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© Ancient Faith Ministries
Description
In this live program, Presvytera and Dr. Jeannie Constantinou guides us through Holy Scripture with the eyes of the Church Fathers and answers listener questions. Live on Mondays at 7:00pm Central/8:00pm Eastern.
344 Episodes
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Although general consensus for the NT canon was reached around AD 400, many surprising variations continued. Complete uniformity did not exist for hundreds of years. Revelation was in, then out, then in. Why? Ethiopia has a unique canonical tradition we will also explore.
What were the main factors considered for including books in the Christian canon, which books were easily accepted, and which books faced opposition? Who decided ultimately which books the New Testament would contain? The answer is not what you think!
Certain controversies arose during the second century that created problems for the writings of the Apostle John. Some actively lobbied to keep the Gospel out of the New Testament. What was their motivation, what accusations did they raise and who came to John's defense?
Developments occurred in the second century that impacted the Church, and eventually, controversies and crises created the need for a Christian collection of Scripture. But which books would be included? Apostolic writings were not immediately considered "Scripture." Why not?
1How did the Jewish Scriptures function for the early Church? What was the Jewish canon for the Jews and for the first Christians? When and why did Christians begin to compose and collect their own writings?
Is there a "best" English translation? What does a translator consider when choosing between words? Which popular Bibles are actually not translations but distortions? Dr Jeannie share her experiences as a translator and compares various versions for efficacy and accuracy.
The number of English Versions has exploded in recent years. Why? How are they different? What should you consider and what should you avoid? We'll look at the history of the English Bible, and Dr Jeannie will share some of her personal experiences in doing translation work.
Accurate and effective translation of the Bible requires language knowledge but also other skills. What considerations must translators weigh and how does their approach affect the final version? What should readers bear in mind?
Certain translations of the Bible have played an important role in Christian and Jewish history, especially the Septuagint and the Masoretic Text. Why were they created and why are they important?
Critics of Christianity claim that the birth of Jesus is simply copied from pagan mythologies. We'll examine those claims and make a true comparison of the "other accounts" of Virgin Births in antiquity. Are they in fact similar or not?
In the first of two special lessons on the Nativity of Christ, we will look at lesser discussed details about the birth of Christ, such as how the devil was deceived and why the name of David is mentioned often in the genealogy of Christ, with the Fathers as our guides!
No two manuscripts of any biblical book are exactly alike. Why not? Does this affect the reliability of the Scriptures, and should we be concerned? What do ancient manuscripts look like?
Your neatly printed Bible is based on thousands of handwritten manuscripts. Where are they? How old are they? How were manuscripts produced in the past, and how are they analyzed today? What happens when manuscripts don't agree?
Early Christians relied on oral tradition since that was the norm in education, not only for them but for all ancient people. There were also many times when Christians intentionally did not write important things down. Is there any evidence that oral tradition is reliable?
The Bible relies heavily on oral tradition, even though it is written. Why is that the case? How did early Christians learn about Jesus? How did they interact with Scriptures, and what role did oral tradition play in the Church? Is oral tradition reliable, and if so, how?
The concept that God actually gets angry and has similar human emotions and traits is not only theologically incorrect but spiritually damaging. This week, we hear from both listeners and the Fathers as we continue to discuss biblical language when it must not be taken literally.
As we continue our discussion of why God does not get angry, jealous, or otherwise behave as a human being, we will look at some of the most famous passages of the Bible and how the Fathers explain the "behavior" of God, especially in Genesis.
Reorienting ourselves to think differently about God is a challenge, but necessary if we are to have a correct understanding of God and the Bible. Even the ancient Fathers understood that God does not get angry or jealous. Can we raise our minds to understand why?
The human language of the Bible is entirely inadequate to express truths about God. Many descriptive words cannot be understood literally, such as God becoming angry. We must accept this limitation to have correct concepts about God and a deeper understanding of the Bible.
The Fathers shared certain basic assumptions about the Bible, including the belief that every detail in the Bible had a useful spiritual purpose. Even the most ordinary passage can convey deep insights if properly interpreted.
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