Thinking about the Bible: Divine Revelation and the Scriptures
Bring your questions and look forward to exploring the Bible’s history and how we might read it in the context of a God who chooses to reveal himself to his Creation through Words and Actions.
4-week CBBC Teaching Series
Tuesdays, 7:00-8:30pm at CBBC
with Dr Stephen Spence
June 20, June 27, July 4, July 11
June 20: The Nature of Revelation
- The Creator God is unknowable (God must self-reveal; God reveals through encounter because “knowing” is about “relationship with” not “knowing about”).
- Both General Revelation and Special Revelation is inadequate because they describe a passive God who is apprehended rather than an active God who encounters.
- All Revelation is Sacramental – God choosing to meet with us through our senses. What might it mean that God speaks to me/us?
- The Bible is a form of authoritative Sacramental Revelation – God encounters the community of his people through a written text.
June 27: The History of the Bible
- How God’s word took on written form – manuscripts, editors, and scribes.
- The development of a canon of Scripture. The role of the Church.
- Key debates: inspiration (God-breathedness is a living act), inerrancy, authority.
- Translations.
July 04: Hearing God through Scripture
- The nature of meaning: author’s intent, text analysis, reader’s response
- The otherness of the Bible: Genres, Historical/Cultural contexts
- The Bible as a Grand Narrative (in six acts)
- The purpose of the Bible and the challenge of hearing the word of God to us
- Jesus is the Word of God
July 11: Questions and Discussion raised by the Study
- Submitted questions collected over the 3 weeks
- Spontaneous questions and discussions
Explore Some Resources: The Bible Project is a free resource that helps you explore the context and content of the Bible. Check out their four-part series: What is the Bible (5’47”), The Story of the Bible (5’17”), Literary Styles (4’48”), and Ancient Jewish Meditation Literature (4’09”).