Connecting With Our Faith• New Testament is

wonderful means to connect with many aspects of our faith – the Trinity, first century Christians, & Israelites of Old Testament

• Examining Divine Revelation in general

• The Canon of the New Testament

• Content of the New Testament

• Types of Literature• Dates the books were

written

Divine Revelation – Scripture & Tradition• God revealed Himself out of love

for us

• From Adam to Jesus, God intended us to know Him so that we could return His love

• Two main avenues He uses to communicate Himself – Sacred Scripture & Tradition Deposit of

Faith

Serves

Serves

Sacred Scripture

Sacred Tradition

Magisterium

PROTECTS

• Magisterium preserves the Word of God

• Though written by man, both Scripture & Tradition are included in deposit of faith because they are inspired by God

• God is ultimate author of all Divine Revelation

• Holy Spirit protects Church from error in faith (including revelation) & morals

Scripture’s Origin in Oral Tradition• Human experience with Scripture

originates in oral tradition

• Hebrews were nomads & not capable of writing or transport/store written collections

• Experiences of God perpetuated in oral tradition

• Not same as “grapevine” wherein info gets skewed or lost

• People entrusted with remembering these faith experiences were inspired by God & had tremendous responsibility to fellow Hebrews and God

• Words spoken, preached, & memorized from generation to generation

Scripture’s Origin in Oral Tradition• Earliest written record of Scripture

around 1000 BC (rule of Israel’s kings when permanent settlement)

• Only included Pentateuch at that time

• Most OT not committed to writing until the Babylonian Captivity in 587 BC

• Done to preserve Jewish culture amid the “Babylonian melting pot”

• Oral tradition continued & was accepted as way of discerning & preserving the meaning of God’s word for each generation

Passing on the Experience of God• Like Old Testament, New

Testament born out of apostle’s experience of God the Son & the Holy Spirit

• These experiences, like those of their Hebrew forefathers, were preached, taught, & subsequently passed on to the apostles’ successors under the guidance of the Holy Spirit