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HISTORY OF THE BIBLE SEMINAR There has always been controversy over the Bible as the Word of God, and within the past 150 years in the west, there have been serious questions raised as to its authenticity and veracity. For example, Julius Wellhausen in the late 19th century in Germany developed the documentary hypothesis. This was a theory in which he asserted that the Pentateuch (i.e., the first five books of the Old Testament) were not written by Moses, but rather by four different cultural and religious traditions that are identified by the letters, JEDP. In our own day, the "Jesus Seminar" attempts to debunk the reality of the person of Jesus Himself by "demythologizing" the text of the Gospels in order to determine what may have actually been said by Jesus, versus what was ascribed to Him by various groups of His followers. There have been many other attempts throughout the ages discredit the Bible, but they have all failed for one special reason, and that is because the Bible is indeed the Word of God! This will be a twenty-hour seminar, and the first section will deal with the Old Testament, its history, transmission and the various texts it was translated in by the time of the early church, as well as the apocryphal books and their usage. The second section will be devoted to the development of the New Testament text, its transmission, canonization and its incorporation with the Old Testament as the Bible we have today. In addition, we will also focus on the texts behind the translation of the King James Version of the Bible, as well as other modern versions. In doing this, we will carefully analyze the authenticity and veracity of these texts and the reasons for their and inclusion or exclusion in the various versions. This course may be taught in a variety of time periods that best suit your congregation, time constraints, etc. In the local Southern CA area, what seems to be best is a twelve week course taught one night a week for two hours each night. Outside of the Southern CA area, the two best options are as follow: (1) Two twelve hour sessions scheduled over a couple of months that each cover from a Thursday night through a Saturday afternoon (e.g., two three hour sessions on a Thursday night and a Friday night, and two three hour sessions on the following Saturday morning and Saturday afternoon - the subsequent twelve hour session could then occur in a month, six weeks, or whatever you choose); (2) One twenty-four hour session held in the same manner as the Simplified Hebrew and Greek Seminars (e.g., we begin on a Saturday for a six hour session [three hours in the morning and three hours in the afternoon], and then a three hour session on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, & Friday evenings, finishing up the following Saturday with another six hour session as the initial Saturday). These appear to be the best alternatives, however, I will be more than happy to work with you to accommodate your schedule and situation specific to your congregation. Janie and I would be honored to serve you in any way we can. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us, and may the Lord continue to bless you in every way. Thanks for your consideration of and prayers for us. Sincerely in Christ, Contact Information Address: Justin T. Alfred,
39778 Daphne Dr., Murrieta, CA 92563-6538 |
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