Lesson Three - Chapter 39 - Bible Continued
Text by Pat Austin, St. Patrick's Cathedral RCIA Instructor
God did not reveal his truths all at once. These truths were revealed slowly through history -- the history of our salvation. God started with Creation, then first parents, Adam and Eve, then Noah, then Abraham and all his descendants, then God revealed His Law through Moses. After Moses God sent the prophets who tried to keep the chosen people faithful to Moses and the Covenant (prophets didn't succeed very often) then God sent His only Son who came and established the Eternal Covenant and a visible Church. This history took place over thousands of years, first orally, then in writing. The written part is called Sacred Scripture. Another name is the Bible.
The Bible is God's Love Letters to his people.
The Bible was not written to prove God or truths. It was written to reveal God's truths for us and to show us our path to journey home - our way to Salvation.
The Bible was not written to be a science book.
The Bible has no error in it. True, the Bible took thousands of years to be written. Couldn't a mistake have been made over all those years? Yes! If God did not protect from error the truths he revealed. Did God protect these truths? Absolutely! Think about it. God had to protect his truths from error otherwise people would misunderstand, change, throw out these truths, not necessarily on purpose but just from wrong judgements. We can make a mistake in drawing a conclusion from something we see. Imagine what we should do on something we can't see.
The Catholic Church teaches that this protection of Divine Revelation, both written and oral, occurs through the Divine Inspiration of the Holy Spirit, then and now.
The written part (scripture/bible) is divided into two sections:
Bible -- library of books -- from the Greek word "biblio/s -- book/s.
Complete Bible -- 73 books in Catholic Bible (46 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament, 66 books in Protestant Bible (39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament.
Old Testament: 46 books; 21 books of history, 18 books of prophecy, 7 books of wisdom.
21 History: Genesis-Gn., Exodus-Ex., Leviticus-Lv., Numbers-Nb., Deuteronomy-Dt., Joshua-Jos., Judges-Jgs., Ruth-Ru., 1 Samuel -1Sm., 2 Samuel - 2Sm., 1 Kings - 1Kgs., 2Kings-2Kgs., 1 Chronicles-1Chr., 2 Chronicles-2Chr., 1 Maccabees-1Mc., 2 Maccabees-2Mc..
18 Prophecy: Isaiah-Is., Jeremiah-Jer., Lamentations-Lam., Baruch-Bar., Ezekiel-Ez., Daniel-Dn., Hosea-Hos. (Osee), Joel-Jl., Amos-Am., Obadiah-Ob., Jonah-Jon., Micah-Mi., Nahum-Na., Habakkuk-Hb., Zephaniah-Zep., Haggai-Hg., Zechariah-Zec., Malachi-Mal.
7 Wisdom: Job-Jb., Psalms-Ps., Proverbs-Prv., Ecclesiastes-Eccl., Song of Solomon (Song of Songs)-Song., Wisdom-Wis., Sirach (Ecclesiasticus)-Sir.
New Testament -- 27 Books
4 Gospels -- Matthew-Mt., Mark-Mk., Luke-Lk., John-Jn.
21 Letters -- Paul write 13: Romans-Rom., 1/2 Corinthians-Cor., Galatians-Gal., Ephesians-Eph., Philippians-Phil., Colossians-Col., 1/2 Thessalonians-Thes., 1/2 Timothy-Tm., Titus-Ti., Philemon, Hebrews-Hb., (Author not certain. Some scholars attribute this letter, Hebrews, to Paul), James-Jas., 1/2 Peter-Pt., 1/2/3 John-Jn., Jude 1.
Acts of the Apostles -- St. Luke is the author - tells of the early Church.
Book of Revelation (Apocalypse) -- St. John the Apostle/Evangelist is the author. This book of the Bible is the most misread book of the Bible. It does not predict the future. Its purpose was to encourage the persecuted Christians to remain faithful to the teachings of Jesus. See the Catholic Dictionary, page 24.
The number of books in the Bible has been challenged throughout the Church's history. In the early Church the Council of Carthage - 397 A.D. declared that the 73 Inspired books of the Bible at that time were the only Inspired books of the Bible and would remain as such. No new Books would be added and no books would be deleted. Reference: Catechism of the Catholic Church, page 21, question 5.
The number of books of the Bible was again questioned after the Reformation. Council Trent - 1546 A.D. restated that the books in the Catholic Bible -- 73 -- were inspired by the Holy Spirit and only these can be contained in the Bible.
What is a council? The gathering of all the bishops called by the Pope. The purpose is to define doctrines, to solve problems and to answer questions. There have been 21 Ecumenical (General) Councils in the Church. Only the Pope can call a Council. Where the Council is held is usually the name of the Council. The Teachings that the council declares are infallible. Reference: Catholic Dictionary, page 123.
The first five books of the Bible are called the Pentateuch: Gn., Ex., Lv., Nm., Dt. The Jews call these same books The Torah or Law.
The Books of the Bible are divided into chapters and verses to make it easier to find passages. This was done during the Middle Ages and not as they were written.
How to find a passage in the Bible:
Jn. 21:25 -- Jn. is the name of the Book, 21 is the chapter, 25 is the verse(s).
2Thes. 2:15, 1Cor. 11:2, Ps. 71:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17.
The Protestant Bible differs from the Catholic Bible only in the Old Testament. The New Testament is the same.
DIFFERENCE between as Catholic and a Protestant Bible:
About 100 A.D. Jewish Rabbis held a Synod at which they redefined the books of the Old Testament that were acceptable. If the book did not meet the criteria they set, then the book was not kept as Sacred Scripture. Four criteria:
Seven complete books were rejected from the Jewish Scripture; Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch, Tobit, 1 & 2 Maccabees and parts of Daniel and Esther.
Protestants use the Hebrew translation so the Protestant Bible does not have seven of the books the Catholic Bible has. The difference is in the translation used.
Interpreting scripture by yourself can be very dangerous if done without realizing that you "cannot use a 21st century mind set to interpret writings of ancient times." -- Pope Pius XII
Leave it to the Scripture scholars. Why? Because language changes, culture changes, you must know something about the audience for whom it was written, you must know and understand literary styles of writing, some Scripture was written in ancient languages that a re no longer in use today. Therefore, you need a translation of God's Word by an authority.
Remember ... every time you have a translation, you have an interpretation. Only qualified scripture scholars should interpret scripture. This does not mean that you shouldn't read Scripture, it means be sure you have the right Bible. Some Bibles are not interpreted correctly.
Which interpretation does the Catholic Church say is the correct interpretation? The Catholic Church doesn't say which is correct but the Vulgate - Latin translation by St. Jerome is accepted as the best translation (free from error).
Today, there is confusion in some of the translations being used. Two Encyclicals warn us of this situation:
The Catholic Church interprets Scripture contextually, (using history, studies of race/culture, archaeology) not just literally.
Today, the Magisterium is the authority in the interpretation of Sacred Scripture. Reference: Catholic Dictionary pages 237-8 magisterium.
To sum up: The Bible/Sacred Scripture is the Word of God, written by certain men chosen by God to tell God's Plan of Salvation for mankind. These writers werer protected by the Divine Inspiration of the Holy Spirit to write free from error. God did not dictate to the writers. These writers used their own style of writing and language that was in use at that time in putting down what God wanted written. The writers chose to express the Word of God through historical accounts, poetry, short stories, laws, history etc.
Next Assignment: Text, Chapter 4 pages 33-43; Catechism of the Catholic Church section 6 pages 33-39.