Scott Hahn
Our Sunday Visitor
ISBN 9781592764433
eISBN 9781592767670
ASIN B008FB5JDO
After reading Dr Hahn’s A Pocket Guide to St. Paul from OSV I have been able to track down all but one in the series. I have been jumping around reading them. Having a religious studies degree with a focus on Roman Catholic thought I thought this volume might be boring, I was absolutely wrong. It is an excellent little read.
The description of this volume states:
“The perfect how-to for easy, quick Scripture reference and comprehension!
Using straightforward, accessible language, Scripture expert Scott Hahn explains the "nuts and bolts" of the Bible -- how it came to be, the types of literature found within it, and the thrust of each book -- in a handy, yet thorough, way that demystifies the Bible and simplifies understanding.”
The chapters in this booklet are:
Introduction
1. What Is the Bible?
2. The Shape of the Bible
3. Who Wrote the Bible?
4. What Belongs in the Bible?
5. The Bible and the Church
6. How to Understand the Bible
7. Your Reading Program
8. The Books of the Bible
9. Where to Find …
I highlighted a few passages while reading this volume, some of them are:
“Yet all these various strains harmonize perfectly in the person of the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ. In Jesus, God communicated himself completely. Yet even then he spoke to us in words. Jesus spoke, preached, counseled, taught, and prayed aloud. He asked questions. He told stories. He even traced words in the sand. He did all of this for our sake, because words are a normal human thing. Nevertheless, his words are extraordinary, because they are revelatory. They are human words that reveal the eternal Word of God. They are the Word of God in the words of men and women and children.”
“The Bible is the Word of God in human words. Because it comes to us from Almighty God, it has the power to be life-transforming. For God knows each of us, and he knows what we need when we open up the book.
“The Bible is a whole library of books written over the course of more than a thousand years, in many different styles, with many different points of view, by dozens of different writers. But it is also one book, with one Author-God-telling one story: the heart-pounding, thrill-a-minute story of our salvation.”
“Finally, there's one more thing that makes the Bible unique. You don't have to be satisfied with just reading it: you can step right into it. Wherever the sacraments are celebrated, they are the Bible in action. Reading the Bible helps prepare you for the sacraments, and in the sacraments everything you've read about comes to life right before your eyes.”
“The answer is that each testament is incomplete without the other. They are two elements of a single plan. St. Augustine said that the New Testament is hidden in the Old, and the Old Testament is revealed in the New.”
“That means we can't really understand the fundamental Christian message without the Old Testament. The New Testament doesn't abolish or revoke the Old Testament: on the contrary it fulfills and renews it.”
“Both the incarnate Word and the inspired Word are fully divine and fully human. In both, the human and the divine are inseparable. In both, the human is the instrument for communicating the divine.”
“The Apostles entrusted the Scriptures to the Church as part of the deposit of faith-the sacred Tradition. Over time, guided by the Holy Spirit, the Church recognized the need to make a formal list of the writings that are divinely inspired. This complete list is called the "canon" of Scripture.”
“Catholics, following ancient tradition, accept those seven later books as part of the Old Testament. Almost all Protestant bodies follow the later Jewish tradition in rejecting them. The debated books are often called Deuterocanonical, from a Greek word meaning "second canon." For a Catholic, they are in no way less inspired than the Protocanonical (" first-canon") books.”
“Later Church councils codified the Christian canons of both the Old Testament and the New. The Council of Trent authoritatively listed the books of the Scriptures, reacting to the Protestants who rejected the Deuterocanonical books.”
“The Bible is the founding document of the Church, and the Bible comes to life in the Church. Without the Church, in fact, you're missing half of the story.
Highlight(yellow) - Page 27 · Location 256
At home, you can read the Bible-and that's wonderful. But when you go to Mass, you live the Bible.”
“However you decide to read, keep at it. Set aside a time during the day for reading the Bible. Do you have ten minutes to spare before breakfast? Can you eat lunch ten minutes faster and leave a bit of time at the end? Do you have ten minutes to spare before you go to bed? Ten minutes is almost always enough time to read the day's readings from the lectionary, or one chapter from the book of your choice. You don't have to make it a big project. Just make it a little project-but one you stick with. You'll be surprised how such a small effort can make a huge difference in your faith.”
