Wednesday February 12th 2014

Class announcements:

NO CLASS NEXT WEEK for half-term.

Next class February 26th.

March 5th we will have a field trip to the British Museum to see amazing Biblical artifacts!

From today's study:
MORE HISTORY OF THE BIBLE!!

Why do we believe this book, the Bible, is actually the word of God?

If someone asks you that question, how would you respond?  Would you be prepared to respond?  For some weeks our lessons are examining the authority of the Bible.  Jill gave great archaeological evidence 2 weeks ago, last week we considered the gospels as eye witness testimony, and this week we are looking at the actual physical manuscripts - the actual book itself and its history.

To look at the Bible's validity requires a fusion of many different disciplines.

History-Literature-Archaeology-Science-Spirituality-Anthropology-Sociology

Even scholars are overwhelmed by all the unique aspects of the Bible.  So, when you feel lost, or just like it's too much, take heart - even the academics struggle to take it all in.  Luckily, they do the work for us - but it is massive - the volumes and volumes about it all...but it is fascinating.  In gathering the information today, I decided to give some broad essentials and then look at some specific examples of manuscripts - perhaps which you can go and have a look at for yourself.

Have you ever considered whether or not we are reading a Bible that represents what the original writers intended/wrote?  How many of you are reading an original copy in Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek?  None of us.

The original scriptures would have been written in Hebrew (the Old Testament in particular) and on papyrus - what we are reading is a copy of a copy of a copy of a copy….etc...how can we trust this version as reliable?

Some vocabulary -

A scroll is a book made of flattened papyrus plant, parchment or animal skins rolled around sticks at both ends.

Papyrus is a tall plant that grows in water, from which paper can be made.  Much of the early biblical material was papyrus.  It was relatively cheap but very fragile and not durable.

Manuscripts - pieces of HAND written text

Codex - manuscript book of an ancient biblical text.  The process was pioneered by Christians to replace the scrolls on which the Scriptures were written, and is considered to be the most important advance in the history of the book prior to the invention of the printing press.

The facts - the facts are that we have a massive, massive amount of manuscripts - they continue to uncover more manuscripts even now. Some 25,000 manuscripts - more than any other ancient text!

Most of the stories would have been orally preserved, originally.  Doesn't that mean that there would have been errors, like in the telephone game? NO!

Not for the Jews - they were commanded by God to Meditate on the law day and night (Joshua 1:8) - most of them would be able to recite the Pentateuch with amazing accuracy.  Just like some kids today could tell you the story of Little Red Riding hood or Jack and the Beanstalk.  If someone told it with error, there would be objections.

The discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls proved that the text had not changed over nearly 1000 years.  These oldest fragments of OT that we have date to 200BC.  The story of the Dead Sea scrolls is fascinating.  In 1946, a young Arab shepherd boy was herding his goats. Two of his goats wandered off into a cave.  He threw a rock into the opening and heard pottery breaking, which led him to discover clay jars with scrolls.  That began the unearthing of a massive amount of manuscript in that area - in caves near the Dead Sea. After finding these manuscripts, scholars were able to prove that the text of the Bible had changed very little over the past thousand years.  Not all the manuscripts or fragments are Biblical - some are community scrolls. So it was an amazing find indeed!

"Cave 4" - had over 15,000 fragments

The Isaiah Scroll was found relatively intact and is 1000 years older than any previously know copy of Isaiah, and is almost exactly as the book reads today.

The New Testament was written by 100AD, and we have many many fragments of ancient texts.

One of which you can go and see.

Right here in London.

The Codex Sinaiticus (most of it anyway) is housed in the British Library.  It dates to about 350AD, and is hand written in Greek on parchment (skins of donkeys or antelopes).  It is the oldest complete Bible in the world.  

This book has been examined so scientifically that they can see where the animals (from whose skin the book pages are formed) were bitten by insects.  

Have any of you been to Ireland?  Or will you be going?  If you do, be sure that you go and see the Book of Kells.

