Essay+--+Scripture

a. The kind of truth we can find and cannot find in Scripture, and literary forms. b. The process through which much of the Bible came to be written. c. Historical-critical approach to studying the Bible d. Makeup of the New Testament e. Development of the Gospels, including possibly: dates, sources, audience, message, etc.
 * Scripture**

We find religious truth in the Bible not scientific or historical truth. Literary forms: hymns, prayers, poems, stories, historical narratives, prophecies, exhortations, and letters
 * a**. **The kind of truth we can find and cannot find in Scripture, and literary forms.**

We can find information about what scholars have learned is in a Bible commentary. Jerome Biblical commentary is a famous one.
 * b. The process through which much of the Bible came to be written.**
 * 1) Event
 * 2) Oral Tradition
 * 3) Written pieces
 * 4) Edited books
 * 5) Achieved canonical status – in canon
 * c. Historical-critical approach to studying the Bible**
 * The historical-critical approach to Bible Study is the process that we use to do biblical exegesis. It is the careful study of the historical context, literary context, and specific content of a biblical text in order to identify the original intent of the author and the words of that text. Historical context—authorship, dating, circumstances, purposes, the physical setting, and historical setting…Literary context—the genre, the surrounding context, how this text is a part of the greater whole of the biblical story…Content—the structure of the text, its forms, its patterns, and its individual details…

It is a collection of 27 books or writings compiled by early Christian believers. They eventually committed this preaching to four books called the Gospels. The preaching surrounding the early days of the Christian community after Christ's physical departure was put into a book called Acts of the Apostles. Majority are attributed to Paul. The missioners would send letters to people that they had converted so that they keep their trust in God and encouraged their new beliefs. Christianity's final conquest during the last days became known as the Book of Revelation or the Apocalypse.
 * d. Makeup of the New Testament**

What was happening at that time affected how the Bible was written. Earliest gospel - Mark - 65-70 B.C. because of the Temple thing - before the destruction of the temple so he must be first, talks a lot about the humanness of Jesus Three stages of development of Gospels I : the life of Jesus - when things are happening - Jesus of history II : the earliest Christian communities preaching - telling stories about Jesus - Christ of faith III : When the gospels actually get written down - writings How the Synoptic Gospels were formed (sources) Approximate dates of Gospels Earliest gospel - Mark - 65-70 B.C. because of the Temple thing - before the destruction of the temple so he must be first, talks a lot about the humanness of Jesus Matthew and Luke were written between 70 - 90. John is the latest and most divine - might have been written by a community as appose to a single person - 90-100
 * e. Development of the Gospels, including possibly: dates, sources, audience, message, etc.**
 * They can figure out when they are written by the events that happened in history.
 * The Romans were persecuting the Christians - what was going on in that time period
 * While the writers are writing there is tension between some Jews and Jesus - followers
 * Mark only had his own sources and wrote his gospel. Matthew and Luke were written at about the same time and they used their own sources, the Q source, and things from Mark.