FUNDAMENTALS OF FAITH B.
Capital T Tradition
FAITH
SACRED SCRIPTURE SCRIPTURE AND
TRADITION
o Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture form one
sacred deposit of the Word
of God, committed to the Church, DV 10
WORD OF GOD
1. Sacred Scriptures - written word of God
2. Tradition – Living transmission of the Church
The Problem with ‘Scripture Alone’
o Sola scriptura – adopted by the Reformers
who said that it is the Bible, not tradition or a
Church, which is our final authority
Signs
o John admits twice in his Gospel account that
books can’t contain everything
o John 20:30
o John 21:23
o 2 Thes 2:13 - tradition
o 1 Tim 3:15 - tripod deposit of our faith
TRADITION
o the Early Church was not a bible reading Church
but they are living the faith
(Matthew 28: 19-20)
o from the word “tradere” meaning to pass on or to
hand over
- Oral tradition: initially passed on by word of
mouth
- Written tradition: eventually, some were put into
writing
o the written does not claim to be complete
o the written does not invalidate the unwritten
o the written can never be understood apart from the
unwritten
sacred TRADITION
A. Small t tradition
o cultural tradition
o could’ve arisen from particular needs of the
Church at a particular time and place
o can be changed, modified or done away with
without destroying the integrity of our Christian
Faith
o examples: feast rituals like salubong, simbang
gabi, date of Christ’s birth
o doctrinal traditions
o the living and lived faith of the Church
o can never be changed, modified or done away
with, for doing so would harm the integrity of our
Christian Faith
o examples: Holy Trinity, Incarnation of
Jesus; flesh, motherhood, transubstantiation –
consecration (1. transfiguration 2.
transformation 3. transignification)
Sacred Tradition and Scared Scripture are bound
closely together, and communicate one with the
other.
To study the bible apart from the Tradition of the
Church is to deprive it of its meaning.
A. Scriptural Tradition
o traditions that take their roots in the Holy Bible
o these practices and beliefs can be justified by
quoting the Sacred Scriptures
B. Apostolic Tradition
o teachings which the Apostles left us through the
unbroken chain of succession of Popes, bishops,
priests, and deacons
o unbroken chain – an assurance that the
teachings of the Apostles are preserved intact
EIGHT WAYS BY WHICH TRADITIONS ARE
TRANSMITTED Through:
1. Preaching
2. Teaching
3. Religious services and customs
4. personal and communal prayers and devotions
5. special days of feast and remembrance
6. religious laws and obligations
7. sayings and catch phrases
8. story telling
CHURCH AND MAGISTERIUM
o task of interpretation of the word of God is given
to the Church
o authority is exercised in the name of Jesus Christ
through the magisterium
MAGISTERIUM
o Latin – Magister meaning teacher
o Magisterium is the teaching authority of the
Church
o exercised by the Pope in making solemn
definitions, or by Bishops in an
Ecumenical Council
Magisterium
Scripture Tradition
Scripture, Tradition, and the Magisterium are so
closely united with each other that one of them
cannot stand without the others.
THE WORD OF GOD: BIBLE BIBLE
1. a faith-book
o written by and for believers
o an encounter with an experience of God
THE BIBLE
o Byblos (Greek) – papyrus
o Biblion (plural: Biblia) – scroll, book
o later, the people discovered that sheets of
papyrus can be put on top of each other, folded
in the middle, and bound resulting in an easy-to-use
book called codex
o Latin speaking Christians borrowed the term
biblia but treated it as a singular noun
o St. Jerome used the term bibliotheca divina
(divine library)
o the word of God
o written by men
o through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit
THE HOLY SPIRIT GUIDING THE CHRUCH:
THE CHURCH’S MAGISTERIUM
John 14: 26 – The Paraclete, the Holy Spirit whom
the Father will send will instruct you in everything
and remind you of all that I have told you.

2. an event of community HOLY SPIRIT

o narratives o acts as its one teacher and interpreter, dwelling
o genealogies pre-eminently in the Church
o laws
o prophetic oracles DIVINE PRESENCE
o poetry
o epistles RICHNESS OF THE WORD “OF”
o drama o The Bible is the word ABOUT God
o apocalypses o The Bible is the word FROM God
o sayings o The Bible is the word BY God
o biographical
o sketches Christianity Jesus Christ The Bible
Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.
DISTINGUISHING CATHOLIC BOOK FROM -St. Jerome-
NON CATHOLIC BOOK
1. Nihil Obstat
o nothing hinders
o given by a Censor Librorum
o an attestation a book contains nothing damaging
to faith or morals

