))
The Understanding the Scriptures Podcast (Understanding-Scriptures.com) is composed of 30 episodes with each episode having a length between 72 and 80 minutes. Each episode/class covers one of the 30 chapters in the textbook titled "Understanding the Scriptures," by Dr. Scott Hahn, Ph.D. (this textbook is part of the Didache series published by the Midwest Theological Forum at TheologicalForum.org). Listeners to the podcast need not purchase this textbook, though it would be beneficial to do ...
…
continue reading
The Understanding the Scriptures Podcast is composed of 30 episodes with each episode having a length between 72 and 80 minutes. It is hosted online at Understanding-Scriptures.com, where you may read reviews, comment on an episode, donate to the podcast, and find other quality Catholic Bible study resources.Each episode/class covers one of the 30 …
…
continue reading
In this lesson, Carson kicks off this exciting Bible course by describing the sacred, inspired nature of the Bible, which is a quality unique to the 73 books of Sacred Scripture. What do we mean when we say that Scripture is inspired, and where do we go in the Bible itself to find this claim? The answer is to be found in Chapter 3 of St. Paul's Sec…
…
continue reading
In this lesson, Carson speaks on the golden thread that holds the Bible and all of Salvation History together: the covenant. You will learn the different important aspects of a covenant and about oath-swearing, which is the means by which one enters into and renews the covenant. This covenant theology is related to what Scripture says and how an Is…
…
continue reading
In this lesson, Carson focuses upon the language and structure of the first three chapters of the Book of Genesis. This allows us to discover the interpretive clues that the author of Genesis gives, which in turn serve as the key to unlocking the truths the author means to affirm. You will learn how the cosmos is one large temple in which the Garde…
…
continue reading
In this lesson, Carson covers Chapters 4 through 11 in the Book of Genesis. The author of Genesis contrasts the descendants of Cain (the evil seed of the serpent) with the line of Seth (the righteous seed of the woman), and various interpretive clues in the text help us to discern what the original human author intended to affirm. Noah is a New Ada…
…
continue reading
In this lesson, Carson shows how the remainder of Salvation History is foretold in the three covenants God successively formed with Abram in Genesis 15, with Abraham in Genesis 17, and with Abraham's seed (Hb zerah) in Genesis 22. The first covenant (Gn 15) finds its fulfillment in the Mosaic Covenant when God forms Israel into a nation at the foot…
…
continue reading
In this lesson, Carson presents the Biblical account from the end of Abraham's life through the end of the Book of Genesis when all is well for the 12 tribes of Israel in Goshen, Egypt. This lesson covers the important events in the life of Isaac, then his son Jacob (who is renamed Israel by God), and finally Jacob's twelve sons, including Joseph w…
…
continue reading
In this lesson, Carson explains the background of the narrative in the Book of Exodus, which in turn sheds light upon the story we read. Moses is presented as a New Noah, and early events in his life prefigure his vocation as liberator and ruler/judge of Israel. The 10 Plagues God wrought against Egypt through his servant and prophet Moses were not…
…
continue reading
In this lesson, Carson begins where the last lesson left off with the Sinai Covenant wherein God enters into a solemn covenant relationship with the 12 Tribes of Israel. This covenant, which involves a sacrifice and a sacrificial meal, transforms Israel into a nation. The covenant law is the Book of the Covenant (Exodus 20-23). However, as soon as …
…
continue reading
In this lesson, Carson covers the history of salvation between the 40 years of Israel's wilderness wanderings and the rise of King Saul to the throne. We cover one of the most important books in the Old Testament: Deuteronomy, which means Second Law. It was delivered to the 2nd generation of Israelites (since the exodus from Egypt) on the plains of…
…
continue reading
In this lesson, Carson begins with the ascension of Saul to the throne of kingship over all 12 tribes of Israel in the First Book of Samuel. However, due to Saul's repetitious sin, he loses not only his dynasty (his own son will not succeed him) but his kingship as well. We discover that the words Messiah and Christ are the Hebrew and Greek terms, …
…
continue reading
In this lesson, Carson reviews the defining characteristics of the Davidic Covenant before moving into the reign of King Solomon. Bethsheba, whose name means Daughter of the Oath is elevated by her son, Solomon, to the office of Queen Mother. In eastern kingdoms - including the Davidic Kingdom - the mother of the king reigned as queen (not the king…
…
continue reading
In this lesson, Carson covers 1 2 Kings, showing how the united Davidic Kingdom under Solomon split in 930 B.C. when Solomon died. This split in the Kingdom was ultimately God's punishment due to Solomon's threefold sin of (1) amassing wealth for himself, (2) acquiring a great number of wives who turned his heart to idolatrous worship, and (3) acqu…
…
continue reading
In this lesson, Carson explains how the Deuteronomic curses (outlined in the Book of Deuteronomy) are fulfilled in both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms as they break the Old Covenant by committing the grave sin of idolatry. First, the Northern Kingdom (10 Tribes) is besieged, conquered, and exiled by Assyria in 722 B.C. The people who once inhab…
…
continue reading
In this lesson, Carson covers some of the key Old Testament prophetic passages that foretell the restoration of all Israel under the descendant of King David: the Davidic King. We go through several key passages in the Book of Jeremiah and the Book of Ezekiel before taking a quick look at Chapter 52 of the Book of Isaiah. These passages, among othe…
…
continue reading
