Transcript Part 2: Understanding the New Testament


The writers of Scripture were not robots;
the Holy Spirit did not dictate Scripture to
them, word for word.

The writers chose the wording and form of their writing,
all the while remaining true to the message of God.

When reading Scripture, first and
foremost, be attentive to what God reveals
to us about salvation.

We also need to understand the literary
forms, or writing styles, of each of the
Scripture writings to gain insight into the
message God wants conveyed.

Understanding literary forms of Scripture
can prevent misunderstanding when
reading Scripture.

The Bible reveals God’s will for humanity through a
variety of literary forms.

Literary conventions are defining
features of a particular literary form, such
as starting a poem containing rhyming
words.

We need to understand the literary
conventions of the New Testament
writings, especially in the apocalyptic
literature, which uses many dramatic
symbols to offer people hope in a time of
crisis.

People think the New
Testament writers
reported events just as we
would have if we
witnessed it ourselves.

However, biblical writers
were not simply recording
past events; rather, they
sought to teach the
significance of Christ to all
people who read their
book.

We should not turn to the Bible to answer
questions of science.
 The inspired authors of the Bible were
not scientists or reporters; their aim
was to teach the truth God wanted
conveyed in Scripture.

We have to understand the assumptions
of the writers’ times.

For example, Samaritans people of “impure”
Jewish faith since they mixed with Pagans;
“pure” Jews hated Samaritans, hence why
Jesus told the story of the “Good
Samaritan.”

Another example of the Bible being misused is
concerning slavery.

In the Civil War, people who were pro-slavery quoted
Biblical passages that spoke of slavery and how “slaves
should be obedient to their master.”

The purpose of such lines about slavery was to teach
love of others as God loves, and compared that with
social structures of the time, such as how a slave should
love his master just as God calls us to love one another
(and vice versa).

St. Paul use the social structure of slavery to teach his
audience how to love as God loves; he was not
discussing the moral nature of slavery.

St. Paul recognized the Ephesians owned slaves, and
as such, addressed the letter in a personal way to
make his teachings understandable, much like how
Jesus used parables.

The author was applying the core teaching of love
to the current historical and cultural setting of his
day.

The author remains silent about the issue of slavery
as moral or immoral since that was NOT the topic
he was writing about.

F.Y.I. Slavery in the Bible was much different that the
slavery used in America.

Old Testament slavery was based on economic needs;
American slavery was based on race.

The process of creating the Old Testament
of the Jewish people was very similar to the
process of creating the New Testament for
Christians.

The process began with Abraham around
1850 B.C., with the stories of the Old
Testament being passed down and then
written down in different books.

The teachings of the Old Testament lay the
foundation for what is revealed in the New
Testament.

“The Old Testament prepares for the New and
the New Testament fulfills the Old.

Remember when we discussed the idea, “an
eye for an eye,” in the Old Testament?

People think God allows them to get
revenge, yet in reality, when looking at the
whole of Scripture, we see that “an eye for
an eye” was limiting the Jewish people to
punish ONLY the criminal.

Love of neighbor was the basis for “an eye
for an eye.”

In the New Testament, Jesus calls people to
a deeper love of enemy by “turning the
other cheek.”

Symbolism is used throughout the Bible, both in the Old and
New Testaments.

If we neglect the symbolic language and context of the
stories, we will have a problem understanding Scripture.

An example of symbolism in the Bible that is heavily
overlooked is that of the symbolism of mountains.


Old Testament: Moses received the 10
Commandments, or laws of God, on
Mount Sinai.
New Testament: Jesus further reveals
God’s laws by teaching the Beatitudes.

As such, a mountain is a symbol of being close to God.

To interpret Scripture with God’s purpose in mind, there
are 3 principles guidelines to follow:
1. We must interpret Scripture knowing both Old and New
Testament unite and point to God’s plan of salvation in Jesus
Christ.
2. We must interpret Scripture in light of the Church’s
Tradition, or passing down of the Good News since the time of
the Apostles.
3. We must understand that all Church doctrines are based in
Scripture and help us understand Scripture, which is known as
the Analogy of Faith.
“Senses” of Scripture
Type of Interpretation/
“Sense”
Definition
Literal Sense of Scripture
What a Scripture passage
actually means based on
literary form, history, and
culture
Spiritual Sense of Scripture
o Allegorical
o Moral
o Anagogical
What a Scripture passage
symbolically means, in
hindsight of Christ’s life and
saving actions. This “sense”
has been developed through
Church Tradition.
The
spiritual
sense, or
interpretati
on, of
Scripture is
based in
the literal
meaning of
Scripture.
Literal Sense of Noah &
Exodus
State of “Death”
Passage Through
Water
State of “New
Life”
Spiritual Sense of Noah
& Exodus
State of
“Death” by
Adam and Eve
disobeying
God and
loosing
“Paradise.”
Waters of
Baptism
State of “New
Life” gained
after being
Baptized with
water.

The literal and spiritual meanings of Noah’s Ark and
Exodus are examples of Typology, or interpreting
God’s word in the Old Testament as prefiguring
what would be accomplished in Christ.

Typology shows the deep unity between the Old and
New Testaments.

Other types of spiritual senses of Scripture are:


Spiritual Moral, which helps us understand the
underlying moral teachings of Scripture
Scriptural Anagogical, which helps us apply our own
lives to teachings in Scripture.

The Contextualist Approach of interpreting
Scripture focuses on the context of Scripture to
understand the literal and spiritual senses of
the texts.

Such an approach uses our knowledge of
science and history to understand the literal
sense of Scripture.


I.e., Pontius Pilates’ fear of losing control over his
area of power led to Jesus being crucified.
This understanding can also lead us to
understanding the spiritual meaning of such
texts, such as when Jesus died, He opened the
doors for all people to eternal life.

The contextualist approach places the truths of
faith, history, and science together without issue.

People known as Biblical exegetes are biblical
scholars who interpret the meaning of Biblical
texts.

Their field of study is known as Biblical Exegesis,
or the critical interpretation and explanation of a
Biblical text.

Exegetes interpret the Bible in various ways:
historically, literally, spiritually, and even
socioculturally, or analyzing Scripture based on
societal/ cultural knowledge of the time.

Meditating and contemplating the Bible helps to
create a deeper understanding of the stories.

Meditation comes from the Latin word
meditatio, which literally means “to chew over.”

It is important to reflect on Scripture in the
proper lights of literary forms, history, culture,
and development to fully reveal Jesus Christ to
us.