2. Imprimi Potest
o it may be printed
o given by major religious superior if the author
is a member of a religious congregation
3. Imprimatur
o let it be printed
o given by author’s diocesan bishop or the
bishop of the place in which the book is BOOKS OF THE BIBLE
published
 TESTAMENT û not simply negative assistance; God’s role is not
o covenant limited/prevention of error
o solemn agreement between God and Israel INSPIRATION
fulfilled and universalized by o the active and dynamic influence of the Holy
Jesus Christ
Spirit to the human authors of
o restricted between God, Yahweh, and the
Israelites/Gentiles the bible, thus enabling them to write down what
o established by God by offering it to the whole God wants them to; principle
humanity of causality, Holy Spirit is principle, cause of Bible
and human person is
A. Old Testament
o lesson on faithfulness instrumental cause
o expressed through laws stories, prophecies, and - Providentissimus Deus, inspiration is supernatural
wisdom literature influence and
assistance
B. New Testament
• enlightenment means you see in the light, it
o tells us of Jesus and how through His
passion, death and resurrection, he established enables man to write
the definite covenant relationship between God what God wanted them to write about and it enables
and humanity man to
o element of faith is trust formulate and articulate the word of God properly
• supernatural assistance: given the grace that
enables man to
be faithful while making use of his intellect and will
o EFFECTS OF INSPIRATION (Dei Verbum,
Dogmatic Constitution on Divine
Revelation –Vatican II-)
BIBLIOTHECA DIVINA - gives us the revelation of God
46 books in the Old Testament, 45 books if you - final and definitive – complete
count Jeremiah and - one integral whole – does not contradict each other
Lamentations as one - sacramental - sign is visible, we encounter God
o 27 books in the new testament concretely
o 72 books in all - moves us to live as God wants us to
STEPHEN LANGTON - contains only the truth
o divided the books into chapters (1226) - enables the Church to recognize its divine
ROBERT ESTIENNE (Stephanus) influence
o French printer INERRANCY
o divided the chapters into verses o the Bible is neither a history nor a science
DIVINE INSPIRATION textbook
û not ecstatic; authors are not possessed o the Bible contains error but teaches no error. It
û not verbal/mechanical dictation; authors did not teaches only the saving truth
hear voices telling them 1. it can have inconsistency
what to write, God did not dictate the words – they 2. difference with science
underwent a process of 3. difference with chronology
writing 4. moral deficiencies
û not subsequent approbation; God was involved o examples
during the writing process - John 19:2 and Matthew 27:28 – purple vs scarlet
robe
- Mt. 27: 3-5 and Acts 1 18-19 – hung himself vs
jumped, fell down, and
his insides bursts
- Gen. 6: 19-20 and Gen. 7: 2-3 – bring a pair of
each animal; male and
female only vs 7 pairs clean and one pair unclean
- Lk. 2:7 and Mt. 2: 11
- Joshua 10: 12-13 and Isaiah 40: 22
- Joshua 10: 24-26; 11; 12-14 and Judges 11: 30-31
FORMATION OF SACRED SCRIPTURES
1. Actual Events
o people experiences events which they interpreted
as God’s intervention in
their history.
2. Oral Tradition
o people passed on the memory of the events
through story telling
3. Writing of Scripture
o After some time, to make sure that their stories
will be accurately preserved,
the people finally decided to put their stories into
writing.
REASONS FOR WRITING
A. Old Testament
o to preserve oral traditions
o to constantly remind people of the covenant
o for proclamation in the Liturgy
B. New Testament
o to preserve the memory of Jesus since the
eyewitness of Jesus were already
dying either of old age of persecution
o to serve as a norm for teaching and preaching
o for proclamation in the Liturgy
FORMATION OF SCRIPTURE
1. Canonization
o Greek; Kanon meaning measuring stick
o official recognition of book’s inspiration, making
the book a norm of faith
o Church’s official recognition that a book is
inspired
2. Canonicity
o condition or state of a book after having passed
the standards for
determining divine inspiration, hence being
declared as canonical
3. Canon of Scripture
o official list of inspired books (earliest Catholic
canon was the Damascene list
382)
4. Canonical books – standards of faith and morality
CRITERIA FOR OLD TESTAMENT
a. prophetic origin – prophet or anyone who has
divine authority
b. coherence with the Torah – Book of
Laws/Pentateuch, Laws and Covenant
c. constant use in the Liturgy – stored in temple
chest for public display, used
in worship services
d. language – Hebrew (Palestine), Greek –
Diaspora; people dispersed from war