The finest medievial book in the world can be found in Dublin, at Trinity College.  The book of Kells is a masterpiece of Western Calligraphy and is considered Ireland’s finest national treasure.  The book was meticulously written by monks in about 800AD, and following a Viking raid was thrown into a ditch, then recovered minus the gold and jeweled cover, and stored in Kells until it was offered to Trinity college in 1661, where it has been housed ever since.  

So we have all these manuscripts, then the stories are true?  If that is our argument, then does that mean, because there are so many copies of Aesop’s fables, that they then are true?  

No - obviously...the PURPOSE of writing is key in all of this.

Well there is the difference in the purpose of the literature.  Why were the stories written?  For pleasure?  Or to make a record?  This is where we connect to last week’s lesson and the importance of understanding that the New Testament was written as Eye Witness Testimony.  History.  Letters depicting what was happening at a certain point in time.  These were records.  Documents.  

From all these manuscripts, we can be certain that the Bible has changed - but not much - over time.  Of course there are a huge number of translations available - variations even between our Bibles - but the overall meaning and intent is the same.

66 books, written by more than 40 authors inspired by God over the course of 1500 years.  And one consistent theme: God’s love for people and his plan for redemption through Jesus.

And it is very much today what is was almost 2000 years ago.

That is unbelievable.  

TIMELESS TRUTH!!

The History of the Bible...it’s absolutely massive, incomprehensible, and it’s fascinating.  

Wednesday February 5th, 2014

Lesson 6 

God's Amazing Book

Is God Really the Author of this Book?

The Witness of Scripture

Eye Witness Testimony - What is it and why is it important when we are talking about the Bible?
When we pick up our Bible, we think of it as a big book.  I think of it as a HUGE book - daunting, sometimes overwhelming, but always, always teaching.  But it is more than that.  We've talked before, in our class, about how it is actually a library.  But that library isn't just one filled with all different kinds of mini-books.  That library actually contains documents, records, and letters.  Many of the documents are what we consider "eye witness testimony" accounts.

So for today's class, we wanted to get everyone thinking about what it means that the Gospels are eye witness accounts.

They tell us what the writers saw, experienced, and witnessed.

In a judicial court, eye witness testimony can be the most powerful aspect of a case.  Calling an eye witness to the stand carries great ramifications for any courtroom trial.

And as we read the Bible, we must consider the Gospels to be just that - eye witness testimony.

This truly can revolutionize the way we understand the Gospel stories.  If you doubt that they represent eye witness testimony, I encourage you to read any of the literature which details the reasons it can be nothing less....

Here are just a few titles to recommend:
Letters to a Skeptic (Boyd)
The Case for Christ (Strobel)
Jesus and the Eyewitnesses (Bauckham)
Mere Christianity (CS Lewis)

The arguments take up volumes and volumes of literature.
Get one of those books and read it for yourself.

But never, ever forget:  when we are reading the Bible, we should imagine reading hand-written letters, by people who lived with Jesus, people whose contemporaries were there when the writings first appeared, as the story first circulated, as the Good News spread.  The writings that changed the world.

We will NOT have class on the 19th of February because of the school calendar half-term break.
For next week: Study 7
See you then!















.

Wednesday January 29th, 2014

LESSON 5

God's Amazing Book

Is God really the author of this book?

2 Timothy 3:16-17
"All scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness"

Today's lesson examined the authority of the Bible.

Our wrap up talk beautifully shared many of the critiques of the Bible and then gave archaeological evidence that has been discovered - most of it in the past century - which disproves those critiques.

Paraphrasing from the wrap up talk:
"The more they dig up out of the ground, the more evidence is found that the Bible is true".

"When someone wants to challenge you regarding scripture, a Christian belief, or argues the Bible just isn't true or Jesus was just some legend, challenge them to read it for themselves, and then set aside a time to discuss with them.  We don't need to defend ourselves, the Bible does just fine on it's own."

....wonderful thoughts about the authority of the Bible.

