http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/ en shahn@salvationhistory.com Copyright 2012 2012-05-25T13:41:07+00:00 http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/a_new_wind_reflections_on_pentecost_sunday http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/a_new_wind_reflections_on_pentecost_sunday#When:12:41:07Z Dr. Scott Hahn: - The giving of the Spirit to the new people of God crowns the mighty acts of the Father in salvation history. The Jewish feast of Pentecost called all devout Jews to Jerusalem to celebrate their birth as God’s chosen people, in the covenant Law given to Moses at Sinai (see Leviticus 23:15-21; Deuteronomy 16:9-11). In today’s First Reading the mysteries prefigured in that feast are fulfilled in the pouring out of the Spirit on Mary and the Apostles (see Acts 1:14). The Spirit seals the new law and new covenant brought by Jesus, written not on stone … 2012-05-25T12:41:07+00:00 http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/first_copy_of_nehemiah_found_in_unpublished_dead_sea_scrolls http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/first_copy_of_nehemiah_found_in_unpublished_dead_sea_scrolls#When:12:49:15Z Dr. Michael Barber: - Exciting news! Anyone familiar with the Dead Sea Scrolls can tell you that portions of nearly every book in the Hebrew Bible are represented in these ancient texts discovered in caves near the Dead Sea. The only exceptions were the Book of Esther and the Book of Nehemiah; scholars assumed the latter had been written on the same scroll as the Book of Ezra (as was common) but simply hadn’t survived—until now. In a recent blog post, Norwegian scroll scholar Torleif Elgvin of Evangelical Lutheran University College in Oslo, Norway, announced that he and colleague Esther Eshel … 2012-05-22T12:49:15+00:00 http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/hearing_the_call_reflections_on_the_ascension_of_the_lord http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/hearing_the_call_reflections_on_the_ascension_of_the_lord#When:13:20:12Z Dr. Scott Hahn: - In today’s first reading, St. Luke gives the surprising news that there is more of the story to be told. The story did not end with the empty tomb, or with Jesus’ appearances to the Apostles over the course of forty days. Jesus’ saving work will have a liturgical consummation. He is the great high priest, and he has still to ascend to the heavenly Jerusalem, there to celebrate the feast in the true Holy of Holies. The truth of this feast shines forth from the Letter to the Hebrews, where we read of the great high … 2012-05-18T13:20:12+00:00 http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/franciscan_university_announces_the_father_michael_scanlan_chair_of_biblica http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/franciscan_university_announces_the_father_michael_scanlan_chair_of_biblica#When:18:21:49Z Dr. Scott Hahn: - Honored & humbled to receive the “Fr. Michael Scanlan Chair of Biblical Theology and the New Evangelization” here at FUS: STEUBENVILLE, OH—Recognizing him as a singular gift to the Catholic Church, Franciscan University of Steubenville awarded the Father Michael Scanlan, TOR, Chair of Biblical Theology and the New Evangelization to world-renowned Scripture scholar, theologian, author, and speaker Dr. Scott Hahn. Father Terence Henry, TOR, University president, made the announcement during Franciscan University’s 64th annual commencement ceremonies, held May 12. A professor of theology and Scripture at Franciscan University since 1990, Hahn plans to utilize the chair to … 2012-05-17T18:21:49+00:00 http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/the_dead_sea_scrolls http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/the_dead_sea_scrolls#When:11:43:03Z Dr. John Bergsma: - Continuing the series on the text of the Bible: *** Of great interest to textual scholars are the Dead Sea Scrolls, the remains of an Essene library found in caves at the north-west end of the Dead Sea in the late 1940s at a site called Qumran. The scrolls provide our oldest copies of any portion of Scripture, including a few manuscripts that date to the third century (200s) BC. The majority, however, were copied in the period 150 BC—AD 68. All of the protocanonical books of the Old Testament are represented at Qumran except for Esther … 2012-05-14T11:43:03+00:00 http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/begotten_by_love_reflections_for_the_sixth_sunday_of_easter http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/begotten_by_love_reflections_for_the_sixth_sunday_of_easter#When:13:28:05Z Dr. Scott Hahn: - God is love, and He revealed that love in sending His only Son to be a sacrificial offering for our sins. In these words from today’s Epistle, we should hear an echo of