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The Bible Christian faith and life requires knowing certain things – most obviously it requires a familiarity with the primary document – Holy Scripture. Scripture is the key participatory witness to the revelation of God to his people Israel and in the person of his Son our Saviour Jesus Christ. There are many versions of the Bible available, and so a choice as to which one to use can be confusing. Bibles can be divided into translations and paraphrases. The former are more literal, the latter aim towards trying to keep the meaning simple by amplifying the literal translation. It is helpful to use both a translation like the Revised Standard Version, and a paraphrase like the Good News Bible. The New Revised Standard Version is also available but in some places it tends towards a paraphrase rather than a translation. The New Oxford Annotated Bible with Apocrypha has useful introductions to each book of the bible as well as some maps. There is a split within Christianity as to exactly what books belong in the Bible, while the vast majority of Christians agree about the 26 books of the New Testament (although the Coptic church of Ethiopia, for example, adds a couple of books) Protestants, including Anglicans, have a shorter list (or Canon) for the Old Testament than do Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christians. It is good to have a bible with the longer Old Testament, and versions mentioned above can be found that include these books. Commentaries A good one-volume bible commentary can be very useful and there are a number available. Unfortunately most tend to be overly academic in orientation and not very devotionally satisfying. This is indicative of the sad state of biblical study in which the text is simply read like any other text. Yet careful linguistic cultural and historical analysis is important. The Oxford Bible Commentary is a recent one-volume commentary, which includes discussion of the longer version of the Old Testament called the Apocrypha. The Jerome Bible Commentary is another example of a concise one-volume commentary. Concordances A Concordance is a very useful tool for looking up a scripture verse that we partially remember but cannot recall exactly where it is located, or for studying a word used in a number of books. Concordances are produced for various translations - although if you cannot find one to precisely match the bible you read you can usually rely on one compiled for a similar translation. The classic concordance is Cruden's Complete Concordance for the King James Version of the Bible, but there are more up to date publications such as The Analytical Concordance to the NRSV. Text analysis The versions of Holy Scripture we now use depend upon many ancient manuscripts and there are obviously differences between these texts. Whilst no major Christian doctrine is changed significantly by theses differences there are degrees of emphasis. A more in depth look at this fascinating subject can be found in the classic work The Text of the New Testament by Bruce Metzger and Bart Ehrman. Studying the Gospels brings us to the heart of everything God has done for us in Christ. A very useful tool is the Synopsis of the Four Gospels edited by Kurt Aland which has the three synoptic (or like) Gospels printed in columns one next to the other with any parallels in John’s Gospel also included. Liturgy As Episcopalians and Anglicans our primary text outside of scripture is the Book of Common Prayer 1979. This book is the latest in a series of Books of Common Prayer beginning with the first Book of Common Prayer 1549. The Episcopal Church’s Hymnal 1980 is a great resource of prayer and praise. History Church History is replete with witnesses to both the best and worst examples of Christian faith and life and provides us with a salutary lesson of what to avoid and what to cling to as we seek to grow in Christ. A short but high accessible book (including great pictures!) is A History of Christianity by Owen Chadwick. A slightly more in depth work is The Story of Christianity by Justo Gonzalez. Books used at All Hallows During the year there are three groups that use a book as a guide towards deeper insight into Christian faith and life. Every year a Lenten study series is held. We have studied a book each year other than 2004. 2000 Word is Very Near You – Martin Smith The Men’s Group at All Hallows meets every week to pray and study a book. We have read together: The Man in the Mirror – Patrick Morley The Women’s reading Group meets every two weeks and has read The Practice of Prayer – Margaret Guenther Book list compiled and annotated by The Rev. Mark Ainsworth, Rector. | ||||||||||||
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All Hallows Episcopal Church, Wyncote, PA 19095 - 215 885-1641 | ||
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