1、Basic Facts about the Bible,A very brief introduction,True or False? Among all the religions, Christianity(基督教) has the largest number of adherents. ( ) Christianity and Catholicism (天主教) are different religious groups. ( ) The Bible is only one book. ( ) The Bible consists of two parts, that is, Ol
2、d Testament and New Testament. ( ) Both the two parts are considered holy to both Christians and Jews. ( ) Protestants (新教徒) and Roman Catholics(天主教徒) use the same version of the Old Testament. ( ) Besides stories, the Bible also includes many other forms of literature. ( ),Major Religions of the Wo
3、rld,Ranked by Number of Adherents (figures shown are approximate estimates ) 1. Christianity 基督教2.1 billion 2. Islam伊斯兰教 1.5 billion 3. Non-religious无宗教者 1.1 billion 4. Hinduism 印度教 900 million 5. Chinese traditional religion中国传统宗教 394 million 6. Buddhism 佛教 376 million 7. primal-indigenous 土著信仰300m
4、illion 8. Sikhism锡克教 23 million 9. Judaism犹太教14 million,Branches of Christianity,Christianity: the religion of all Christians. There are three major branches of Christianity: the Roman Catholic Church(天主教), the Eastern Orthodox Churches(东正教) and Protestant Churches （新教）.,Orthodox adj (esp religion 尤
5、用於宗教) following the older, more traditional, practices strictly 正统的; 传统的; 循规蹈矩的: orthodox Jews 正统的犹太教徒. Catholic adj 1.including many or most things; general; universal 包罗万象的; 广泛的; 普遍的: have catholic tastes, interests, views, etc 广泛的爱好 兴趣 意见等. 2. (technical) connected with all Christians or the whol
6、e Christian Church Protestant n, adj (member) of any of the Christian bodies that separated from the Church of Rome in the 16th century, or of their branches formed later 新教徒（指16世纪脱离罗马天主教之基督教团体或後来由其形成的教派成员）; 新教（徒）的,Basic Facts about the Bible,The Bible: sacred, holy writings of the Christian religio
7、n a book that can be found almost anywhere on the earth. translated into more than 2000 different languages and dialects. the worlds most popular book. Every year more copies of the Bible are sold than any other publication. the number of sales is increasing.,Basic Facts about the Bible,Till Decembe
8、r 31,2008, the Bible has been translated into 2479 languages. In 2008, 28,448,325 copies of the Bible were sold.,Where is the Bible Available?,Paper copy: in churches Electronic form: on the Internet Many different English translations KJV: King James Version（Authorized Version） 詹姆斯王本圣经，英文钦定译本 Simpl
9、e, beautiful, dignified and powerful language, praised as “the noblest monument of English prose”英语散文的纪念碑 Early Modern English,早期現代英文 different grammar and words, difficult to understand,Origin of the Word “Bible”,Bible: Language: Old French; Origin: Medieval Latin biblia, from Greek, plural of bibl
10、ion book Therefore “bible” means a collection of books. 图书馆 bibliotheque, bibliothek Bibliography 书目,When was the Bible written?,The Bible: one of the worlds oldest books. The oldest book was written about 1500 B.C. or earlier. The last was written about A.D. 100. The Bible was written over a period
11、 of at least 1500 years. BC=before Christ used after a date to show that it was before the birth of Christ 公元前 AD=Anno Domini (“in the year of our Lord.“ ) used to show that a date is a particular number of years after the birth of Christ 公元.年 C.E. AmE Common Era used after a date to show it was aft
12、er the birth of Christ = AD B.C.E. AmE before common era used after a date to show that it is before the birth of Christ Sound less religious, criticized,Cristo Redentor or “Christ the Redeemer“.Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,Authors of the Bible,Clearly, the Bible was not written by one person. Why? It was
13、 written over a period of about 1600 years. It is estimated there were about forty authors from different walks of life. Shepherds Kings Fishermen Peasants Doctors Tax-collectors They came from Asia, Europe and Africa. Directly or indirectly the authors assert that what they were writing really came
14、 from God.,Components of the Bible,The Bible is comprised of 66 books with two major divisions: the Old Testament (39 books) and the New Testament (27 books).,The Old Testament,Well before the time of Christ the Jews had already finished assembling the divinely inspired writings of the Hebrews. It i
15、s a collection of 39 books. The Old Testament: also called the Jewish Bible or Hebrew Bible. It is part of the Bible that is holy to the Jewish religion. Most of it was originally written in Hebrew, the language of the ancient Jewish people.,The Old Testament 39 books,All written before Jesus came.
