My 2018 Bible Talk - 3 Critiques of the Gospels

Two years ago I gave the "Bible Talk" at our parish's youth retreat.  This year I was slated to be the back-up speaker.  So I prepared this presentation just in case.

In it, I explore three critiques you hear about the Bible and why they don't work. Hope you enjoy!

Resurrection Contradiction: Luke's Timewarps

Sometimes it seems like things would be simpler if there was only one Gospel.  But the Holy Spirit saw fit to inspire four of them, and Christians have been puzzling over how they fit together ever since.  Particularly in the resurrection narratives.

Today I want to highlight a feature of Luke’s Gospel which explains one of the major apparent discrepancies in the resurrection accounts.  I call it… the LUKAN TIME WARP!!!

Here’s how the Lukan Time Warp works.

• Luke takes a couple related events which have a large gap between them.  
• Wanting to save space, Luke omits everything between those two events.  
• He presents the events as if they occur immediately in sequence.  

In the end, the reader has no idea he did this.  Now let’s look at some examples…

A Roman Take on the Romans Road

The letter to the Romans is commonly viewed as friendly to non-Catholic views on salvation and hostile territory for us Papists.  For instance, the epic story of Martin Luther’s crusade to reform the Church supposedly began with him finding a dusty, long-lost copy of Romans and subsequently rediscovering the true Gospel (tm).

In more recent history, there is a tract which used to be common in Evangelical circles called “The Romans Road”.  It uses selected verses from Paul’s letter to the Romans to spell out their doctrine of salvation and guide a person into become Christian.  But it does this while skipping over large swaths of perfectly good Scripture.

Today I wanted to offer a Catholic take on “The Romans Road”.  One which I believe reflects more accurately the intention of Paul’s letter.

My Bible Quick-Index

Have you ever walked into a exam thinking you were well-prepared... only to quickly realize you weren't ready at all?  That's how one of my high-schoolers felt when she recently went to a non-Catholic Bible Study.

They were challenging some of her on various topics using Bible citations they'd committed to memory.  She found herself only able to give the classic Catholic quotation:

 "But doesn't it say somewhere..."

So today I wanted to share my own crib sheet.  It covers essentially every topic I've ever written about.  The passages which feature an (*) before them denote those which are used against Catholic positions.

Enjoy.

Spreadsheet Form

Printable PDF

Reading the Crucifixion Accounts Together

Every year I like to lead my students in a Bible study about the crucifixion.  The question is… which account do I use?  Each one has its own nuances and details to expand upon.

So what I came up with was a compilation which attempt to include it all.  Along the way, we’ll stop and focus in on various subjects.

Let’s get started.  We begin just after Pontius Pilate acquiesces to the crowd and gives Him up for crucifixion.  For a clean version, click [here].

The TL;DR Bible: Ephesians

Today we continue our adventure through the summarized New Testament with Paul's letter to the Ephesians.  

Paul wrote this letter to a successful community of Gentile converts.  He invites them to contemplate what God has done for them individual and how it fits into the overall narrative of God's providential pan for mankind.

Here we go!

The TL;DR Bible: Galatians

Today we continue our adventure through the summarized New Testament with Galatians.

This letter addresses a community which had fallen victim to an early heresy.  Namely, people were thinking you had to be circumcised and obey certain parts of the Mosaic Law to be saved.

Paul wrote against this heresy in no uncertain terms;  contending both for the divine origin or his message and his apostleship.

Here we go!

The TL;DR Bible: First Corinthians

Today we continue our journey through the "Too Long; Didn't Read" Bible with Paul's first letter to the troubled community in Corinth.

The TL;DR Bible: The Letter of Saint James

A while ago I had the idea to begin summarizing some of the epistles in the New Testament.  Today we're going to do the letter of Saint James.  

The letter is thought to be written by James of Jerusalem.  It is unclear who the target audience is.  He addresses it to the "12 tribes in the dispersion".  That could refer to Jews throughout the world, or to the Church as a whole.  There are good arguments for both.

In any event, this letter is meant to remind its readers about how our conduct in this life really does make a difference in the next.  It is the one place in the Bible where we find the phrase "justified by faith alone"... but the phrase is condemned.

Anyway, here we go:

The TL;DR Bible: First and Second Thessalonians

A while ago I had the idea to begin summarizing some of the epistles in the New Testament.  Today we're going to do 1st and 2nd Thessalonians.

The TL;DR Bible: The Letter to the Hebrews

The New Testament is not a long collection of books.  Most of the books can be read in just a couple hours.  Still, we have short attention spans.  A lot of folks look at the sacred texts and say:

"Too long; didn't read"

So I had the silly idea to start summarizing the New Testament letters.  What are the key points and assertions when you boil it down?   That's what I want to try today.

We'll start with one of my favorites...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Bible and "God's Word"

A student recently sent me a fascinating video of a debate between an Evangelical pastor and a Mormon.  One thing which struck me was the way the pastor referred to the Bible as "God's Word ".  

For Evangelicals, the term "God's Word " is synonymous with "the Bible ".  But that terminology can sound odd for someone who has always been immersed in Catholic culture.  We just don't talk like that.

It is a weird quirk of how Catholic and Evangelical language has evolved separately, but reflects deeply held assumptions.  So today I want to explore this phenomenon and ask:

"What does the Bible say "God's Word" is?"   

Looking at 3 Types of Bible Contradictions...

One thing believed by all Christian traditions is the divine inspiration of the Bible.  That is to say, we believe the words of the Bible are the words of God Himself.

So it can be alarming when we read the four Gospel accounts and find apparent contradictions between them.  It would mean at least one of the texts must be in error.

Many people attempt harmonization of the Gospel accounts - and rightfully so.  But other times we have to go back and reflect on what exactly we mean by "inspiration".  What exactly does that doctrine imply?

Today I wanted to look at three types of apparent contradictions in the Bible and discuss what it means for our understanding of inspiration.

The Gospels and the "Telephone Game"

One of the most widespread arguments regarding the Bible is regarding the proper dating and authorship of the New Testament Gospels.  The earlier those books are dated, the stronger their claim is to accuracy and reliability.  So there is a lot at stake.

A while ago I made a post in which I presented some arguments for the early and genuine authorship of the Gospels.  But today I wanted to look at an alternative perspective.  I call it the "Telephone Game" theory.

This hypothesis holds that the Gospels were composed late in the first century - (after the fall of Jerusalem in the year 70AD) - and do not reflect the original narrative of Christ's life and deeds.  Instead they reflect a gradual mythologizing of the preacher from Nazareth.

The argument typically sounds like this:

"We've all played the children's game where we stand in a line and whisper a message from person to person.  Each time the message is passed there are subtle changes.  When it arrives at the other side of the line, the final message is completely different from the original.   

Something like that surely happened with the Jesus story.  His legend grew bigger and bigger until he became God incarnate.  That's what we see in the Gospels."

How do we respond to this?

My Recent "Intro to New Testament" Talk

I recently gave a speech about the New Testament at a local retreat for high schoolers.  In it, I discuss:

• The creation of the New Testament
• Tips for reading it.
• How to get help.
• A reading of John 9

Here are the slides: [LINK]

Enjoy!!