CRITERIA FOR NEW TESTAMENT
a. apostolic origin – apostles – writer & source of
information
b. coherence with essential gospel message – Jesus’
message
c. constant use in the Liturgy – circulated; used in
all Churches, proclamation
in the liturgy
APOCRYPHAL WRITINGS
o Greek: Apocrypha – velled or secret
o did not pass criteria for canonicity
o Church did not sense inspiration
o may have been used sporadically by scattered
Gospels
o contents are either Heretical/irrelevant
o these books are doubtful of authority; cannot be
used as standards of faith
and morality
CANON OF THE SCRIPTURES
A. Roman Catholic Bible
o 73/72 books
o 46 books in the Old Testament, 45 books if
Jeremiah and Lamentations are
counted as one
o 27 books in the New testament
B. Non-Catholic Bible
o 66 books in the Old Testament
o 27 books in the New Testament
REASONS FOR THE DIFFERENCE
o Deuterocanonicals
- Martin Luther; we must follow decision of Jews at a. Mt. 1:23
Jamnia b. Jn. 3: 16
- literally means: “second canon” c. Gal. 4: 4
- refers to the second set of canonical books, or 2. Allegorical Sense
“secondly canonized o Consist of patterns and parallelism
books” o can acquire a more profound understanding of
- Catholics think of these books as inspired, or equal events by recognizing
inspiration as the their significance in Christ
Protocanonicals, having passed the same standards. o ex. crossing at the red sea
o Council of Trent - before the Catholic Church 3. Moral Sense
finally closed the Canon (which o The events reported in Scripture ought to lead us
means from then on, no other books will be added to act justly.
to the bible) o St. Paul says, they were written "for our
INTERPRETATION OF THE BIBLE instruction"
CATHOLIC PRINCIPLES IN THE o examples
INTERPRETATION a. 1 Cor 11: 20-34
1. Exegesis b. Lk. 15: 11-32
o ex ago sis c. Jn. 4:9
o in depth study of scriptures d. Lk. 10: 25-37
o drawing out meaning of text e. Mt. 18: 22
o interpretation of text 4. Anagogical Sense
2. Eisegesis o We can view realities and events in terms of their
o putting one’s own meaning into the text eternal significance,
o imposing meaning leading us toward our true homeland: thus the
INTERPRETATION Church on earth is a sign
A. Word of the Authors of the heavenly Jerusalem
B. World of the Text o example: Parable of the 10 Virgins, Wedding
C. World of the Reader Feast, Sheep & Goats
GUIDE FOR INTERPRETATION *ESHCHATOLOGY – ultimate end, union with
o Interpretation must be coherent with tradition of God, end times
the Church. SALVATION HISTORY
o Consider the historical character of Biblical  Save
Revelation.  Access
o It must be interpreted to the needs of its readers  Love
today.  Victory
o It must be interpreted in relation to Christ, to the  Adoption
whole Scripture and the  History affected by God’s saving presence.
Church. It is progressive and gradually unfolding
SENSES OF THE SCRIPTURE  Centers on the mission of Christ. He is
1. Literal Sense
prefigured in every stage.
o the meaning the human author of the text directly
 Christocentric
intended to convey
 Still on-going for God’s saving presence
to his audience
continues
o take the scripture as it is
o The Life of Jesus
  The points are glued together by God’s
covenant
Salvation Stages
 Creation
 Patriarchal
 Prophetic
 Messianic
 Apostolic
Covenant
 Contract freely entered into by two parties
which is binding and each is expected to be
faithful and assume responsibilities and
enjoy privileges
 An offer of friendship and mutual
commitment
 An expression of how two persons would
rather die than to break an agreement
between them
Covenant Symbols
 The symbols transition from object to
person. As Christ fulfills salvation history,
he also prefers the covenant, making it
universal, eternal and permanent
 Rainbow, circumcision, Decalogue, Jesus
Noah
 God calls unto Noah (Gen 6:5-18)
 The great flood (Gen 7:1-7,10-12) – Trial of
faith
 The flood subsides (Genesis 8:1-19)
 The rainbow as Sign of God’s covenant
(Gen 9:1-17)
Values inferred from Noah’s Character
 Steadfast in his faith
 Thinks of others before himself
 Exhibits calmness amidst tragedy
Theological Insights
 God at once sought to save humanity part by
part. The covenant with Noah after the flood
gives expression to the principle of the
divine economy toward the ‘nations’ CCC
#56
How is Jesus prefigured in the story?
 The baptism of Jesus (Parallelism: water)
PATRIARCHS
Three Divine Activities
Election
 God chooses whom he will to be His
instrument in his saving activity
Promise
 God’s fidelity to his promises assures their
fulfillment
Covenant
 A covenant is the divinely initiated union
between God and man
I. GOD CALLS ABRAHAM
To
 Leaves his country
 Leave his kinsfolk
 Leave his father’s house
Promised to:
 Make him a great nation
 A land which the nation will possess
 Make him a great name and blessing to
others
II. ABRAHAM RESPONDS WITH FAITH. HE
ACCEPTED.
‘Salvation is both a give and task. It is a gift but
we also need to do something to receive it,
nourish it, and nurture it.’
Change of name and destiny
 Abram (exalted father) – Abraham (Father
of multitudes)
 Sarai (princess) – Sarah (Mother of many)
IV. GOD TEST ABRAHAM
 God told Abraham to sacrifice his own son
Isaac
 Abraham obeyed God and He spared the life
of his son Isaac and blessed him abundantly
as the Father of all nations
Isaac
 He is the beginning of the great nation
promised to Abraham
 ‘Laughter’
 Wife – Rebecca
 Prefigures Jesus
 Twin: Essau (hairy), Jacob (heel clinger) –
 becomes the heir and transmitter of God’s
promise to Abraham and Isaac
Israel
 The man who has struggled God
 The father of the chosen people and the
special object of God’s protection
Jacob
 Father of 12 sons
 Bilhah – Dan, Napthali
 Rachel – Joseph, Benjamin
 Leah – Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah,
Issachar, Zabulun
 Zilpah – Gad, Asher
MOSES
Exodus
 “Outgoing departure”
 This pertains to the departure of the Hebrew
people from Egypt
 (1) Israel in Egypt (2) Israel in the
Wilderness (3) Israel at Sinai
The Oppression in Egypt (EXODUS 1:7:22)
 Jacob’s descendant prospered in Egypt. The
new pharaoh feared the growing numbe of
Israelites in Egypt. Therefore, the Hebrews
became slaves of Egypt. All male babies
were killed to stop the population growth
Moses
 Hebrew – To draw up/save
 Egyptian – Son
 Killed an Egyptian taskmaker
 Fled from Egypt and went to Midian
 Married Zipporah – daughter of Jethro
Fire
 Manifestation of God
 God reveals his plan to save Israel
The Disclosure of God’s Name (EXODUS 3:14-
16)
Yhwh
 Remains unpronounced out of deep
reverence and respect; read but not
mentioned
 Tetragammaton Greek – ‘four lettered’
 Hashem – “The name”
 Adonai “Lord”
Why did God revealed his name to Moses?
 To make one self known to others; is to hand
oneself become accessible (CCC 203)
The Pattern of God’s Call
 God chooses individuals who, from our
point of view do not seemed suited for the
task. He sees things differently from people
Love of god
I. Deuteronomy 4:37
 Because he loved your ancestors and chose
their descendants after them, he brought you
out of Egypt by his presence and his great
strength
II. Deuteronomy 7:8
 But it was because the Lord loved you and
kept the oath he swore to your ancestors that
he brought you out with a mighty hand and
redeemed you from the land of slavery, from
the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
III. Deuteronomy 10:15 The Eucharist celebration is the Christian
 Yet the Lord set his affection on your Passover
ancestors and loved them, and he chose  Every time we celebrate Mass we re-enact
you, their descendants, above all the through the power of the Holy Spirit
nations—as it is today Christ’s ultimate sacrifice. The mass makes
present Christ's perfect act of redeeming
Plagues love.
Signs and wonders of the "hand of God“
Proof of Presence of YHWH before Pharaoh and At Sinai (EXODUS 19-40)
Egyptians  God establishes a covenant with Israel
 Hail, Locusts, Boils, Death of the Eldest making her His chosen people.
Son, Frogs, Rivers turned to blood,
darkness, flies, lice, death of cattle The Ten Commandments as The Law of the
Covenant
The Passover of the Lord  The Decalogue are the will of the Father
1. Passover (CCC 2059)
 Hebrew: pesach – to pass over,  On the code of behaviour God requires of
protect/defend Israel
 Referring to the Angel of Death passed over
the house of the Israelites Moses Prefigured Jesus: Law of Love
 Through Moses, God gave the Old Law: The
2. Jesus’ Last Supper is the new Passover Decalogue.
 Jesus also celebrated the Passover each year.  God gave the New Law: The Beatitudes and
His Passover meal is unique. He became the the Law of Love
Paschal Lamb, offering his own body and
blood for the forgiveness of sins. The Israelites Accept the Covenant
 The Israelites formally accepted the
Theological Allusion To The News Testament covenant offered by God.
 New dictionary of theology 747-748  “We will do everything that the Lord told
us” (Ex. 24:3)
OLD TESTAMENT NEW TESTAMENT  By accepting the covenant with God, Israel
Hebrew passover (EX Passover of Jesus (MT became one nation.
12) 26:2)
Slaughter of the Jesus becomes the Jesus Christ as God’s covenant with Israel
Passover lambs Passover lamb (Jn  Judges, Kings, prophets
18:28; 19:14)
Significance: Freedom Significance: freedom
of Egypt from sin. Salvation to
the world
Preparation for a journey A new journey that goes Israel’s Cycle of Infidelity
to the promise land beyond death to life

