1. The sacred text – content and teaching with reference to GodWord used to describe a personal transcendent Being, the world and human life.

2. How the sacred text is used in worshipThe offering of praise and reverence to God via a religious service, in the community.

3. Specialist language in the text and the meanings it conveys.

4. History and development of the sacred texts.

5. Complementary texts – and their authority.

6. The interpretation of texts.

7. Figurative language.

8. Analysis – theological and philosophical – of texts.

The sacred text of ChristianityOne of the major monotheistic religions of the world is the Bible. The Bible is divided into two sections, the Old and New Testaments. Testament means ‘covenant' and so the Old and New Testaments are descriptions of the bond between God and humans, and an explanation of their place in the divineThat which is holy plan. There are 66 chapters (known as ‘Books') in the Bible. 39 books in the Old TestamentThe first 39 books of the Bible, and 27 in the New Testament. The Old Testament comprises a ‘history' of the relationship between God and the people of IsraelThe chosen land of the Jews, and pilgrimage country for Christians from its inception at creation until the time just preceding the birth of Jesus of NazarethGenerally used to depict the historical Jesus rather than the Jesus of faith. The Old Testament includes a variety of written styles, including historical narrative, poetry, legendMaterial in a narrative that has some elements of historical origin but has been embellished to create a moral story, mythA narrative used to explain natural events using supernatural language, laws, allegory and symbolism. They are contained in three main sections of the Old Testament - the Law, Prophets and Writings. The New Testament contains the four GospelsThe first four books of the New Testament which contain an outline of the life, teaching death and resurrectionReferring to the collective and individual raising from the dead of humans and for Christians, Jesus of JesusFounder of Christianity of Nazareth. The New Testament also includes descriptions of the early churchterm referring to the church that formed immediately after Jesus' resurrection in Acts of the ApostlesFifth book of the New Testament describing the work of the early church, and a series of letters or epistlesThe letters of Paul and other early church leaders by St PaulMajor figure in the development of the theology and growth of the early church to the early church. These epistles relate to controversies and theological issues of the day, as well as referring to other related tracts and homilies, and ends with the Revelation of St JohnLast book of New Testament, apocalyptic in nature which is an exploration of eschatologicalReferring to end time speculations issues.

The Bible commands a central place in the life of the Church and the individual Christian. It provides guidance and inspirationReferring to the power of God to breathe life into works and is regarded as the 'Word of GodTerm often used to describe holy scripture'. For some Christian denominationsDifferent groups within one religion, the bible it to be read and understood literally, for others, it is open to interpretation by spiritualleaders.

Passages from the Old and New Testaments will be read during worship as part of a lectionaryWhen a sacred text is read over a period of time of readings to ensure that all important parts in the Bible are considered over a period of time. It should be noted that in the UK the importance of the bible within the community can still be seen as witnesses are still required by law to swear an oath on the Bible during court proceedings.

The Bible is a theological work. It is HeilsgeschichteGerman term meaning salvation history or ‘salvation history' and the many authors and editors of the Bible moulded the text into a description of the way God has worked historically to bring about his plan for humankind. Accordingly, the text will contain complex as well as simple strands but, by unravelling the setting within which the text was written, as well as applying the text to present day situations, a fuller appreciation of the Bible may be gained.

Although the history of the development of the Bible is complex, with the many theological and interpretative stances of its authors and editors having to be considered, Christians nevertheless believe that the inspiration from, and guiding hand of, God enables the truth of the texts to become apparent.

Most denominations use a prayer bookA text used particularly in a church showing the orders of service and containing prayers for many occasions during worship. A prayer book is a series of liturgy with additional prayersExtempore and set conversations with God which provides structure and formality to congregational worship. The Church of EnglandThe main Protestant denomination of England or AnglicanAlso called the Church of England Communion places a great deal of authority on the Book of Common Prayer, originally prepared by Thomas CranmerArchbishop of Canterbury 1532 and writer of the Book of Common Prayer (1489-1556), and its succeeding editions. Most churches also use some form of hymnA religious song of praise book.

Although some Christians interpret the Bible literally, i.e. as a book dictated by God to humans and infallibleA term used of religious narratives when they are considered to be without error in all ways, and most Christians accept a divine guidance in the work, most scholars and Christians believe the Bible is best understood with the help of textual, historical and critical analysis.

The Creation storiesStories found in Genesis, the first book of the Bible in the book of GenesisFirst book of the Bible are for most Christians, seen as ‘mythological' in nature, explaining the relationship between God and humans, rather than a literal explanation of the beginning of the cosmos. However, a number of Christians interpret the bible in a literal manner, notably, the current Creationist movement. Much figurative language is found in the Bible. The book of Jonah An allegorical book of the Bible written during the Exile, the apocalypticThose books of the Bible which were not accepted as canonical, often containing secretive messages descriptions of EzekielA Jewish prophet; one of the three major prophets owing to the length of the book, the legendary exaggerations of the historiesA particular type or form to be found in Biblical narratives of MosesRegarded as the law giver and major founder of Judaism, and others, all suggest a deeper meaning is to be found in the text by critical analysis.

Over the past two hundred years, scholars such as WellhausenGerman theologian who first proposed the four strand hypothesis behind the Pentateuch, SchweitzerAlbert Schweitzer, doctor, musician and theologian, BultmannOne of the great German scholars of the 20th century, DoddC H Dodd, one of the great English theologians of the 20th Century and SandersVery distinguished New Testament scholar have contributed to the theological and philosophical understanding of Biblical texts.

Weblinks

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/religion/christianity - the BBC schools site with useful links.

http://www.biblegateway.com - the Bible Gateway site for stories, passages and explanations of biblical texts.

http://www.ccel.org - the Christian Classics site for Biblical text searching and classical Christian texts.

http://www.ntgateway.com/ - New Testament links.

http://www.otgateway.com/ - Old Testament links.

http://www.request.org.uk/main/bible/Bible01.htm - REquest website for entry-level introductions to the Bible and its sources.

http://www.textweek.com/ - theology networking website.

Bibliography

Barton, J. & Muddiman, J., (eds), 2007. The Oxford Bible Commentary. Oxford: OUP.

Barton, J., 1993. People of the Book?: Authority of the Bible in Christianity. London: SPCK Publishing.

Charpentier, E., 1982. How to Read the New Testament. London: SCM Press.

Ford, D., 2000. Theology: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions). Oxford: OUP.

Gunton, C., 2001. The Christian Faith: An Introduction to Christian Doctrine. Oxford: Blackwell.

Migliore, D., 2002. Faith Seeking Understanding. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.

Rogerson, J. Dunn, J. & Barton, J. 2004. Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible. Grand Rapids: William B Eerdmans Publishing Co.

The Bible, 1995. New Revised Standard Version Bible (Anglicized) with Apocrypha (Bible NRSV). Oxford: OUP.

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