Thursday, September 1, 2011

The authority of the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible is implied by its title, "the Word of God". It is the written record of the Word of God which came to prophets, apostles and other spokesmen, and which "became flesh" in Jesus Christ. Christians believe Jesus Christ was the Word of God in a unique sense. Through Jesus, God communicated the perfect revelation of Himself to mankind.

For Christians the authority of the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible is related to the authority of Christ. The Old Testament was the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible Jesus used - the authority to which He made constant appeal and whose teachings He accepted and followed. When Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane and led away to His execution, He submitted with the words, "The Scriptures must be fulfilled" - Matt. 26:54; Mark 14:49; John 18:9 - Jesus saw His mission in the world as a fulfillment of the predictions of the Old Testament.

The New Testament presents the record of Jesus' Life, Teaching, Passion, Death, Resurrection and Ascension; a narrative of the beginning of the Christian Church with the coming of the Holy Spirit; and the story of the extension of the Gospel and the planting of the Church during the following generation. It contains not only the oral [ tradition ] but the written teachings of Jesus' apostles and other early Christians who applied the principles of His teaching and redemptive work to their lives.

The Apocrypha - a group of books written during a time of turmoil in the history of the Jewish people, from about 200 B.C. to about A.D. 100. These books fall into two main divisions, Old Testament apocryphal books and New Testament apocryphal books. The Old Testament books were used by Catholic Church contains: TOBIT, JUDITH, 1MACCABEES, 2MACCABEES, WISDOM and ECCLESIASTICUS/SIRACH and BARUCH, while they are not included in non-Catholic Christian and most Protestant editions of the Holy Bible.

In the Vulgate, the three Books of Tobit, Judith and Esther are placed after the historical books. This book is a narrative about Tobit, a Jew who was taken into captivity to Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, after the defeat of Israel in 722 B.C. Tobit was a strict observer of the law of Moses who met with unfortunate circumstances. On day he was blinded by droppings from a swallow that fell into his eyes. God heard the prayers of Tobit and another Jew, Sarah, who was living to the east in Babylon or Media. God sent his angel, Raphael, to save them both. Through Tobit's son Tobias and the angel Raphael, God was able to help Tobit and Sarah. It is an edifying story, in which it ends happily as Tobias marries Sarah and defeats a demon named Asomadeus and the two re-establish order in their lives. Tobit was written to show the place of fasting prayer in the lives of the faithful. It teaches that God breaks into human history, using His angels to rescue people.

Tobit is also a modelled on biblical narratives, especially on those of the patriarchs in Genesis; as a work of literature its place is between Job and Esther, between Zechariah and Daniel.

Judith book contains one of the most delightful stories in the Apocrypha. A wise and intelligent Jewish woman, Judith was devoted to observing the law of Moses. It takes place during the reign of a king of Assyria named Nebuchadnezzar. His general, Holofernes, was about to destroy the Jewish inhabitants of the city of Bethulia when Judith came to the aid of her fellow Jews. The people prayed to God for help, allowing Him five days in which to help them or they would surrender. Judith rebukes the leading men of the city for their lack of faith in God; she then falls to prayer and having duly adorned herself, leaves Bethulia and is led into the presence of Holofernes, on whom she exercises all her charm and wit. She went to the enemy camp and beheaded Holofernes, bringing his head to the Jews of the city. Terrified, the Assyrians fled and the Jews were saved.

This book has a clear points of contact with Daniel, Ezekiel and Joel; the action takes place on the plain of Esdraelon near the plain of Armageddon where Saint John later places the great eschatological battle of Revelation 16:16. Judith emphasized the importance of faithfulness to the law of Moses and the power of God in the lives of His people. It was probably written during the Hasmonean period ( 142-63 B.C. )

The First Book of Maccabees......

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Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.


HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -


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