Word of Life

Note: It is recommended to read chapters 4 - 6 from the Book of Genesis before reading this article. Re-reading the article is also a suggestion to get a better understanding of the text. Disclaimer – The following article is meant for educational purposes only and not for any commercial purpose. By Fr Trevor D'Souza, OFM Co-authored by Adrian Mathew Genesis 4 The story of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel are not historical stories. These  stories do not intend to explain the origin of the human race. These stories bring out the presence of violence and sin in the human race (family life and society).   Biblical scholars are of the opinion that the story of Cain and Abel have been taken from the legends of the tribe of Kenites (see Judges 1:16; 4:17) and inter-woven with the story of Adam and Eve, by making them their children.   The story of Cain and Abel shows how violence is deeply rooted in the human heart (Genesis 4:7). It also shows how rivals deal with each other when hurt by pr

By Adrian Mathew Note: It is recommended to read chapter 3 from the Book of Genesis before reading this article. Re-reading the article is also a suggestion to get a better understating of the text. Disclaimer – The following article is meant for educational purpose only and not for any commercial purpose. Genesis 3: With Genesis 3, we turn to what is perhaps one of the momentous chapters in the entire Old Testament: the account of the Fall. With this narrative, Genesis reveals to us the sin that lay at the origins of mankind and, therefore, the root cause of all moral evils with which human history has been inundated. The Inversion of norms: In the divinely established order in Genesis 1-2, Adam, God’s vice-regent, is to obey God. He is to communicate God’s will to Eve, his spouse, and together they are to rule over the animals. In the course of Genesis 3, the animal (the serpent) is going to rule over Eve, Eve is going to communicate the animal’s will to Adam, and together al

By Adrian Mathew Note: It is recommended to read chapters 1 and 2 from the Book of Genesis before reading this article. Re-reading the article is also a suggestion to get a better understating of the text. Disclaimer – The following article is meant for educational purpose only and not for any commercial purpose. A Re-look at the Structure of Genesis: Another legitimate way to understand the literary structure of the book is when the sacred author has used genealogical formulas to mark what he considered key divisions of his text. The stock phrase “these are generations of” (Hebrew ‘elleh toledoth) is used at the junctures between blocks of narrative called “cycles” that largely follow one of five dominant figures in the book: Adam, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph. We discover that Genesis appears to have been compiled as five major cycles, each distinguished—and, at the same time, joined—by “ genealogical ” (toledoth) formulas . This five-cycle structural analysis is presente

By Adrian Mathew (Audio format click to listen ->  Spotify  narrated by  Suharsh Xavier ) Disclaimer   –  The following article is meant for educational purpose only and not for any commercial purpose. The word Genesis comes from the Greek word ‘geneseos’ which means birth or origin. The Book explains the origin of the world and Israel’s place in it. Genesis narrates sacred history from its commencement at the time of creation and rounds it off with the account of the Israelites’ descent into Egypt. In its rich theological theme, the Book points to the true God who created the heavens, the earth and all that’s in the universe and thereby dethroning all false claimants to divinity. Nothing in this world is god and nothing in this world deserves worship but all of creation comes from the true God, bears witness to God and is under the aegis of the true God. We human beings are the stewards of this creation. The Book is divided into two parts : - Primeval History (Chapters 1-11)

By Emmanuel Gomes (Audio format click to listen ->  Spotify  narrated by Suharsh Xavier ) The Pentateuch is traditionally known as the five “Books of Moses”. It comprises of the first part of the Jewish and Christian canons of the Scripture. These books enjoy the distinction of inspired status by every sect of ancient Judaism (Samaritans, Sadducces, Pharisees, Essenes) as well as all major Christian communities.   “Pentateuch” comes from Greek words  pente  (five) and  teuchos  (roll, later coming to mean scroll). In Jewish tradition its also known as the Torah ( Hebrew meaning Law ).   The Pentateuch consists of – 1.      Genesis 2.      Exodus 3.      Leviticus 4.      Numbers 5.      Deuteronomy     Various Christian heresies denied its authority – most influential being  Marcion , a bishop in Italy in second century A.D. He rejected the entirety of Old Testament as being work of a false God, not of the one revealed by Jesus Christ. Also certain groups with roots in the Protestan

Written and Edited by Mr J Aloysius Ignatius, Fr Gerard J D’Silva and Fr Trevor D’Souza, OFM   Note  The ‘fill in the blanks’ at intervals below will help you to focus on essentials and to interact with the text more actively. For best effect, it must be filled in by memory from what you have just read in that section. If necessary you may even read the section more than once. Only when you are unable to fill in the blanks from memory should you go back to the text to fill in the blanks. It should not be used as a mere cut and paste exercise.    1.   The word  Bible  is derived from the Greek word  biblos , which means “book.” The Bible itself is a collection, or a library of various books, inspired by God and written by human beings. The Bible contains the authentic, inspired record of the revelations made to mankind by God about himself and his will for people. The Bible contains saving truths.   Q1. The word “Bible” means ………. Q2. The Bible is a collection of various ………. inspired b