The definition of “Bible” comes from the Latin word, “Biblia”. Biblia means “library”. The Bible is in fact a library of 73 books and letters. The first five books are called the Pentateuch or the Torah. They are also called the five books of Moses. This doesn’t necessary mean that Moses had written them because in those five books, Moses death was recorded. The first book of the Bible is Genesis. I think this is the one of the most misunderstood books of the Bible along with Revelation.
The Catholic Church has said that the first 11 chapters of Genesis may not be taken literally, although it is fine if one does. But what they have said is that the original author had to use a form of language to express a certain reality. The message that many believe the author was trying to make was that we were created in the image and likeness of God, we came from a set of parents and that something had to have taken place in order for us to be in the condition we are in.
The rest of the OT tells about history and poetry. There is a love letter in there too. There are prayers and prophecies. The first three books of the New Testament are Matthew, Mark and Luke. These are called the synoptic Gospels because they tell us of Jesus life. The fourth gospel is John. John is pretty much in a class of it’s own. The gospel of John was written by John the youngest and beloved apostle of Jesus and it was written later than the others. John wanted to convey a deeper message than the others. There were things that had to be said that were not said in the others. This does not mean that the gospels contradict each other or that the apostles just forgot about something, it is that each one saw a necessity to write what they wrote and how they wrote it. The other books in the New Testament are letters to the Church in Corinth and Ephesus, etc. They speak of liturgy, morality, family life and community.
The Bible wasn’t meant to be a science book. It is a theology book. It tells us of the message of salvation and the things that have taken place and need to take place in order for us to have a relationship with God for all eternity.
All of the different Jewish groups recognize the Torah but dffer on the other books of the Old Testament as to what has been divinely revealed. The Old Testament was not considered to be a closed canon until the Catholic Church canonized the Bible in 382A.D. by Pope Damasus.
When Pope Damasus canonized the Bible he used the Septuagint (Greek) translation of the Old Testament. The Septuagint is actually what Jesus and the Apostles had quoted from. When the books of the New Testament were to be added, he took into consideration what books or letters were being used and determined if they were compatible with the teaching tradition of the early church fathers and to see if they were consistent. The books also were authenticated that they were written by the apostles or disciples of the apostles.
It wasn’t until the 1500’s (approx) that the books of the Bible were questioned. There were bad translations before that. But Martin Luther did not agree with what seven books of the OT said because it contradicted his own “theology”. So he took them out completely. So now there are a number of Bibles such as the King James, the New King James, The Revised Standard, New American Standard and English Standard versions that are missing seven books of the OT. For 1500 years what books belonged in the bible were never challenged.
At the Council of Trent the Catholic Church had said infallibly what books belonged in the Bible. Read carefully, infallibly what books belong in the Bible, these were the same books were the same ones Pope Damasus had canonized in 382A.D.
Since the Catholic Church had determined, infallibly, what books belong in the Bible, then that would mean they have authority over it. They do not, however, have the authority to change what is in the Bible but they have the authority to interpret it. The Church does give the reader a lot of freedom to interpret the Bible but one must not deviate from what has been originally intended and contradict the teaching of the Church. This isn’t so the Church can have the trump card or has a monopoly on the Bible; it is just that to do so would be detrimental to the reader and not grasp the message of Christ.
There have been many controversies and objections to what the Catholic Church teaches about the Bible that it would be way beyond the scope of this article. But I can guarantee you that what ever has been put forth as an objection can be disproved very easily. History can prove it.
In conclusion, it is important to keep in mind that the Bible did not just fall from the sky with a divinely inspired Table of Contents, nor is it self interpreting. If that was the case then there would be no conflict. The buck has to stop somewhere and it stops with the Catholic Church.
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