We were also encouraged to visit the Holy Land in Israel as well as go to see artifacts here in the museums of London from Biblical times.  In fact, we are going to plan a "field trip" during an upcoming class where we will have a guided tour of the Biblical artifacts in the British Museum.  Don't miss it!!

Finally, this is an excellent time to be reminded that we welcome all backgrounds, denominations, nationalities, ethnicities and all women to be part of our group.  We also encourage questions and we know that sometimes we may not agree on certain points.  Our servant team is made up of humble women - none of who have any sort of seminary background or training in religion.  We are just women who want to study God's word.  We do not pretend to be perfect, in fact, we can boast that we are full of faults and unequipped to be running this class.  It is God's class, not ours.  We simply do our best.  That is all we can ask.  If you have any concerns or issues, please do not hesitate to ask, inquire, and disagree.  When an individual, who is part of our group of women, speaks on a topic, gives a devotion, shares her testimony, or gives a wrap-up talk, she is speaking only of her own experience, and her opinions do not always represent the group as whole.  We are made up of a variety of very diverse women!!  Please respect our differences.  We pray that everyone will feel welcome, and when you sense differently, we appreciate you letting us know so that we can become sensitive and more Christ-like.

After all, the greatest commandment is:
from Matthew 22:37-39
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind.  This is the first and most important commandment.  The second most important commandment is like this one. And it is, “Love others as much as you love yourself.”

We want you to feel loved and welcomed!

I'd like to paraphrase/summarize a great point from an author I respect who says:
People today do not necessarily want historical evidence in support of the life of Jesus and the truth of the Bible; they want, more importantly, to see some signs of life and love among his followers.

Wednesday January 22nd, 2014

LESSON 4 

THE NEW TESTAMENT PART 2

Choose Christ

Choose to grow in Christ

Choose to Endure in Christ

The letters and epistles of the New Testament - general information:

An epistle is an artistic literary form that is intended for the public.

Letters are for a specific person or persons

Some are personal in nature, others seem more for a public audience.  

All are from the 1st century, and all were written for a specific purpose….which is curious, we do not always understand the setting in which the letters were intended.  It is sort of like hearing only one side of a phone conversation.  For example, What was going on in Corinth that caused Paul to write 1 Corinthians?  How does he know what is going on there and what is his relationship with the people?

--The Corinthians were mostly Gentiles although there were some Jews, they are intelligent and proud, Paul rebukes them on many occasions - for division within the church, moral issues, and conflicts among believers.

Many of the letters/epistles have a similar format:

--name of the writer

--the recipient

--greeting “Grace and peace to you from God our Father”

--prayers of thanksgiving or wishes

--body of the letter (with advice, cautions, testimonies)

--final greetings and farewells

Easy to interpret and agree upon the MAIN points of this part of the Bible:

All have sinned (Romans 3:23)

The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23)

By Grace through Christ you have been saved, through faith (Ephesians 2:8)

Walk by the Spirit (Gal 5:16)  Walk in the way of love (Eph 5:2)

Regarding some details (ie head coverings, disputes, etc) - remember that even Biblical scholars do not all agree on specific details.  The larger picture and overall points are commonly agreed upon and understood - this is what is important.

These we can all agree upon - that come from these letters and epistles -  with that knowledge, life is good and easy right?  We accept Christ, we learn and study from our Bibles, and all will be well.  Right?  

Unfortunately, this is not the case. Becoming a Christian does not make your life easier, and does not take away your troubles. True, when you have Christ, you are never alone and you have a peace that surpasses your suffering. But you still have the suffering, you still have tough times.  I wish I had known that when I came to Christ.

Phil 4:6-7

6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

John 16:33 In this world you will have trouble.  

We are all broken.  We all have times when we question our faith, and we wonder how God can allow certain painful things in our lives.  We may beg God to calm the storms of our life, but sometimes instead of calming the storm, he strengthens us instead.  In our weaknesses, God’s strength is displayed, because we must rely on him all the more.  If all is well and perfect, we may feel we don't need him. We won't rely on him.

Phil 4:12

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.

