11. The Bible and Law

Lesson on 09/12/25 (started on lesson before)

What is the Bible

Holy book for Christians (and the most important). It is a collection of books from various authors.

Three views of Bible

• Fundamentalists

• Conservative

• Liberals

What is the Fundamentalist view of the Bible

• The Bible is literal: “God breathed”

• Direct revelation from God and 100% true

• Must take what it says at face value e.g. Genesis was a physical event

What is the Conservative view of the Bible

• The Bible is inspired by God and influenced by culture

• Needs to be updated to modern society e.g. Sermon on the Mount

What is the Liberal view of the Bible?

• There is a message behind the story

• We don’t need to look at the details

• They help one know how to live their lives e.g. Genesis tells us that God made the world

How many sections is the Bible split into?

2

What are the two sections?

• Old Testament

• New Testament

What is the Old Testament and why is it important for Christians?

• It has stories, laws e.g. “Thou shalt not kill”. It prepares the world for Jesus

• Christians follow the Old Testament because it is important to know Jesus’ background as he was a Jew.

What is the New Testament?

• Second part of the Bible. Has stories about Jesus, his teachings and letters from his time.

• It contains gospels written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John about Jesus’ life and death.

How long is each Testament?

Old:

Much longer - 100s of years of stories

New:

Much shorter - 50-60 years of stories

Why is the Bible important?

1. It is a revelation from God so it has authority

2. Tells us about God even though he is ineffable

3. It is a record of divine laws (rules of God)

4. It is a source of authority

5. It give advice and guides people based on what God wants

6. Answers major questions e.g. Pope uses it to address modern issues

What are other sources of authority?

• A priest/minister- they are the leader of the Church and have knowledge that can help others.

• Other Christians- they may be able to provide advice or more understanding of the faith.

• God directly: pray and ask for guidance

• God given reason: follow their conscience

Why is the Bible relevant today?

• God’s breath - source of authority, tells us about God even though he is ineffable, “God breathed”

• Gives advice and guides people - “Love thy neighbour”

• God is omniscient, he knows about the modern day. So the Bible is applicable to modern day (however, it was written by patriarchal people)

• Tells us how to go to heaven and avoid h(e)ll

• The Word of God can never go out of date

• Inspired by the Holy Spirit and tells us how to behave and live

• We can read it and interpret the Bible to answer today’s moral problems

Why is the Bible not relevant today?

• Culture bound - not always applicable to modern day life (e.g. Bible is patriarchal but now we promote equality), limited knowledge (e.g. of science), “Man shall not lie with man” was written at a time when homosexuality was an abomination

• It was written so long ago that there were many mistranslations and could’ve been altered

• Times have changed

• Clashes with scientific discoveries

• The text is difficult and old

• The Bible has major contradictions