the story of Abraham’s offering of Isaac at the dawn of salvation history. Because Abraham obeyed God’s command and did not with-hold his only beloved son, God promised that Abraham’s descendants, the children of Israel, would be the source of blessing for all nations (see Genesis 22:16-18). We see that promise coming to fulfillment in today’s First Reading. God pours out His Spirit upon … 2012-05-11T13:28:05+00:00 http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/to_the_ends_of_the_earth http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/to_the_ends_of_the_earth#When:13:53:51Z Matthew Leonard: - Now that the jet-lag is a fading memory and I’m no longer a nocturnal creature haunting the halls of my house, I thought I’d briefly share with you about my recent trip to New Zealand. First of all, I don’t know how anyone can live in a place of such natural beauty and not know there is a God. Everywhere you look could serve as a postcard. Even the gas stations are picturesque! I traveled to the Southern Hemisphere (almost 30 hours!) at the request of the Institute for World Evangelization (ICPE), where I taught theology for their … 2012-05-09T13:53:51+00:00 http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/bride_and_joy http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/bride_and_joy#When:13:55:36Z Dr. Scott Hahn: - “There was a wedding in Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there” (John 2:1). It’s May, Mary’s month, and the month when I am “giving away” my daughter in marriage. It’s hard for a dad, especially the dad of such a daughter, because I know no one deserves her. But Ben comes close. Hannah is the third of my children to walk the aisle, but she’s my only daughter, and the preparation is different this time—more intense, more involved. I think I’ve come to understand yet another reason why St. John’s Gospel never reveals … 2012-05-08T13:55:36+00:00 http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/on_the_vine_reflections_on_the_fifth_sunday_of_easter http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/on_the_vine_reflections_on_the_fifth_sunday_of_easter#When:13:28:33Z Dr. Scott Hahn: - In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us that He is the true vine that God intended Israel to be—the source of divine life and wisdom for the nations (see Sirach 24:17-24). In baptism, each of us was joined to Him by the Holy Spirit. As a branch grows from a tree, our souls are to draw life from Him, nourished by His word and the Eucharist. Paul in today’s First Reading seeks to be grafted onto the visible expression of Christ the true vine—His Church. Once the chief persecutor of the Church, he encounters initial resistance and suspicion. … 2012-05-04T13:28:33+00:00 http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/father_of_orthodoxy_st._athanasius http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/father_of_orthodoxy_st._athanasius#When:12:56:59Z Mike Aquilina: - Today’s the feast of St. Athanasius, the Father of Orthodoxy, the man who stared the world down when it awoke to find itself Arian. In his own lifetime, Athanasius was known as the Father of Orthodoxy. Get to know this guy, and you’ll always stay on the straight and narrow. Listen Here! Audio File 2012-05-02T12:56:59+00:00 http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/old_testament_manuscripts http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/old_testament_manuscripts#When:13:55:44Z Dr. John Bergsma: - In this follow up to the last post, we discuss important manuscripts (hand-written copies) of the Old Testament. *** The Oldest Manuscripts of the Old Testament The original manuscripts (the autographs) written by the sacred authors themselves are no longer extant for any book of the Bible.  The oldest partial copies of the text of any biblical book are to be found among the Dead Sea Scrolls (treated in next post).  However, the oldest complete manuscript of the Hebrew of the protocanonical books of the Old Testament is a codex (a book formed by leaves of paper … 2012-05-01T13:55:44+00:00 http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/the_shepherds_voice_reflections_on_the_fourth_sunday_of_easter http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/the_shepherds_voice_reflections_on_the_fourth_sunday_of_easter#When:13:45:27Z Dr. Scott Hahn: - Jesus, in today’s Gospel, says that He is the good shepherd the prophets had promised to Israel. He is the shepherd-prince, the new David—who frees people from bondage to sin and gathers them into one flock, the Church, under a new covenant, made in His blood (see Ezekiel 34:10-13, 23-31). His flock includes other sheep, He says, far more than the dispersed children of Israel (see Isaiah 56:8; John 11:52). And He gave His Church the mission of shepherding all peoples to the Father. In today’s First Reading, we see the beginnings of that mission in the … 2012-04-27T13:45:27+00:00 http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/the_text_of_the_old_testament http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/the_text_of_the_old_testament#When:13:20:46Z Dr. John Bergsma: - This is part of a series of posts on fundamental Catholic teaching on Scripture.  