This is our catalog of courses. We will occasionally adjust the course listing to reflect the addition of new courses and the retirement of others.
Become scripturally literate — and learn how to enjoy your Bible — as you read and discuss the Old and New Testaments, allowing the Holy Spirit to bring God’s word to life! Learn how God’s word is indeed “living” and how everything, even in the Old Testament, points to Jesus.
Total Classes: 12 classes plus short daily (Monday to Friday) recorded lectures.
Duration: 55 minutes
Prerequisite: None
Suggested Grade Level: 8th to 12th grade
Suggested Credit: One full semester Theology
Description
“Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ,” said St. Jerome.
The aim of this course is to remedy the Scriptural illiteracy of the average Catholic, even the average devout Catholic. We will read and discuss various sections of the Bible throughout the semester, allowing the Holy Spirit to bring God’s Word to life in us and to reveal to us how everything in God’s Word is indeed “living” and how everything, even in the Old Testament, points to Jesus.
Peter Kreeft says you don’t read the Bible; the Bible reads you. He also says the Bible is “God’s love letter to us.” In this course, we will learn to read that love letter from God and we will end up being moved by it.
Outline
We will read five readings from Scripture daily, including selections from
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An Old Testament Historical book
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A Psalm
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An Old Testament Wisdom or Prophetic book
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A New Testament Epistle or non-Gospel reading
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A Gospel
Mr. O’Brien will post a brief daily video lecture commenting on one of more of that day’s readings. We will then, during our live Monday gatherings, discuss the readings that made the biggest impression on us throughout the previous week.
Materials and Homework
Course Materials: The Holy Bible, any translation, but we will especially focus on the variety of translations and interlinear versions available online. NOTE: While you may read any translation, do not read a paraphrase Bible, i.e., a version that takes the original language and more or less puts it into English phrases that are loose approximations to what’s in the original text. The “Good News Bible”, for example, is a “paraphrase” Bible that should be avoided.
Homework: Five rather short daily readings from Scripture, plus a daily video of five to ten minutes to watch and comment upon. Plan on about an hour a day.