The main point - as is reflected in many of the texts for our study today - whether it be in the Paul’s letters as he Paul house arrest, beatings, imprisonment, loneliness, many a horrific travel across seas and cities. or whether it is in some of the prophecy in Revelation which warns us of difficulties to come - my main point is that as a Christian we will have a cross to bear.  We will have chains that bind us, we will feel imprisoned, we will feel defeated, we will cry out WHY.  

But I would say, it’s in some of our toughest times that God is strengthening our faith.  

Rom 8:28

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

I know I will have great challenges in my life ahead.  I shouldn’t be surprised when they come.  But I have that faith, I have prayer, I have Christ with me, I have HOPE.  

2 Tim 4:7

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

We have to pick up our cross and carry it, knowing that God will never give us more than we can handle.  And that he will never ever leave us.

Wednesday January 15th, 2014

CHRIST - THE CHURCH - AND YOU

This week I had a revelation of sorts, as I pondered our homework.  I have been feeling a bit removed from the deeper study of the Bible that I am accustomed to - Bible studies which involve a focus on one book or one topic.  It hit me this week that our booklet, "God's Amazing Book" is not at all the kind of study I have done before.  This one sweeps over the Bible like a "fly-over" - an examination of the Bible as a whole.  I'm usually the last one to sort of figure these things out...most of you probably have had this understood since the first lesson.  Well, once I came to this conclusion, I wanted to SEE the Bible from a bigger picture, and for me, that means visuals or charts.  

We are actually looking at an entire library!  

So I bombarded you all with some nice visuals, and here they are:

This one is from hornes.org:

the next one below is from

http://www.somersworthfirstparish.org/library.htm

from parablesblog.blogspot.com

From BibleWheel.com

From scriptureman.com

From today's wrap-up talk:

THE WORD.  We have this word.  This history.  This beautiful collection of writings.  And we have Jesus.  God dwelling among us - deeply personal and approachable.  

How strange and yet how wonderful to call someone A WORD.

THE GOSPELS.

Matthew, Mark and Luke are referred to as the synoptic gospels, ("syn" - together, "optic" - seeing) because they are similar, while John is quite different.  Matthew, Mark and Luke have similar language, material and recordings about Christ's life

See Mt 10:22, Mk 13:13, Luke 12:17

Mathematically, 91% of Mark's gospel is included in Matthew, and 53% of Mark is included in Luke.  Perhaps they relied on a common source - an oral history source, or perhaps access to a written fragment - there are many theories - but it comes down to DIVINE DIRECTION.  God directed the formation of the gospels.

Matthew: was a tax collector who left his work to follow Jesus.  He is called “Levi” in the books of Mark and Luke.  Matthew wants to prove to his Jewish readers that Jesus is their Messiah.  He shows how Jesus's life and ministry fulfilled the OT scriptures.  ¼ of his book is the spoken word of Jesus!  He also bridges the OT and the NT - he referrs to the OT scriptures and prophecy more than any of the other gospels.  This is the only gospel which uses the term “Church” and “Kingdom of Heaven”

Matt 5:17

Mark:  mostly consisting of Peter's preachings shaped by Mark's authorship - it is simple, unadorned, emphasizing more of what Jesus DID than what he said.  There is a sense of urgency as he uses "immediately" many times in his text.  He was writing to a Roman audience and therefore does not mention much of the OT.

Mark 12:17

LUKE: gentile by birth, well-educated in Greek culture and a physician by profession, Luke's book is written to strengthen the faith of all believers and respond to attacks of unbelievers...his hope is that the gospel will reach every corner of the world.  Luke would have been writing towards the Greeks and as a doctor noting the physical and human aspects of Jesus.  He gives a universal call to all people to proclaim Jesus as the perfect Son of Man!  Luke has the best Christmas story version.

Luke 12:34

JOHN:  "the disciple whom Jesus loved" Knew Jewish life well and the customs, written in a way that hints at eyewitness experiences - focusing on the signs of Jesus' identity and mission.  The central theme is summed up on 3:16.  A book of wisdom, John writes to convince us that Jesus is the Son of God who offers eternal life.  The book of John contains the I AM statements.  