In this post, we delve into some of the specifics of the human dimension of Scripture: in this case, the original language(s) of the Old Testament. *** The original language of large majority of the Old Testament books is Hebrew. Hebrew is the ancestral language of the people of Israel. It is a Semitic language, that is, one of a family of Near Eastern languages that share certain features such as tri-literal word roots (most words are formed from a root consisting of … 2012-04-26T13:20:46+00:00 http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/perspectives_principles_and_criteria_john_bergsma_on_the_bible_in_catholic_ http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/perspectives_principles_and_criteria_john_bergsma_on_the_bible_in_catholic_#When:12:54:43Z Dr. Michael Barber: - John Bergsma and Michael Barber discuss the role of the Bible in Catholic Theology, highlighting a new document from the International Theological Commission. 2012-04-24T12:54:43+00:00 http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/understanding_the_scriptures_reflections_on_the_third_sunday_of_easter http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/understanding_the_scriptures_reflections_on_the_third_sunday_of_easter#When:14:02:29Z Dr. Scott Hahn: - Jesus in today’s Gospel, teaches His apostles how to interpret the Scriptures. He tells them that all the Scriptures of what we now call the Old Testament refer to Him. He says that all the promises found in the Old Testament have been fulfilled in His passion, death, and resurrection. And He tells them that these Scriptures foretell the mission of the Church - to preach forgiveness of sins to all the nations, beginning at Jersusalem. In today’s First Reading and Epistle, we see the beginnings of that mission. And we see the apostles interpreting the Scriptures … 2012-04-20T14:02:29+00:00 http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/pauls_strange_mention_of_co-senders_what_it_might_mean http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/pauls_strange_mention_of_co-senders_what_it_might_mean#When:12:49:49Z Dr. Michael Barber: - This quarter I am teaching a graduate course on the Pauline Epistles. Today we began working through 1 Corinthians. Here I wanted to touch upon something we examined in class today: Paul’s co-workers. Paul begins 1 Corinthians by doing something he often does in his epistles: he mentions a co-worker. “Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes, to the church of God which is at Corinth…” (1 Co 1:1–2). The question of Sosthenes’ identity is an extremely interesting one. Is he the same figure who gets … 2012-04-20T12:49:49+00:00 http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/ewtn_live_-_benedict_xvi_and_verbum_domini_-_fr_mitch_pacwa_sj_with_dr._sco http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/ewtn_live_-_benedict_xvi_and_verbum_domini_-_fr_mitch_pacwa_sj_with_dr._sco#When:13:43:25Z St. Paul Center: - Fr. Mitch Pacwa, SJ annd Dr. Scott Hahn discuss Benedict XVI and Verbum Domini from March 2011. 2012-04-19T13:43:25+00:00 http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/the_day_the_lord_made_reflections_for_divine_mercy_sunday http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/the_day_the_lord_made_reflections_for_divine_mercy_sunday#When:18:34:26Z Dr. Scott Hahn: - Three times in today’s Psalm we cry out a victory shout: “His mercy endures forever.” Truly we’ve known the everlasting love of God, who has come to us as our Savior. By the blood and water that flowed from Jesus’ pierced side (see John 19:34), we’ve been made God’s children, as we hear in today’s Epistle. Yet we never met Jesus, never heard Him teach, never saw Him raised from the dead. His saving Word came to us in the Church - through the ministry of the apostles, who in today’s Gospel are sent as He was … 2012-04-13T18:34:26+00:00 http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/the_splendor_of_eschatology_highlights_from_matthew_leverings_jesus_and_the http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/the_splendor_of_eschatology_highlights_from_matthew_leverings_jesus_and_the#When:13:47:55Z Dr. Brant Pitre: - (This post is part of the Patheos roundtable discussion of Matthew Levering’s latest book from Baylor University Press.) What happened to Jesus when he died? And what will happen to me when I die? These two