In this lesson, Carson gives an overview of the history between when the exiled Jews first began to return to the Holy Land (i.e. Palestine) in 538 B.C. and the rule of Herod the Great when our Lord Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem. We look into the reason why Israelites such as Jesus and his 12 Apostles spoke Aramaic and not Hebrew. We also take…
…
continue reading
1
Ch. 16 - The World of the New Testament
1:19:33
1:19:33
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:19:33
In this lesson, Carson goes over the various religious groups in the Holy Land both when Jesus was born and when he went about his ministry at approximately the age of 30. In order to understand Jesus and his ministry clearly, we need to first look at the historical environment in which he lived. We begin by examining the reign of King Herod the Gr…
…
continue reading
In this lesson, Carson introduces the 27 books of the New Testament. We start off the spring semester (Chapters 17 through 30) by reading paragraph 129 in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which reads: "Christians therefore read the Old Testament in the light of Christ crucified and risen. Such typological reading discloses the inexhaustible co…
…
continue reading
In this lesson, Carson begins with an explanation of the Christological definition formulated at the Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon in 451 A.D. (a location which is now a part of the modern day city of Istanbul). He then speaks about the two means by which God has successively dealt with humanity. In the Old Testament, God descended (katabasis) to…
…
continue reading
In this lesson, Carson explains the baptism of Jesus, his temptation in the desert wilderness, the wedding at Cana (found in John 2), as well as Jesus' proclamation of the kingdom. We hearken back to Old Testament typology and prophetic themes, which stand as a backdrop to these Gospel narratives. We switch back and forth between the Gospels of Luk…
…
continue reading
In this lesson, Carson examines the first thing Jesus says in Mark's Gospel, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel." (Mark 1:15) by looking back at its rich Old Testament background, especially as found in Isaiah 52. It is there that we discover the term "gospel," which indicates the long await…
…
continue reading
In this lesson, Carson examines the theme of Jesus as the New Passover lamb. We are told in the Gospels that the Last Supper was specifically the Passover meal, which was celebrated by faithful Israelites once a year. This meal commemorated the Exodus of Israel from Egyptian captivity/slavery. When Jesus celebrates this feast, there is no lamb pres…
…
continue reading
In this lesson, Carson begins speaking of the resurrection of Jesus not with the Gospel narratives, nor with St. Paul's testimony of the Risen Christ, but with the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel, Chapter 37. It is here where we discover the theme of resurrection tied up with the idea that God will deliver his people from exile and restore them once ag…
…
continue reading
1
Ch. 23 - Jesus Fulfills the Old Testament
1:14:11
1:14:11
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:14:11
In this lesson, Carson discusses how Jesus perfectly fulfills the Old Testament in two main ways: (1) Jesus fulfills various Old Testament foretypes that point to him, and (2) Jesus is the answer to the building climactic story of the Old Testament. In this particular chapter, focus is placed on the first of these two means of fulfillment. Numerous…
…
continue reading
In this lesson, Carson shows how the birth of the Church is none other than the restoration of the Davidic Kingdom under the Son of David: Jesus the Christ. We spend our time analyzing the Christology (thinking and studying over who Jesus is) and the Ecclesiology (thinking and studying over what the Church is) that Luke presents to us in both his G…
…
continue reading
1
Ch. 25 - Reaching Out to All Nations
1:19:47
1:19:47
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:19:47
In this lesson, Carson looks back at the whole of Salvation History to better understand God's purpose for Israel, which is to be a light to the nations. Ultimately, this purpose is fulfilled in Jesus, who recapitulates Israel in his own person and mission. Due to his redemptive work upon Calvary (wherein he takes upon himself the curses of the Mos…
…
continue reading
In this lesson, Carson looks at the person, history, and theology of one of the greatest saints in the 2,000 year history of the Catholic Church: St. Paul the Apostle. In this episode, we read from the writing of a presbyter, a Catholic priest, who wrote around 160 A.D. In it, we discover a description of what St. Paul looked like. We read from Eus…
…
continue reading
In this lesson, Carson first gives 12 characteristics of the Davidic Kingdom in the Old Testament. Since the New Covenant is a renewal and extension of the Davidic Covenant, we find these characteristics fulfilled by Jesus, Mary, Peter, and the Church in the New Testament. He then moves from a presentation of these 12 features to a quick examinatio…
…
continue reading
1
Ch. 28 - The Catholic Church in Scripture
1:17:43
1:17:43
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:17:43
In this lesson, Carson divides the lesson into four parts. First, he discusses the historical meaning of the term catholic. While it literally means "according to the whole" or "universal," when the early Christians first used this term as an identifier for the Church, they used it specifically to denote the true visible empirical Church from heret…
…
continue reading
In this lesson, Carson gives the historical context surrounding St. John's Apocalypse, which is also known as "Revelation" - the final book of the canon of Sacred Scripture. Its genre is "Apocalyptic" literature, which uses highly visual and symbolic metaphorical language to describe and reveal God's purposes and actions surrounding the events goin…
…
continue reading
In this lesson, Carson wraps up the Understanding the Scriptures Bible course by empowering his students to read and interpret Scripture faithfully. He does this by examining paragraphs 109 through 119 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. First, we must determine the literal sense of the passage at hand by taking into account (1) the conditions…
…
continue reading