16、1400-400 B.C. “Testament” means “covenant or agreement” The Old Covenant is an agreement that God made with the nation of Israel The Old Testament was written in Hebrew the language of Israel,Modern Map of Same Area,The New Testament,Following Christs life on earth, additional sacred books were writ
17、ten. Some of these books record historical events pertaining to Christ and His early followers. Others are letters written to explain Christs teaching or to encourage the followers of Christ to practice the moral principles He taught. There are 27 books in this later collection. Together they form t
18、he New Testament. The New Testament is holy only to Christians.,The Old Testament 39 books,All written 400 years before Jesus birth 1400-400 B.C. “Testament” means “covenant or agreement” The Old Covenant is an agreement that God made with the nation of ISRAEL The Old Testament was written in Hebrew
19、 the language of Israel,All written AFTER his death 48-65 A.D.The New Covenant is an agreement that God has made for ALL NATIONS The New Testament was written in Greek,The New Testament 27 books,Composition of the Old Testament (Literary Styles found in the Old Testament),The Old Testament has four
20、major divisions: (1) the Law - 5 books; (2) History - 12 books; (3) Poetry - 5 books; and, (4) Prophecy - 17 books.,Torah noun (usually the Torah) (in Judaism) the law of God as given to Moses and recorded in the first five books of the Bible 律法，圣经旧约之首五卷, 摩西五书,Babylonian Exile: 巴比伦之囚,Composition of
21、the New Testament (Literary Styles Found in the New Testament),Similarly, the New Testament has four major divisions: (1) the Gospels - 4 books; Gospel: a Greek word for “good news” 福音书 the life and teaching of Jesus耶稣生平及其教导 (2) the Acts of the Apostles - 1 book; Apostle：any of the twelve men sent o
22、ut by Christ to spread his teaching 使徒（基督为宣传他的教导而派出的十二位门徒之一）. (3) the Epistles - 21 books; epistle n letter 书信: (4) the Revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ - 1 book. 启示录,Differences in the Bibles,The version of the Old Testament used by Roman Catholics is the Jewish Bible with some other books and a
23、dditions to the books. The version of the Old Testament used by Protestants is limited to the 39 books of the Jewish Bible. The other books and additions to the books are called the Apocrypha(伪经、后典) by Protestants.,Genesis,1. The Story of the Creation,The Creation of the World,According to Genesis,
24、the first book of the Bible, God created the world in six days.,The First Day,God first created light. He said, “Let there be light”, and there was light. God divided the light from the darkness and made day and night.,The Second Day,God divided the sky from the earth, and put one on top of the othe
25、r. God said Let there be an expanse to separate water from water God called the expanse sky.,expanse n (of sth) wide and open area (of land, sea, etc) （陆地 海洋等的）广阔的区域: the blue expanses of the sky 广阔的蓝天.,The Third Day,God gathered all the water together to make the seas, so that dry land appeared. He
26、 made grass grow on the land, plants give seeds and trees bear fruit.,The Fourth Day,God spent the fourth day creating the sun, the moon and stars to shine in the sky.,The Fifth Day,God devoted the fifth day to the creation of sea animals and birds flying in the sky.,The Sixth Day,God made land anim
27、als and human beings.,The Seventh Day,God stopped working and made the day holy, because he had a rest on the day. Reserving a day for rest and worship, the Sabbath(安息日), became one of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:8-11). There is more to life than just work.,Genesis,2. The Story of Adam and Eve,G
28、en 2:7 the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. the Garden of Eden. trees with delicious fruit Right in the middle of the garden were the “tree of life“ and the “tree of the knowledge of good and evi
29、l.“,Then, Gen 2:15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. Gen 2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; Gen 2:17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you ea
30、t of it you will surely die.“,Then God saw that Adam was lonely. God put Adam into a deep sleep and took one of his ribs and formed it into a woman to be Adams wife. Adam named her “Eve”. Questions: 1. Do women have more ribs than men? 2. Were Adam and Eve allowed to eat the fruit of the tree of lif
31、e? 1. NO. They both have twelve pairs. 2. Yes. They were allowed to do so.,Male Skeleton,X-Ray of Female Ribs,the serpent ; tricky and deceitful. The snake said to the woman, “Why not eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge? You will not die, and you will become as wise as gods. “ So the woman picked
32、 the fruit of the tree and ate some, and gave it to the man and he ate some too. Then suddenly they became wiser and knew that they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.,God saw this, and knew that they had eaten the forbidden fruit. God punished the serpent; to crawl on
