The Whole In One: A Survey of Every Book of the Bible in One Quarter

Available Now

Instructor

Vern Steiner

Instructor

Joshua Burks

Instructor

Chad Steiner

The Whole In One: A Survey of Every Book of the Bible in One Quarter

*This course is now available to take online at your own pace.

For many people the Bible is a big, intimidating, and confusing book. Making sense of it can be daunting, even for Christians who have heard many parts of it read or have tried to read it themselves. If Sacred Scripture is God’s gift to his people, as the Church teaches, then why, we might wonder, did he give us words that are hard to understand, that sound strange and foreign, and sometimes even offensive and off-putting?

This ten-week course is designed to help people find their way around in the Bible by providing a framework that is easy to grasp, and a panoramic view of Sacred Scripture’s unified testimony: the one God of heaven and earth, revealed in Jesus Christ across two testaments. It offers a Journey through Scripture from Genesis to Revelation at a quick pace, following the outline of the fuller and more in-depth three-year curriculum by the same title. In this way, the course provides an orientation to the whole Bible and a foretaste of what awaits those who immerse themselves more fully in the pages of Scripture. It’s an “on ramp” for those who prefer to merge more gradually into the main stream of Emmaus courses. Following a general introduction to the Bible itself (what it is, how we got it, how to read it, how to pray with it), students will gain an appreciation for each of its parts, including a sense of how all 73 books fit into and contribute to the Bible’s unified testimony about Jesus Christ.

Required Texts:

Sacred Scripture, the Bible (preferably RSVCE 2nd edition)
Instructors’ notes (provided and included in the registration cost)

Classroom Location & Directions

Comments (Add your own)

I live in Omaha. If I take this course online is there a mechanism for me to ask questions?

Hi Bernie,

Thank you for your interest in the course. In this case, the online option consists in a video of each class (including any discussion between students and instructor) and accompanying handout(s). All registrants receive a link to a ‘student-only’ area of the site where these resources are uploaded—typically the day after each class. In this way, in-person students will also be able to stay current by video should they miss a class.

In lieu of in-class Q&A for online students, there are three other options:

1) At the bottom of each course page is a comment box section where we encourage students to write in their questions or reflections, or even to post additional anecdotal resources (e.g., a link to a relevant blog post or youtube video). Occasionally, the instructor may post questions or topics for reflection and discussion between classes.

2) Old-fashioned as it may seem, email is still one of the best ways to pursue additional dialogue, and all the instructors encourage students to take advantage of it.

3) We all keep regular office hours, and although you’re in Omaha, we’re happy to discuss by phone. Numbers at which you may reach us are listed on each course syllabus.

In the grace of Christ,

-Chad

One of the refrains students in this course will hear again and again is that the Old and New Testaments are pointing outward at the same subject matter, even if they happen to view it from different angles or speak about it in different idioms. Here’s a way to summarize the idea:

The Old Testament bears witness to Jesus Christ hidden in the God of all creation.
The New Testament bears witness to the God of all creation revealed in Jesus Christ.

If both testaments point to the same subject matter, why then is the New Testament so much shorter than the Old Testament? In part this is because there is no pressure for the New to rehash or update what the Old has already developed in mature form. In the New’s relative silence about certain things (e.g., whether and how episcopal authority transfers to the second generation of the Church; what it looks like when large segments of the Church break away in schism from the body), the Old is there to elaborate.

Rather than thinking of the “oldness” of the Old Testament in a pejorative sense (‘outmoded’, ‘bygone’, worn-out’), it will help us to think about it as the early Church did: in a hallowed and revered sense, as one would the measured wisdom of the venerable; the “elder brother” whom we consult before the “younger brother” when we have questions about the family, and whose account we may even revisit for further expansion and elaboration, after we’ve heard the younger brother’s own briefer thoughts on the matter.

A comment was made in the 4th session that I would appreciate your repeating and clarification. During the discussion of the book of Judith, I thought a comparison was made of three different old testament women who were brave and killed an adversary; like Judith and Holofernes. Please point me to scripture that describes the other two.

I’m enjoying and learning in this class. Thank you.

Lorie Artz

Hi Lorie,

Absolutely. The three women in Scripture who are referred to as “blessed among women” are Ja’el (see Judges 4:17 and following, as well as 5:24), Judith (see Judith 13), and Mary (see Luke 1:41). Back in Genesis 3:15, we learn that through the “woman” the head of the enemy will be crushed. Ja’el and Judith serve as types of Mary in that they crush the head of their respective enemies, but the problem of sin persists after their deaths (i.e., the problem of sin and unfaithfulness isn’t fixed by the death of Sisera or Holofernes). Mary is revealed as the new “woman” and the fulfillment of Ja’el and Judith—when Elizabeth exclaims, “blessed are you among women!” it reveals that she fulfills a role similar to Ja’el and Judith (i.e., through Mary [and her Son], the head of the enemy will be crushed). Unlike Ja’el and Judith, though, Mary’s victory is final because it is Satan, or sin and death—our true enemy—that is crushed beneath her foot.

I hope this helps. I’m happy to expand or clarify further if you would like. Thanks for the question!

-Josh

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