The Bible, the Church, and Authority

At the Sunday class from February 6 until Lent begins in March, Fr Austin will give short talks on The Bible, the Church, and Authority. These talks will be on questions concerning the Bible such as: What books are in it? What is the history of its acceptance as a “canon”? What is its relationship to the church? What makes it authoritative?

There is a remarkably clear short book by Professor Joseph Lienhard of Fordham of that title which participants might want to read in parallel to the class, but Fr Austin will not be expecting that anyone has read that book. 

Topic for March 6: Fr Austin will look at the different versions of the Old Testament. As you may know, there are some books that Roman Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox include in their Old Testament that Protestants, however, exclude (and that Anglicans include in a separate section called “Apocrypha”). Fr Austin will try to shed a bit of light on this perplexing matter, which has been a sore spot in ecumenical relations, and which has also not had a consistent theological explanation over the years. There will be coffee and tea in the room. Newcomers welcome.

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