Reading the Bible
The Christian Bible, which proclaims that God's love for the world is revealed in Jesus Christ, is the witness of the church, not the literal, infallible or inerrant word of God.
Jesus of Nazareth challenged the Jewish establishment and was crucified for treason by the Roman governor of Palestine. The disciples of Jesus led by Peter and James, the brother of Jesus, founded the first church in Jerusalem. Paul's ministry to the Gentiles spread the gospel message to major cities in the Roman Empire. The letters of Paul to Christians in Thessalonica, Galatia, Corinth, Philippi, and Rome address conflicts in Greek-speaking churches and are the earliest writings in the New Testament.
At the same time, the Roman Emperor was claiming to be the
Savior of the world and demanding 
worship in temples built in Thessalonica,
Galatia, Philippi, Rome and other major cities of the Empire. In the mid 60s Paul and Peter were executed
in Rome for treason, and
James was killed in Jerusalem for challenging the authority of the temple
hierarchy. Jews in Palestine revolted in 66, but Roman armies in 70 captured
Jerusalem, destroyed its temple, and crucified thousands
of Jews (and Jewish Christians).
These events led Greek-speaking Christians to write gospels that proclaim an Aramaic-speaking, Galilean Jew crucified by Romans in Jerusalem is the Messiah (Christ) expected by Jews and also the Son of God sought by Gentiles.
By the end of the second century most of the books of the New Testament were generally accepted by churches in the Roman Empire. But the Christian Bible with a reordered Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible) as the Old Testament was not authorized as the Christian canon until Emperor Constantine converted in the fourth century and compelled unity among the Empire's bishops.
Listen to what some of the visitors have said about this challenging web site.
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"Without reading this site's answers
to my questions, I would have been lost forever. Thank
you."
Heather
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"I must say that while I do not agree
with everything you have written, I have read more of my Bible in the last two
weeks than ever before."
Kevin
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"I am so glad I started reading your
website. I have had to struggle with some of the doctrine when it just
does not make sense. I believe God gave us our minds so we can use
them." Anna
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"Thanks so much for your summaries. They have been a great help and a useful resource in my study
of God's word." Erik
I am guided in my interpretation of the Christian Bible by the Creeds and the Reformed Confessions of the church. Moreover, I understand a scripture text in the context of the whole Bible, as part of the church's witness to its faith in God in Jesus Christ.
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In worship, Bible study and prayer we can inquire about God's will, as we understand it in scripture and in the witness of the church, and we can seek the grace of God to live more faithfully. However, our witness to God must be marked by the humble confession that we do not speak for God, but for ourselves and for our church.
Revised 5 January 2003
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What is the Christian Bible? The disciples of Jesus, as the apostles of the Jerusalem church, heard the scrolls of Jewish faith read in Hebrew and Aramaic. This was their Bible. Paul and the other apostles to the Gentiles read the Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures, the Septuagint, as their Bible.
In the first three centuries of the church other writings were read as scripture. After the Roman Emperor Constantine was converted, the church authorized some of these Greek writings as the New Testament and a reordered Septuagint as the Old Testament.
In the sixteenth century Protestant reformers translated the Old Testament from the Hebrew canon authorized at the end of the first century, which omitted parts of the Septuagint. This is why Protestant and Catholic Bibles are not quite the same.
The
New Testament is all about faith, but says almost nothing about belief. Do you
know what this means and why it is important? Faith and belief are not the same.
We are called to be faithful, not "belief-ful." The Christian
proclamation is that we are saved by faith, not by our beliefs.
We are not saved by following the rules and rituals of Christian religion, but by living faithfully. How is Christian faith like faith in other religious traditions? Despite different beliefs, Christians have much in common with other people of faith. To order click on the book cover.
Should
Christians cooperate with people of other religious traditions? Yes, in working
for a more just and peaceful world. Should churches participate in interfaith
activities and organizations? Yes, when these activities and organizations
enable all of us to live together more faithfully.
Should interfaith cooperation encourage dialogue about what is true for all people of faith? Yes, if this quest includes self-critical reflection and mutual respect. The goal of interfaith cooperation should be repentance and forgiveness. To order click on the book cover.
Do
Christians support human rights? Contemporary Christian teaching does, although
not all Christians have or do. Catholics and conservative and liberal
Protestants embraced human rights in the last half of the 20th century. Is there
support in other religious traditions? Yes, at least in contemporary teachings.
There is also "secular faith" in human rights, and secular and religious advocates for human rights struggle together. This collaborative alliance for human dignity is rarely noted but worth understanding. To order click on the book cover.