“This do in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19)


The Judges
 Hebrew: Shopetim (Executive Leader)
 Function: combination of Priestly-
Executive-Military roles
 Regarded as deliverers appointed by God, to
save them from their enemies
1. Deborah – the ONLY female judge
that defeated the Canaanite. A poet
and a prophetess who became
famous for rendering her judgment
under a palm tree in Ephraim
2. Gideon – Defeated the midianites
with an army of only 300 soldiers
armed with trumpets, torches and
clay jars
3. Samson – a nazarite (a person
consecrated to God and such was not
allowed to cut his hair). Defeated the
Philistines by single handedly
destroying their temple resulting in
the deaths of thousands including
himself
Jesus as Priest
 A priest is a mediator, a bridge, between
God and human beings
 As a priest Jesus “is able to save those who
approach God through him, since he lives
forever to make intercessions for them”
(Hebrew 7:25)
[As time went on, the need for a common ruler
became apparent in Israel. The Israelites envied the
surrounding nations, which were governed by kings.
In those days, the king was regarded as visible sign
of unity and was considered the principle behind
economic and political stability. They believed that
having a king would give their nation a certain
prestige that would make them elite and this earn
the respect and admiration of other nations]
The United Monarchy
 Israel’s government was originally
theocratic. YHWH was the true king
 Disadvantages of not having a king: Do not
have a visible symbol of unity. Without a
leader they are prone to external threats. Do
not have a stable army
The Kings
1. King Saul – At first, favoured by YHWH.
Hence, he was victorious in his battles.
Eventually, he lost YHWH’s favour because
of pride and disobedience
2. King David – Defeated the Philistine giant
Goliath. Known for bringing Israel to its
Gold Age. Committed adultery and murder
in case of Uriah and his wife Bathsheba
3. Solomon – Son of David of Bathsheba.
Known for his extraordinary wisdom. He
constructed the temple of Jerusalem, a
consecrated place where they kept the arc of
the covenant
 Solomon’s Foreign Wives and
Idolatry – Solomon kept many
foreign wives to increase his
international power. Solomon with
his people fell into idolatry. They
worship false gods. This marked the
start of the division of his kingdom.
700 wives and 300 concubines
 Solomon’s Extravagance – while
building Jerusalem, he enforced
forced labour and heavy taxation to
accomplish his goals. He ignored the
northern countryside and was only
interested in the materials and it
provided for his temple that later
resulted to the split of the kingdom
during his death
 4. Jesus as King – Jesus teaches us that being a [Salvation is about the Integral Human
king means being a servant to the people. Development and Liberation. This refers to the full
development of the whole person in all dimensions:
Prophets Physical, Psychological/emotional, Cultural, Moral,
 A messenger sent by God and Spiritual of every human]
 A person who speaks for God
 He/she witnesses to God, and calls people to As Christians, we are called to strengthen the
conversion threefold mission within the socio-economic,
 Often killed for their message religious-cultural and political realms of our
1. Hosea – means “YHWH saves.” lives
Married to a prostitute named Gomer.
Gomer’s unfaithfulness mirrors Israel’s
infidelity to the Lord. Hosea shows the
mercy of God who welcomes back his bride
after her time of unfaithfulness (3:5)
2. Jeremiah – known as the suffering
prophet. He was rejected, imprisoned,
beaten and persecuted for 50 years. He
preached about the repentance of the people
of Judah
3. Amos – “burden-bearer.” His
message is addressed to the rich and wealthy
of the northern kingdom. Social justice is the
core message of his prophetic teachings
4. Jesus as a prophet – Jesus is, then,
prophet. He is the messenger sent by the
Father to bring men the Word of God.
Mentions difficulty of being a prophet as he
foretold his passion and death
 Invites his followers to preach
with courage

Threefold Mission of Jesus

1. Priestly (sanctifying)
2. Kingly (service)
3. Prophetic (teaching)

Catechism of the Catholic Church

 The anointing with sacred chrism… signifies
the gift of the Holy Spirit to the newly
baptized, who has become a Christian, that
is, one ‘anointed’ by the Holy Spirit,
incorporated into Christ who is anointed
priest, prophet, and king.