APPENDIX B
Mandated Scriptural
Texts
The Scriptures, as given to the church, are the communal treasure of
the entire body of believers (The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church,
n.3).
Religious Education is often the sole opportunity available for
students to encounter the message of faith. In the teaching of religion,
emphasis should be laid on knowledge of sacred Scripture, as a means of
overcoming prejudices old and new, and enabling its truth to be better known
(Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini of the Holy Father Benedict
XVI, p.178).
The following overview provides an outline of what Scripture
texts need to be explicitly taught (core texts) in each year level, and other
possible texts (supplementary texts) that could be used to support the teaching
of particular concepts.
Core texts
Core texts are the prescribed Scriptural texts that need to
be taught in depth at each year level. By exploring the three worlds of the
text, students will engage in:
A study of the world of the text (What is actually in the
text? What type of writing is this text? Is there a particular structure of the
text? Who are the characters in the text and what happens? …)
A study of the world behind the text (What can we learn
about the context of this text - the historical world of the human author(s);
the cultural world of the time; the geographic considerations of the text; the
community for whom the text was written…)
An exploration of the world in front of the text (What are
some messages from or about God that modern believers can take from this text
in their time and place? Does the Church have a specific teaching about the
meaning of this text? How might this text be used in contemporary contexts such
as in liturgy, for personal spiritual reflection, to inspire action for
justice?)
In order to discover the sacred authors’ intention, the reader must
take into account the conditions of their time and culture, the literary genres
in use at that time, and the modes of feeling, speaking and narrating then
current (Catechism of the Catholic Church, n.110).
Supplementary texts
Supplementary texts are Scripture texts that have been
identified as relevant for particular concepts and appropriate for students at
different year levels. Supplementary texts do not need to be taught in the same
depth as the core texts, and they do not all need to be taught. Providing
supplementary texts for each year level enables teachers to confidently make
choices about what particular Scripture texts would be most appropriate for
teaching different units of work.
Teaching Scripture in
the Classroom
An exploration of the world in front of the text (What are
some messages from or about God that modern believers can take from this text
in their time and place? Does the Church have a specific teaching about the
meaning of this text? How might this text be used in contemporary contexts such
as in liturgy, for personal spiritual reflection, to inspire action for
justice?)