Podcast
The first twelve chapters of Genesis concern the origin of Man. The creation is structured into seven days, but appears to be a thematic categorization of creation into ages, as the word for day is used shortly thereafter to also mean an era. The universe was created by God, who existed before everything else and created it out of nothing.
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Much of the scholarship of the book of Genesis from the 18th century to the early 20th century was based on Wellhausen’s Documentary Hypothesis that the Torah was collated from multiple sources based on various factions. The evidence for this comes from the type of content in portions of the Torah, and in particular the words used for the name of God.
The theory proposes that there were four authors of all of Torah, the Jahwist author, whose writings are theorized to be very personal, at around the time of Solomon in 950 BC, the Elohist author, who was supposed to be much more philosophical and less personal, writing about 100 years later, the Deuteronomist author writing at the time of Josiah’s reforms in 600 BC to support the reforms, and the Priestly author, who is supposed to be concerned with laws and rituals, writing after the end of the Babylonian Exile in 500 BC, and all of these various sources were later reconciled by an editor or editors. Please note that this is all conjecture and not endorsed by the Catholic Church.
No hard evidence for such documents exists, and similar differences exist in the writings of other ancient Semitic cultures. In practice, this theory tends to prevent a deeper faith.
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Genesis is a book of origins, as the name suggests, but it is in many ways more addressed in the New Testament than the Old Testament. Genesis, along with the next four books of the Bible, was substantially written by Moses, though some portions, such as the death of Moses in Deuteronomy, may have been written or edited by others.
Genesis’ origin differs profoundly from the Semitic origin stories of other cultures, which serves to highlight how different our faith is from that of other religions. Notably, the origin stories explain the gods emerge from the chaos. Genesis is suitable for instruction in the faith and not be dismissed.
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In strong terms, Paul commands the people not to associate with those who live in idleness. This is not simply lending a helping hand to those who are down on their luck, but to those who refuse to work and simply live on others and gossip. Paul commands such people to attend to their work quietly.
In contrast, 1 Cor 5:9ff describes a situation where those who are wicked must be driven out, but this is not that situation. Such people are not enemies, so we are to help them by warning them.
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The second coming will be a terrible day for some, but it will be the end of the journey for the faithful. Paul prays that the word of the Lord speed on as the Thessalonians have been doing and are continuing to do. Paul prays that God directs His people to Himself.
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The book of Daniel predicts that a desolating sacrilege will appear in the temple. People had thought that the desecration of the temple in the time of the Maccabees was this, but Jesus says that this is yet to come. This is an antichrist who will cause sacrifice to cease. There will be a tribulation and while some will make it to the day of the Lord, some who remain faithful will die before getting there.
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Paul addresses the likely reason for this second letter, a misapprehension of the second coming. Some had been caught up in the belief that the second coming had happened or was about to happen soon. This idea may have come from a false letter of Paul.
The end times will be accompanied by a man who is against God’s law but who exalts himself over God, and this was something that the people would have understood. Most men, including Christians will fall away but those who endure to the end will be saved.
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When the Lord is revealed on the last day, He will be revealed from Heaven, in power, and in the fire of justice, which may or may not also be a literal fire. God will punish those who do not know God and refuse to obey Him. Yet it is by God’s grace that we may know Him.
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Thessalonica is growing in faith. Paul’s catechesis is an exercise in growing in holiness. The Thessalonians were eager to hear the good news and were preparing for the second coming. Paul sees that they have already grown in love, and Christians must have love to care for their fellow Christians.
On the last day, those who persecuted Christians will be judged as well as those who were persecuted, who are being made worthy of the kingdom of God.
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Paul instructs Christians to encourage those in our communities who may be struggling in faith, calling on similar statements in Colossians 3 and Romans 12.
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