"Hope for the World!"

 The Ecumenical Bible Study is based on the award winning book, How the Bible Came to Be: Exploring the Narrative and Message (Paulist Press 2004) and developed at the Blenheim Retreat Center by Dr. John W. Miller.

Approach: The courses of this program seek to introduce the Bible from the perspective of when and why it came to be.  This approach does not replace others but affords new insights into what the Bible is and how to interpret it by putting us in touch with the thoughts and intentions of those who created it.  

Message: Reading the scriptures in this light reveals them to be the testimony of generations of people who (in many and various ways) came to believe that the Creator of the world is absolutely intent on preserving, blessing and saving it from those who would harm or destroy it.

Courses: There are five courses in this Program.  Each course involves six hours of class time.  The initial course, “The Bible as a Whole,” presents an overview of the Bible’s origins and message.  Subsequent courses examine in the same manner but in greater detail the Bible’s major subsections: “The Law and the Prophets,” “The Writings,” “The Gospels and Acts” and “The New Testament Letters and Revelation.”

Syllabi: For each course there is a Student Syllabus designed for in-class reading and discussion.  There is also a Teacher’s Edition which is essentially the same as the student syllabus except for additional information and suggestions helpful for course instructors or individuals studying the student syllabi on their own.  

Why does the Christian Bible have two parts?  Why do Catholic Bibles have more books than Protestant Bibles?  This introductory course focuses on how the Bible originated and on the content and message of its encompassing narrative.

When Jesus said he did not come to destroy “the Law or the Prophets,” he was referring to the sacred scriptures of his people.  In this course it will become apparent how important these books are for understanding and fostering the values and hopes Jews and Christians have in common.  

To “the Law and Prophets” a third collection of books was added known as “the other books” or “the Writings.”   This course will show how important these books were and are for keeping faith and hope alive in dark and difficult times.

How does the story told in the Gospels and Acts relate to the story recounted in “the Law, the Prophets and the Writings”?  This course will reveal how the hopes of Israel’s prophets for a better world were reactivated through the advent of Jesus Christ and the Spirit-inspired mission of his followers.  

Why are there 21 letters and the book of Revelation at the end of our Bible?  Why are they arranged as they are?   This course will show the relevance of this end-section of the Bible for combating false teachings about the world and its future that were rife when the Bible was created, and still are today.

The Ecumenical Bible Study 

Based on The Blenheim Curriculum in Bible

is scheduled for publication in the summer of 2008.  

For further information, please feel free to contact Paulist Press.

“Blenheim” is a Retreat Centre in southern Ontario where the courses of this curriculum were initially taught.