Month: December 2020

Paul definitely did not intend for his letters to be as widespread as there are today, and I find that very interesting. Paul never intended for his letters to be published in scripture, they were merely made to assist nearby churches who were struggling with their faith. Along with this unintentional publishing of Paul’s letters in the Bible, there is many theories and controversy. The biggest issue seems to be whether or not the letters were actually written by Paul himself. Again, as with anything else in the Bible, it is impossible to confirm whether or not Paul wrote all of the letters listed in the Bible, but it’s interesting to question nonetheless.

I find the topic of Biblical research itself to be fascinating. How does one confirm any theory with the only source to be one work, the Bible itself? All I’m aware of is that I never want to perform any kind of theology research in terms of confirming my theories, that seems like a very difficult job.

The Book of Psalms, commonly referred to as Psalms, and written as poems, is quite possibly the easiest book to read in the Old Testament and even in the Bible. A lot of wording from Psalms is used in song lyrics of hymnals for churches. Along with this, I found a theory by James Thirtle on Psalter’s music titles. His theory states that Psalter’s music titles were based on his personal observations with the intent to promote discussions and found outcomes to signifiant research. Thirtle believed he finally found the key for understanding the music titles in Psalms.

I myself cannot stake a claim on this theory because I most definitely have not studied Psalms enough. However, I do find this theory very fascinating to consider.

The story of Noah’s ark and the huge flood that God cast onto Earth is one of the most significant stories I remember from the church growing up. Revisiting the details and theories of the flood was super interesting to me. The different perspectives on the theories of the duration of the flood was what stood out to me most. Growing up I remember hearing over and over again: 40 days and 40 nights. However, I found the Priestly Writer’s version of 150 days to be very interesting. Time in the Bible is one of the most heavily debated subjects because there is no true way to tell if it was measured even remotely close to how we measure time now. I think it’s very possible that the flood could’ve lasted 40 days and 40 nights and also 150 days, it all depends on how you interpret it. 40 days and 40 nights could’ve just been used as more of a figure of speech for a long time, rather than an actual measurement. While there is no possible way of actually knowing how long the flood lasted, it’s still fascinating to ponder all of the different perspectives and ideas.

There have been many prophets that have told the coming of Jesus and that do the will of God. God instilled them on Earth to show us the way to him by using a form humans would trust, another human. For example, Moses, an Israelite who was raised as a rich Egyptian, was called to be a prophet. Little did he know he’d become one of the most famous prophets in the Bible due to his extreme courage in following God’s command and leading the Israelites to the promised land on a 40-year journey. Prophets are called to be the workers of God. Doing his will on the Earth so that humanity could be prepared for the coming of the savior, Jesus Christ.

Without a doubt, slavery is one of the most horrendous things ever to touch the face of the Earth. Although this evil was widely used there was some good ability to come from it. For example, in the book of Exodus God used slavery to help Moses, son of the pharaoh, answer the call to Him. He did this just as much as he used Moses to help the slaves. A situation where both parties were saved. The Israelites, from the tortures of slavery and Moses, from his false pagan religion. God taught Moses the words and phrases to free the Israelites, most commonly referred to as “let my people go” and soon enough they were. This is an example of how slavery, although purely evil, can amount to some good in the world.

I personally feel that women have a large role in the church even though they might not be represented in a large number or to a large demographic. Women have largely impacted the Church through sainthood and religious life. For example, countless saints are women and there are numerous Dominican nuns answering their call to teach not only about the faith but in schools about every topic from math to social studies, allowing them to apply the morals of the faith in every subject. Another great example is Mary the Mother of God, one of the 2 people ever to be conceived without sin. Answered the call from God agreed to carry the savior into the world. Without her, a women, humanity may not have been saved.

Hi! I’m Megan Kaster, I’m a freshman and majoring in pharmacy. I’m taking this course, first off, because I need my TI requirement, but second off, I want to keep learning about my faith. I’ve been studying the Catholic faith my whole life and I want to keep that going.
To me, the Bible is almost like a text book for the Catholic faith, its what we read and study to help us become better people and live the way Jesus wants us to. However, there are many things in the Bible that people don’t agree with. I don’t agree with some things that the Catholic Church teaches, because the people in the church aren’t perfect, and they can tend to interoperate things incorrectly.
The authors of the Bible is many people. For the Old Testament, it was, for many years, verbally passed down until people started to learn how to read and write. For the New Testament, it was many of Jesus’ Apostles and disciples that wrote the books down.
If you look up on google “the Bible” the first result is Wikipedia, then the next few are sites where you can buy a copy. I don’t find these sources reliable, because the internet is full of bias, and the bible can mean a thousand different ways to everyone who reads it.

December edit: I had no idea this didn’t post! I’m so sorry! It’s definitely very late, but here’s my introduction! 

Personally I find the belief of people being directly related to Jesus by blood quite absurd. Someone as holy and gifted as Jesus Christ could not possibly have any siblings. Even in the Bible John 3:16 states “He gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” since the teachings of the church are infallible, meaning there is no flaw in them. This shows that Jesus could not possibly have any siblings. Jesus was an only child who’s bloodline ended at the age of 33 with his death on the cross (Mark 15:25) and the beheading of his cousin John the Baptist. (Matthew 14:11)

I don’t think I have ever considered the notion that Jesus could have possibly had siblings, even though through the discussion in the class and otherwise, it’s brought up in the Bible. When I was growing up going to church, I just assumed Jesus was an only child to Mary and Joseph. I can’t recall a time that Jesus’ siblings were ever brought up in a church service or even in Sunday school.

There are many theories as to how Jesus could have had siblings, and also a lot of controversy. If Mary was a virgin, how would it be possible for Jesus to have other older siblings? The majority belief seems to be that they were actually Joseph’s children from other marriages, making them half siblings to Jesus. However, even this belief is controversial in society, and the majority of Christians deem to form their own opinions on the topic.