perennial Christian questions are the foci of Matthew’ Levering’s new book, Jesus and the Demise of Death: Resurrection, Afterlife, and the Fate of the Christian (Baylor University Press, 2012). In this deceptively brief but remarkably rich study of Christian eschatology, Levering puts contemporary scholarship on the fate of Jesus—his descent into hell, bodily resurrection, and ascension into heaven—and the fate of … 2012-04-13T13:47:55+00:00 http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/catholic_exegesis_a_streamlined_overview http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/catholic_exegesis_a_streamlined_overview#When:13:32:00Z Dr. John Bergsma: - This is part of a continued series of posts on fundamental issues in Catholic doctrine of Scripture. Building on previous discussions of Catholic inspiration and interpretation, we propose here a six-step streamlined overview of the process of Catholic exegesis.  Comments are welcome below. **** The points made above about the interpretation of the literal and spiritual senses of Scripture may be integrated into a six-step process representing an idealized picture of the method of Catholic exegesis: the interpreter, with proper spiritual and intellectual formation, should analyze the text from historical, grammatical, rhetorical, canonical, liturgical, and magisterial perspectives … 2012-04-12T13:32:00+00:00 http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/aquinas_five_reasons_christ_rose_from_the_dead http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/aquinas_five_reasons_christ_rose_from_the_dead#When:18:51:16Z Dr. Michael Barber: - Aquinas pores over the New Testament and comes up with five reasons it was fitting for Christ to rise from the dead (ST IIIa, q. 53, art. 1). Here they are. 1. It reveals God’s justice. Because Christ humbled himself and died on the cross out of love and obedience to the Father, God lifted him up by a glorious resurrection. 2. It was necessary for the confirmation of our faith in Christ. Thomas cites Paul, who explains that the resurrection attests to the power of God (2 Cor 13:4). 3. It gives us hope for the … 2012-04-10T18:51:16+00:00 http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/eighth_day_dawning http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/eighth_day_dawning#When:14:10:56Z Dr. Scott Hahn: - April began with Palm Sunday this year, and Easter Sunday falls on the eighth day. In so many ways, this brings us Christians back to our roots. The early Church Fathers marked every Sunday as the “eighth day.” Creation was complete in six days, and God rested on the Sabbath—but at the Resurrection He began something new The first-century Epistle of Barnabas presents the matter in a prophetic oracle. With the Sabbath — with Saturday — the epistle tells us, God “set all things at rest.” With the new dawn, however, he will “usher in the Eighth … 2012-04-05T14:10:56+00:00 http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/catholic_interpretation_of_scripture http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/catholic_interpretation_of_scripture#When:14:43:47Z Dr. John Bergsma: - This is part of an on-going series discussing the fundamentals of Catholic doctrine of Scripture.  The topic for this post is interpretation.  Click here to read the previous post. *** Self-conscious reflection on the proper methods of interpretation of Scripture began already with the early Church Fathers. One of the most definitive patristic statements on interpretation is St. Augustine’s De Doctrina Christiana, “On Christian Doctrine.” While its title might lead the modern reader to expect a treatment of Church dogma in systematic form, De Doctrina is in fact a handbook for the interpretation of Scripture. This fact … 2012-04-03T14:43:47+00:00 http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/no_place_like_rome http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/no_place_like_rome#When:14:42:43Z Dr. Scott Hahn: - Teaching is like fatherhood. In fact, in the ancient world, it was considered a form of fatherhood. In the Oath of Hippocrates, medical students promised to take care of their aging teachers who had “fathered” them in the healing arts. In early Judaism, the rabbis were considered “fathers” to their disciples. And, of course, the Church came to look upon its first teachers as “the Fathers.” A teacher gives away a part of himself to his students, and they carry it forward into the future — just as my sons and daughter will carry forward my genetic … 2012-04-02T14:42:43+00:00 http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/darkness_at_noon_reflections_on_passion_sunday http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/darkness_at_noon_reflections_on_passion_sunday#When:13:20:56Z Dr. Scott Hahn: - Crowned