John 3:16

ALL FOUR books promote the GOOD NEWS!!  Jesus is divine above all, our saviour and messiah.  

Four ways of looking at the life of Jesus and his purpose among us.  

A book probably intended for Jews, one for Romans, one perhaps for Greeks, and the John offering a truly spiritual, all encompassing gospel.

And the question remains waiting for everyone to respond to -

Will you accept him or reject him?

ACTS: perhaps written by Luke, the story presents a historical account of Christian origins and the beginnings of the Church.  It describes how the church grew and spread and responded to pagan and Jewish thoughts and challenges. Basic principles of Christian life are presented in light of persecution and difficulty, with the stories of Peter and Paul taking center stage.   The book bridges the life of Jesus in the Gospels to the life of the church in the letters (next week).  The story begins in Jerusalem and finds the believers soon scattered and spreading the good news of Christ, the first 30 years of the Christian church!  It’s like reading about the very first missionaries.

Acts 2:38

ALL FIVE:  JESUS!

Jesus was living flesh, both divine and human.  There is no one like him - he is MAN and he is GOD, the world was forever changed.  

He was approachable, compassionate, a miracle worker and healer, a teacher and friend.

He touched the untouchables and remained silent to the accusations of Herod, while responding often in questions to the religious leader's questions.  

The facts, which cannot be ignored, are:

Jesus lived sin-free

He died on the cross for our sins

He was buried

He rose again

What will WE DO with this information?  I imagine, perhaps naively, that we all accept this, but how can we spread the Gospel?  How can we live the Gospel?  That is between you & God….

For next week, complete Study 4, pages 23-26 of our booklet.

Have a blessed week, each of you.

THANK YOU for being a part of our Bible Study, for doing your homework, for coming to class and sharing your thoughts and prayers!!

Wednesday January 8th 2014

Welcome Back To CBSi Swiss Cottage for 2014!!

Today's lesson was The Old Testament Part 2.

Main Point.. The Old Testament is more than Rules and Regulations.

Central idea…  God wants a personal relationship with man.

Last class, we went over the Torah or Pentateuch and the 12 historical narratives of the Old Testament.

Today we will be looking at the 5 Poetry/prose/wisdom books and the books of 17 Prophecy.

All different kinds of writing/literature!  Psalms and poems....

Examples from the lives of people at that time...warnings and things to learn from their experiences.

POETRY:  5 books:  Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs.

Some people call them the Wisdom books.

LOOKING DEEPER

Poetry includes the following:

If ever you are suffering and looking for encouragement, Job is a wonderful book to see clearly that troubles will affect all of us, and that we should not attribute troubles to sin.

The author of Job is unknown—Job, Elihu, Moses, Hezekiah, and others have been suggested.  Whoever wrote this book was a loyal Jew, living somewhere between 600 and 400 B.C.  Including both poetry and prose, it is a universal poem because it deals with a universal need—the agony of a heart wracked by "the heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to."  It speaks of a blank in the human heart that only Jesus can fill.

Job 1:21 “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart.  The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.”

Psalms:  authors named include David, 73 times; the sons of Korah, 11 times; and Asaph, 12 times.  The 150 psalms are arranged into 5 praise books (hymns, communal laments, royal psalms, individual laments, individual songs of thanksgiving), perhaps to match the 5 books of the Law.  God as Creator and King is at the centre of Psalms, making it the Old Testament in miniature.

Psalm 136 - from our homework -  “His Love Endures Forever”  26 times??? so do you think that might be important???

Psalm 23: 1-3   - “The Lord is my Shepherd, I lack nothing.  He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul”

I want to come back to the psalms at the close...they are just too precious.

Proverbs (short, fundamental truths or parables):  King Solomon, David's son, is considered the author.  He did not originate each thought but compiled this collection of wise sayings, some perhaps from as early as the Bronze Age.  In the Ancient East wise men were equal with priests and prophets as God's spokesmen.  It may not have been finally completed until around 180 B.C.  Proverbs' emphasis is not on the achievement of material success but on wisdom as a way of life.  

