A lot of Christians choose a “life verse”, a favourite verse from the Bible which is a source of encouragement and inspiration. If I had to pick one passage from the Bible I guess I’d choose the following text from 2nd Corinthians:
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. – 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
Here’s what Tim Hawkins has to say about his favourite Bible verse…
“Procure books [of the Bible] that will be medicines for the soul. At least get a copy of the New Testament, the Apostle’s epistles, the Acts, the Gospels, for your constant teachers.
If you encounter grief, dive into them as into a chest of medicines; take from them comfort for your trouble, whether it be loss, or death, or bereavement over the loss of relations.
Don’t simply dive into them. Swim in them. Keep them constantly in your mind. The cause of all evils is the failure to know the Scriptures well.” – St. John Chrysostom
When reading any book of the Bible we must first talk about its literary genre. What kind of writing is it? Is it apocalyptic? Is it poetry? Is it historical? The literary genre to which a document belongs affects how we understand it.
If we get the literary genre wrong, it is extremely likely that our interpretation will be faulty. Therefore, when we are looking at a book of the Bible which is an epistle i.e. a piece of correspondence, we must read it as such. It is also extremely helpful when reading a biblical epistle to first examine the conventions of letter writing at the time of the Apostles.
A friend recently asked that we should study the First Epistle of St. Peter together. Since I’ve had to explain the mechanics of ancient letters a few times now, I’ve decided to devote a blog entry to the subject so that I can easily refer to it in future 😀
(There is a technical difference between an “epistle” and a “letter”…
but we’ll ignore that distinction in this post)
Snooping on Mail
To see the structure of ancient letters more clearly, let’s examine a short letter written by a Pagan in approximately AD 150:
Apion sends heartiest greets to his father and lord Epimachus.
I pray above all that you are well and fit; and that things are going well with you and my sister and her daughter and my brother.
I thank my Lord Serapis that he kept me safe when I was in peril on the sea.
As soon as I got to Misenum I got my journey money from Caesar – three goldpieces. And things are going fine with me. So I beg you, my dear father, send me a line, first to let me know how you are, and then about my brothers, and thirdly, that I may kiss your hand because you brought me up well, and because of that I hope, God willing, soon to be promoted.
Give Capito my heartiest greetings, and my brothers and Serenilla and my friends. I sent you a little picture of myself painted by Euctemon. My military name is Antonius Maximus. I pray for your good health. Serenus sends good wishes, Agathos Daimon’s boy, and Burbo, Gallonius’ son.
Deconstructing Apion
There are several distinct features in this letter:
1. Greeting. The author first identifies himself (“Apion”) and then identifies to whom he is writing (his father “Epimachus”):
Apion sends heartiest greets to his father and lord Epimachus.
2. Prayer. The author prays for the health and well-being of the recipients (his father, siblings and niece):
I pray above all that you are well and fit; and that things are going well with you and my sister and her daughter and my brother.
3. Thanksgiving. The author gives thanks to his god (“Serapis”):
I thank my Lord Serapis that he kept me safe when I was in peril on the sea.
4. Body. There is then the main contents of the letter. He speaks a little bit about military life and expresses gratitude to his father.
As soon as I got to Misenum I got my journey money from Caesar – three goldpieces. And things are going fine with me. So I beg you, my dear father, send me a line, first to let me know how you are, and then about my brothers, and thirdly, that I may kiss your hand because you brought me up well, and because of that I hope, God willing, soon to be promoted…
5. Personal greetings. The author asks that his greetings be conveyed to some other people. Finally, he sends greetings from those who are with him.
Give Capito my heartiest greetings, and my brothers and Serenilla and my friends...Serenus sends good wishes, Agathos Daimon’s boy, and Burbo, Gallonius’ son
Now, not all Evangelicals will hold those views expressed in the article, but I have to say that Devin’s exchange bears a strong resemblance to conversations I myself have had with non-Catholics concerning Sacred Scripture…
In my experience, when a Catholic-Protestant dialog reaches this stage it often stagnates. You then spend a lot of time going round and round in circles… 🙁
In an effort to stop this from happening, I find that it is generally best to keep asking questions. These questions will hopefully reveal to the non-Catholic his unknown dependency upon Catholic Church with regards to the formation of the Canon.
You may recall a little while ago I wrote about an exchange I had with a chap called Jay. When we were talking about the Bible, these were some of the questions I asked him:
1. Let’s say I don’t believe James should be in the Bible. Show me why I’m wrong. What’s to stop me from just taking this book out of the Bible?
2. Let’s say I believe that Clement’s letter to the Corinthians should be in the Bible. Show me why I’m wrong. He was alive during the time of the Apostles and Clement has strong credentials for being taught by them…
3. Who wrote the Letter to the Philippians? What about the Gospel of Mark? How do you know?
4. Who were the people who painstakingly copied the New Testament manuscripts throughout the centuries?
5. Have you checked the authenticity of every book in the Bible? Are you sure that we have all the available “inspired texts”? How did you reach your opinion over what and what isn’t the Word of God? Are you 100% certain? Can I trust your judgment on this? Because if you’re wrong I could be ignoring text which is the Word of God and reading text which isn’t…
6. Who assembled the canon of the New Testament and when? Please give me names and dates.
A few people have recently asked me where I get the material for my “Lectionary Notes” posts. Here’s the process I go through each week:
1. After we conclude our Bible Study in the JP2 Group, we all go to the church next door for adoration. In the presence of the Blessed Sacrament I read the Lectionary Scriptures for the following week and spend a little bit of time praying through them.
2. When I next have some time, I read through the texts again using my NIV Study Bible.
Regarding Bible translations, translators have to make a choice between translating from the original language word-for-word (“formal equivalence”) or providing a looser translation but which attempts to better convey the thought expressed by the original writer (“dynamic equivalence”). This essentially results in a trade-off between readability and fidelity to the original words of the text. I quite like the NIV in that it falls somewhere between formal and dynamic equivalence, but with a leaning more towards dynamic equivalence.
The NIV is not a Catholic Bible and unfortunately therefore is missing the books of Wisdom, Sirach etc. Some of the study notes also have a non-Catholic skew, but on the whole it has excellent cross-references and always at least offers an interesting point of view.
3. The next book I reach for is my Ignatius New Testament Study Bible. I can’t say how much I love this book. It’s the RSV translation, which follows the “formal equivalence” approach. I would not-so-humbly suggest that it is a far superior translation to the NAB which is used in the Lectionary. Ignatius Press have produced a superb resource here, with excellent notes, maps and word studies. Every Christian should own a copy – it’s a bargain at $16. I will wait here while you click on the link and go and order a copy from Amazon. Seriously, I’ll wait…Done? Okay, let’s continue!
Our Bible study of the letter of St. Paul to the Philippians continued at the JP2 Group last Thursday. I’ve just put up my notes for the last section we read, the latter part of the first chapter:
A lot of Christians choose a “life verse”, a favourite verse from the Bible which is a source of encouragement and inspiration. If I had to pick one passage from the Bible I guess I’d choose the following text from 2nd Corinthians:
When reading any book of the Bible we must first talk about its literary genre. What kind of writing is it? Is it apocalyptic? Is it poetry? Is it historical? The literary genre to which a document belongs affects how we understand it.
Today over at 
Our Bible study of the letter of St. Paul to the Philippians continued at the JP2 Group last Thursday. I’ve just put up my notes for