with thorns, our Lord is lifted up on the cross, where He dies as “King of the Jews.” Notice how many times He is called “king” in today’s Gospel - mostly in scorn and mockery. As we hear the long accounts of His passion, at every turn we must remind ourselves - He suffered this cruel and unusual violence, for us. He is the Suffering Servant foretold by Isaiah in today’s First Reading. He reenacts the agony described in today’s Psalm, and even dies with the first words of that Psalm on His lips (see Psalm … 2012-03-30T13:20:56+00:00 http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/the_hour_come_reflections_on_the_fifth_sunday_of_lent http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/the_hour_come_reflections_on_the_fifth_sunday_of_lent#When:14:37:54Z Dr. Scott Hahn: - Our readings today are filled with anticipation. The days are coming, Jeremiah prophesies in today’s First Reading. The hour has come, Jesus says in the Gospel. The new covenant that God promised to Jeremiah is made in the “hour” of Jesus - in His death, resurrection, and ascension to the Father’s right hand. The prophets said this new covenant would return Israel’s exiled tribes from the ends of the world (see Jeremiah 31:1,3-4,7-8). Jesus too predicted His passion would gather the dispersed children of God (see John 11:52). But today He promises to draw to himself, not … 2012-03-22T14:37:54+00:00 http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/inspiration_and_the_relationship_of_divine_and_human_authorship http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/inspiration_and_the_relationship_of_divine_and_human_authorship#When:13:16:41Z Dr. John Bergsma: - This is part of a continuing series of posts on the fundamental Catholic doctrines of Scripture.  It picks up from my last post in inspiration, only dealing now with the relationship between human and divine in the composition of Scripture.  **** Divine and Human Authorship The Catholic doctrine of inspiration is commonly understood to entail that God is the primary author of Scripture, and the sacred writer is the secondary author. Phrased differently, it is sometimes said that God is primary cause and the sacred writer the instrumental cause of Scripture. God’s action as author is not … 2012-03-20T13:16:41+00:00 http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/breaking_new_document_promotes_priority_of_scripture_in_theology http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/breaking_new_document_promotes_priority_of_scripture_in_theology#When:13:07:18Z Dr. Michael Barber: - Today[March 8th 2012] has been an extremely exciting day! The International Theological Commission has a new document out, Theology Today: Perspectives, Principles and Criteria. This is an incredibly helpful guide to doing Catholic theology. To be sure, this is not a magisterial document—an official document from the Church’s teaching office. Nonetheless, this is important reading for Catholics interested in theology. Even non-Catholics I think will find it illuminating. It contains some rather strong—even surprising statements. Something that will surely surprise non-Catholics (and even Catholics!) is the stress put on the centrality of Scripture in Theology! Indeed, as … 2012-03-12T13:07:18+00:00 http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/spiritual_sacrifices_reflections_on_the_third_sunday_of_lent http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/spiritual_sacrifices_reflections_on_the_third_sunday_of_lent#When:15:43:33Z Dr. Scott Hahn: - Jesus does not come to destroy the temple, but to fulfill it (see Matthew 5:17) - to reveal its true purpose in God’s saving plan. He is the Lord the prophets said would come - to purify the temple, banish the merchants, and make it a house of prayer for all peoples (see Zechariah 14:21; Malachi 3:1-5; Isaiah 56:7). The God who made the heavens and the earth, who brought Israel out of slavery, does not dwell in sanctuaries made by human hands (see Acts 7:48; 2 Samuel 7:5). Nor does He need offerings of oxen, sheep, … 2012-03-09T15:43:33+00:00 http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/inspiration_of_scripture_in_the_catholic_tradition http://www.salvationhistory.com/blog/inspiration_of_scripture_in_the_catholic_tradition#When:15:40:11Z Dr. John Bergsma: - This is part of a series of posts on the fundamental doctrine of Scripture within the Catholic Church. *** Inspiration The fundamental conviction of the Church, relying on the faith of the Apostles, is that the Scriptures, in all their parts, are “inspired” or “breathed” by God, in such a way that God can truly be said to be their author. 2 Tim. 3:16 - All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness Dei Filius 7 - These books the Church holds to be sacred and … 2012-03-09T15:40:11+00:00