Practical tips for life. wisdom for everyday living!

Proverbs 20:12b “Those who promote peace have joy”

Proverbs ends with a whole series on the Wife of Noble Character - proverbs 31:10-31...not that we must strive to meet these standards but interesting that at this time they included all of this - unusual for the time and culture of the day.

Ecclesiastes:  Greek word meaning "the Preacher."  Here Solomon addresses the general public who do not see beyond this world and convicts them of the vanity of reducing religion to mere secularism.  This book speaks of the curse of the Fall (Genesis 3), the necessity of fearing God.  Apart from God, we have no meaning - life is empty - only God brings us satisfaction.

I love Ecc 3:1 "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.

A time to be born and a time to die….a time to plant and a time to uproot"….etc...

Song of Solomon:  called "The Song of Songs."  There are two schools of thought: (1) It tells of the love between God and His people, an allegory of Christ's love for His church (see Isaiah and Hosea in OT; Matthew 25:1; Romans 7:4; II Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:32 in NT).  (2) It is a poem dealing solely with human love, indicating the value of love between man and woman, censuring lust and endorsing the place of physical love within a legitimate relationship.

Married love is a beautiful thing and worth celebrating!

The Major Prophets:

The Major Prophet books are Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel,and Daniel.

Isaiah:  called the "evangelistic prophet" because he so clearly and consistently announced the good news of the Messiah.

Isaiah 40:28-31 probably the first verses that truly captured my heart as a teenager who had never seen or read a Bible before!!

“Do you not know?  Have you not heard?

The Lord is the Everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the Earth.  He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.  He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall, but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not grow faint.”

Jeremiah:  called the "weeping prophet" because of his broken-hearted cry over the Jewish people as they rejected God's messages again and again.  He also wrote the book of Lamentations, a sad lament over the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple by the Babylonians.

To help us remember: the twelve historical books of the Old Testament tell the story of …….the twelve tribes of Israel.

12 minor prophets are not minor because they are less important; they are minor because they are shorter - great reads for a time when you want to pick up your bible but don’t know where to go - they can be read quickly.   They include:

Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.

The word poets has five letters; these five books of poetry are at the centre (or heart) of the Old Testament.

THE POWER OF GOD'S WORD, and the beautiful Psalms

My sister in law, Angie, shared this story with me, and it is a real testament to the power of God's word!! About 2 years ago, her next door neighbor named Emma was coming to the final stages of ALS, MND or Lou Gehrigs disease.  As she watched this young woman, about her same age, with children similar in age to hers, slowly lose all her capacities and then become bedridden, then nearly in a coma state in her final week and days.  My sister in law Angie struggled to find how to help.  Up to that point, she had been helping with the children, delivering hot home cooked meals to them, and just being available.  But now.  What could she do.  This was the end. I don’t know how many of you have ever been bedside to someone dying, in their final weeks or days.  I have not.  I cannot imagine how it might feel. She is part of a Bible study, and she talked to her discussion leader about this, asking for suggestions of what to do. Knowing Emma was a Christian, her discussion leader suggested that she simply read from the Bible to Emma - that even in a coma, she could hear, and that the Psalms are a wonderful book to read aloud. Angie did this.  She placed herself next to her dear friend Emma, opened to the psalms, and began reading.  Emma had nearly all of her physical strength gone, she slept mostly and barely moved.  What Angie told me, I will never forget.  She told me that each time she was able to be with her in the final week or so, when she would read the Psalms to her, she witnessed a physical response to God’s word!!  A small upturn in her lip, as though she was smiling in her sleep.  This is the power of God’s word.  She brought joy and comfort to this dear friend.  I will never forget this story, and if I ever find myself in a situation like this, I too will reach for the Bible, open it to the Psalms and read aloud.  God’s word is a powerful tool, a blessing and comfort, guidance and wisdom, poetry and prophecy.  

Hebrews 4:12 "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart."