The Way of Christ: Spiritual Formation Series

Fr. Matt closes up the series with an overview of the Letter to the Hebrews and John's Revelation. These two wrap up the series nicely, as they incorporate so much of the biblical narrative and imagery into their content, and sum all things up in Christ.

Fr. Matt walks us through the good news that Paul preached — salvation through Christ.

Fr. Joe Dewey walks us through the next part of the biblical narrative. Is it Acts of the Apostles or Acts of the Holy Spirit?

Fr. Cody Turned walks through the four-fold witness to Christ that the Gospel accounts offer us. What does it mean that we have four witnesses to the life of Christ? How are they the same and where are they different? 

Fr. Matt Rossi and Fr. Cody Turner sit down to work through the questions you submitted about the Bible. 

Questions fall into two main categories:

I. General quesiotns about reading Bible and what it is

II. Questions about the Old Testament specifically

I. General questions about the Bible

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Q1: On Canonization: We believe that the Word of God is true, but we struggle sometimes with who decided which 66 books are the Word of God. Why and how do we trust the people who canonized (or decided which books should be in the Bible), and why do we say that these books are true but the other books not included in the Bible are not?

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Q2: Why is the Bible so difficult to understand?

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Q3: On Translation: If none of the Bible is written in English, but our Bibles are English Bibles, how can we know that what we’re reading in English isn’t missing something really significant in translation, or that our inability to read the original texts means we aren’t accessing the Bible in its purest form?

II. Questions about the Old Testament 

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Q4: How do you explain the difference between the violent, vengeful God of the Old Testament and the loving, accepting, and healing Jesus (and therefore God) of the New Testament?

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Q5: Why Deuteronomy?

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Q6: Is the story of Jonah literal in the way it’s told, or is it a fantastical comedy of a more realistic story about Jonah avoiding God’s to Ninevah? 

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Q7: Was there a creation before Genesis 1 opens up? The Holy Spirit was hovering over the waters, but it describes the layout of the creation of the earth, animals, etc.

Final General Questions

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Q8: Why can’t we all somewhat agree to a *few* interpretations of the Bible?

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Q9: If you’ve never read the Bible all the way through, where is the best place to start?

Rev. Matt Rossi introduces the Gospel narratives, pointing to Jesus as the culmination of the Old Testament.

Rev. Jordan Griesbeck walks us through the wisdom literature in the Old Testament, considering a definition of biblical wisdom and tracing it through each book.

Fr. Matt Rossi takes us through 700 years of Israelite history as he covers the narrative of the Old Testament from Joshua through the return from exile. How do the prophets and kings play a part in the narrative arc? Listen and find out. 

The Rev. Dr. Christopher Beeley teaches us in this next installment.

Ever walk in on a movie 10 minutes late? It's hard to miss the beginning! Fr. Joe Dewey teaches on how the story of the Bible begins, to orient us to the whole of the narrative.