MODULE 1: THE
POWER OF STORIES
MODULE 1 LEARNING OUTCOME:
• Appreciate the role of core stories in
understanding and shaping the life of an
individual and a community by relating it to
their own stories
• Interpret the scripture texts using the 3
worlds
Aspect of culture
Values/worldview
Interactive
Memory/Learning
Oral tradition
Oral history
Replicable
Personal
How do core stories
affect people’s lives?
Major Course Output
The Bible is full of stories, from Genesis to
Revelation. The different books of the Bible
are dedicated to telling a specific story. Some
tell about the good triumphing over evil, while
others narrate death and destruction.
Kinds of Stories
• Genres
• Myth
• Folklore
• Speech categories
• Legends
• Worldview & story
• Parables
6
The “Big Idea” in a Story
• The lesson(s) in a story
• Gospel themes
• The title of a story
• Supplementary information
in stories
• Culture & emphasis
• Metaphors & meaning
• Salvation History
7
Is the Bible truly God’s Word?
THE BIBLE
• Sacred Scripture
• The Word of God
(Protocanonical Books) (Deuterocanonical Books)
Old Testament – 39 46
Hebrew Bible
New Testament – 27 27
Christian Bible
66 73
INITIAL GLIMPSE
• The two Creation Stories
• The Creation Narratives
• Genesis 1:1 - 2:1-4a
• Genesis 2:4b-25
GROUP ACTIVITY
• Read The two Creation Stories
• Genesis 1:1 - 2:1-4a
• Genesis 2:4b-25
There are 12 specific differences of the
narratives.
GENESIS 1:1 - 2:1-4A
Covenant
7
God rested
4 5 6
sun,moon, Birds/ Humans
Rulers
Emptiness stars Fish Animals
1 2 3
Day/ Sea/ Land/
Formlessness Night Plants Realms
Sky
Time Space Life
[Link]
GENESIS 1:1 - 2:1-4A
GOD
GENESIS 2:4B-25
Adam- earth Breath of life-
“Earthly Living being
being”
The
creation
of Man
and
Woman
Human beings
as moral agent
PENTATEUCH
Gk – five containers
A common hypothesis among biblical
Genesis scholars is that the first major
comprehensive draft of the Pentateuch
was composed in the late 7th or the 6th
Exodus century BC (the Yahwist source) and that
this was later expanded by other authors
Leviticus (the Priestly source) into a work very like
the one we have today.
Numbers Genesis 1:1–2:3 is
Priestly
Deuteronomy
Genesis 2:4–24 is
“In the Beginning” –
Jewish Traditions Yahwistic
“Law – Torah”
Teaching, Law, Prophecy Elohist and Deuteronomist
Genre: the intention of the
Literary Type author/s and the culture
within which they wrote
It is not a scientific or historical account of creation the way
modern man understands science and history.
Genesis 1-2 can be seen as ancient science: in the
words of E.A. Speiser, "on the subject of creation biblical
tradition aligned itself with the traditional tenets of
Babylonian science. It can also be regarded as ancient
history, "part of a broader spectrum of originally
anonymous, history-like ancient Near Eastern narratives.
It is frequently called myth in scholarly writings
Narrative -
“omniscient third-person” narrator in the
Genesis narrative allows the storyteller to
create the impression that everything is being
told and nothing held back.
Misreading:
"woodenly literal" approach -"creation science"
"implausible interpretations" as the "gap theory", the
presumption of a "young earth", and the denial of
evolution
NATURE OF THE
BIBLE
DIVINE REVELATION IN HUMAN EXPRESSION
FUNDAMENTALISM HUMANISM
Everything The Bible
Written in
is mere
the Bible is
absolutely human
from God creation
NATURE OF THE BIBLE
DIVINE REVELATION IN HUMAN EXPRESSION
EXEGESIS HERMENEUTICS
God chose God speaks
certain men through men
in human
fashion
EXEGESIS
• The noun exegesis comes from a Greek
word that means “to lead to”. Exegesis is
an explanation, which leads to
understanding by extracting meaning from
the text of a religious holy book after
objective interpretation in a critical
manner. This involves analysis of word; it is
also sometimes called applying Historico-
critical method.
THE BIBLE AS LITERATURE
• The Bible is a
The Bible as a
book of means of
shared divine
memories revelation
magnalia Dei
The Bible as
The Bible is ta biblia a library of
the word of
books
God Testament
Love Relationship
fidelity commitment
INSPIRATION AND
INERRANCY OF THE
BIBLE.
Inspiration is the
encompassing divine
influence in the act
of writing, compiling,
editing, and in the
preserving of the
Holy Scripture.
INSPIRATION AND
INERRANCY OF THE
BIBLE.
The Holy Spirit did not
overrule the biblical writers’
personalities but entered
into their personalities (into
their history and culture),
guiding them to see what
only faith can grasp.
INSPIRATION AND
INERRANCY OF THE
BIBLE.
Not to be
understood as
dictation but
rather
interpenetration
by the Spirit
INSPIRATION AND
INERRANCY OF THE
BIBLE.
It reflects the
cultural and
historical
limitations of the
writers
Norma Normans non Normata
The Norm of norms which cannot be normed – The Ruling Rules
OLD TESTAMENT
NEW TESTAMENT
It is the repository of
God’s
revelation to His people