I hope those quotes give you a feel for this volume. This little volume is a great little read. I loved the mini overviews of each book of the bible. This book would be a great introduction to the bible and who and how to read it. It is easy to engage with. This volume could be read by a secondary school student. It is an excellent volume that any Catholic or any Christian would benefit from reading.
It is a great read, thank you Dr. Hahn and Our Sunday Visitor. I just wish this book and the series were still in print, I have already tracked down a few used copies to pass on to others.
Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2025 Catholic Reading Plan!
A Father Who Keeps His Promises
A Pocket Guide to Saint Paul
A Pocket Guide to the Bible
Angels and Saints: A Biblical Friendship with God's Holy Ones
Answering the New Atheism: Dismantling Dawkins's Case Against God
Catholic for a Reason
Consuming the Word: The New Testament and The Eucharist in the Early Church
Covenant and Communion
Evangelizing Catholics: A Mission Manual for the New Evangelization
First Comes Love: Finding Your Family in the Church and the Trinity
Hail, Holy Queen: The Mother of God in the Word of God
Holy Is His Name
Hope for Hard Times
Joy to the World: How Christ's Coming Changed Everything and Still Does
Kinship by Covenant: A Canonical Approach to the Fulfillment of God's Saving Promises
Letter and Spirit : From Written Text to Living Word in the Liturgy
Living the Mysteries - A Guide for Unfinished Christians
Lord Have Mercy: The Healing Power of Confession
Many Are Called: Rediscovering the Glory of the Priesthood
Ordinary Work, Extraordinary Grace
Politicizing the Bible: The Roots of Historical Criticism and the Secularization of Scripture 1300-1700
Reasons to Believe: How to Understand, Explain, and Defend the Catholic Faith
Rome Sweet Home
Scripture Matters
Signs of Life: 40 Catholic Customs and Their Biblical Roots
Swear to God : The Promise and Power of the Sacraments
The Creed: Professing the Faith Through the Ages
The Fourth Cup
The First Society
The Kingdom of God As Liturgical Empire
The Lamb's Supper: The Mass as Heaven on Earth
Understanding "Our Father"
Hope for Hard Times
Joy to the World: How Christ's Coming Changed Everything and Still Does
Kinship by Covenant: A Canonical Approach to the Fulfillment of God's Saving Promises
Letter and Spirit : From Written Text to Living Word in the Liturgy
Living the Mysteries - A Guide for Unfinished Christians
Lord Have Mercy: The Healing Power of Confession
Many Are Called: Rediscovering the Glory of the Priesthood
Ordinary Work, Extraordinary Grace
Politicizing the Bible: The Roots of Historical Criticism and the Secularization of Scripture 1300-1700
Reasons to Believe: How to Understand, Explain, and Defend the Catholic Faith
Rome Sweet Home
Scripture Matters
Signs of Life: 40 Catholic Customs and Their Biblical Roots
Swear to God : The Promise and Power of the Sacraments
The Creed: Professing the Faith Through the Ages
The Fourth Cup
The First Society
The Kingdom of God As Liturgical Empire
The Lamb's Supper: The Mass as Heaven on Earth
Understanding "Our Father"
Books in the OSV Pocket Guide Series:
A Pocket Guide to Confession - Michael Dubruiel
A Pocket Guide to the Mass - Michael Dubruiel
A Pocket Guide to the Meaning of Life - Peter J. Kreeft
A Pocket Guide to Living the Divine Mercy - George W. Kosicki
...
Books in the Handy Little Series from OSV:
The Handy Little Guide to Adoration - Michelle Jones Schroeder
The Handy Little Guide to Confession - Michelle Jones Schroeder
The Handy Little Guide to the Holy Spirit - Michelle Schroeder
The Handy Little Guide to the Lent - Michelle Schroeder
The Handy Little Guide to Novenas - Allison Gingras
The Handy Little Guide to the Liturgy of the Hours - Barb Szyszkiewicz
…
Books in the OSV Companion in Faith Series:
For Those Who Grieve - Jeannie Ewing
Living in Peace - Father Jeffrey Kirby
The Beatitudes - Kathleen M Basi
The Lord's Prayer - T.J. Burdick
The Power of Forgiveness - Patrice Fagnant-Macarthur
…
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