33、 their bellies, eat dust and be enemies of mankind.God punished Adam and Eve, their lives hard. Men would have to struggle and sweat for their existence.To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your
34、husband, and he will rule over you.“ God made them leave the Garden of Eden, so that they might not eat fruit from the tree of life and live forever.,Gen 3:24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard th
35、e way to the tree of life. Questions: 1. Why could the serpent speak to Eve? 2. Was the forbidden fruit an apple? 3. God said they would die when they ate the forbidden fruit, but they didnt. Was God lying to them?,1. The serpent in Genesis chapter 3 was Satan. Satan was either appearing as a serpen
36、t, possessing the serpent, or deceiving Adam and Eve into believing that it was the serpent who was talking to them. Serpents / snakes do not possess the ability to speak. 2. The fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is often pictured as an apple, but the Bible never says what it was.,
37、3. kjv: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. esv: “but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.“cuv: “只是分别善恶树上的果子，你不可
38、吃，因为你吃的日子必定死！”,Gen 5:1 This is the written account of Adams line. When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. Gen 5:2 He created them male and female and blessed them. And when they were created, he called them “man. “ Gen 5:3 When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own like
39、ness, in his own image; and he named him Seth. Gen 5:4 After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. Gen 5:5 Altogether, Adam lived 930 years, and then he died. Gen 5:6 When Seth had lived 105 years, he became the father of Enosh. Gen 5:7 And after he became the father
40、of Enosh, Seth lived 807 years and had other sons and daughters. Gen 5:8 Altogether, Seth lived 912 years, and then he died. Gen 5:9 When Enosh had lived 90 years, he became the father of Kenan. Gen 5:10 And after he became the father of Kenan, Enosh lived 815 years and had other sons and daughters.
41、 Gen 5:11 Altogether, Enosh lived 905 years, and then he died.,诗篇(Psalms) Psa 90:4 For a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by Altogether, Adam lived 930 years, and then he died.,Angels,Origin of the word: Greek angelos, literally, messenger Mentioned hundreds of times in
42、 the Bible. Send messages for God, or carry out his plan to save his people or destroy the wicked. Travel at tremendous speeds.,Angels,The best-known example of their function as messengers: the annunciation by the Angel Gabriel (加百列) to the Virgin Mary of the birth of Christ.,Angels,Mentioned far m
43、ore times in Revelation than any other book of the Bible. Innumerable angels were seen around the throne of God; seven blew their seven trumpets while another seven poured out the seven bowls of Gods anger.,Angels,Christianity developed very elaborate doctrines about angels: They were created by God
44、 and they do not marry or have children. They have a greater mental capacity than man. Man is “a little lower than angels”. They are superhuman in power.,Classification of Angels,In the Middle Ages it was believed that there were nine orders of angels: 1. There are 3 main hierarchies. 2. Each main h
45、ierarchy contains 3 orders.,Classification of Angels,The highest hierarchy includes the order of (in descending order) a) Seraphim (seraph) 炽天使 b) Cherubim (cherub) 智天使 c) Thrones 座天使,A seraph angel,Classification of Angels,The middle hierarchy includes the order of a) Dominions主天使 b) Virtues 力天使 c)
46、 Powers 能天使 The lowest hierarchy includes the order of a) Principalities 权天使 b) Archangels大天使 c) Angels 天使Seven archangels are the leaders of angels. Three of them are named in the Bible: Gabriel, Michael and Raphael,Archangel Michael 米迦勒,Archangel Raphael 拉斐尔,Satan,In Judaism and Christianity: Sata
47、n, also called Devil, an evil spirit that opposes God or good spirits. Satan tempts people to be wicked. In the Book of Job of the Old Testament, Satan is a servant of God. Special function: to test the virtues of men by trials and sufferings.,Satan,By the time of the New Testament: seen as the enem
48、y of God and one who had been driven out of heaven. Satan was identified with Lucifer (路西法), an angel who tried to rebel against God and so fell from Heaven.,Lucifer,son of the morning, “morning star”,金星 Became jealous of GodWas perfect until his sinBecame proud of his beauty and glory instead of gl
49、orifying God his CreatorSinned in his heart,Lucifer,tried to rebel against God and so fell from Heaven. Was cast out of heaven and took one-third of all the angels with him He is supposed to be the ruler of Hell. His followers, called devils, were lesser angels who fell with him.,Idioms from Genesis
50、 Chapter 2&3,1. Garden of Eden (Gen. 2 : 15 17) Eden n also the Garden of Eden singular in the Bible story, the garden where Adam and Eve, the first humans lived, often seen as a place of happiness and innocence. 人间天堂，乐园 The city is a remote and beautiful Eden. Life is no garden of Eden (ie is unpleasant) at the moment. 现时的生活并非世外桃源.,
