Pauline Letters - Romans, 1-2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1-2 Thessalonians, Philemon, 1-2 Timothy, Titus |
Prophets - Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel (incl. additions*), Baruch* The Twelve: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi |
Catholic Letters & Other Writing - 1-2 Peter, James, Jude, 1-2-3 John Hebrews (a sermon), Revelation (Apocalypse) |
Wisdom Literature & Psalms - Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Lamentations, Wisdom*, Tobit*, Sirach* |
* |
Translations
Because the Scriptures are the work of human being in historical context, they were written originally in either Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek. A good number of solid English translations exist, a number of which have been authorized for use in the Episcopal Church. At Christ the King Episcopal Church, we use the New Revised Standard Version for Sunday Worship and, generally, for group Bible study.
Because the Scriptures are the work of human being in historical context, they were written originally in either Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek. A good number of solid English translations exist, a number of which have been authorized for use in the Episcopal Church. At Christ the King Episcopal Church, we use the New Revised Standard Version for Sunday Worship and, generally, for group Bible study.