In the 16th century an event took place called the “Protestant Reformation.” A priest named Martin Luther took issue with several practices within the Catholic Church and ultimately many people broke away from the Church. One of the things Martin Luther misunderstood in his grievances was the role the Church played in the interpretation of Sacred Scripture. A result of the reformation is a strong emphasis on the Bible in Protestant Churches, in reaction to what Luther believed was too strong of an emphasis on Sacred Tradition within the Catholic Church. Because of this, there have been many misconceptions that exist among other Christians about the relationship
Catholics have with the Bible.
One of the first misconceptions is that the Catholic Church is “unbiblical” or isn’t Bible-based. A quick look at the history of Sacred Scripture dispels this misconception.
THE HISTORY BEHIND THE CANON
The Church did not come out of the Bible; the Bible came out of the Church. A look at the history of the Bible reveals why:
The Old Testament books were all written between 1000 – 50 BC. Some of the accounts contained within these books are much older and existed as oral tradition before being written down. The Old Testament was translated into Greek around 200 BC. This Greek copy is called the Septuagint. This version became the primary copy of the Old Testament that the writers of the New Testament would have been familiar with.
The Old Testament was comprised of the Torah (Pentateuch), Historical Books, Wisdom Books and the Prophets. The Septuagint consisted of 46 books. The Gospels, the Epistles and the Book of Revelation were all written in the first century AD, after the death of Christ. In the first centuries after Christ, the early Church leaders begin to affirm the content and order of the New Testament and compile early canons of Scripture. Origen, Tertullian and others all recognize the four Gospels, the
Epistles and the Book of Revelation. In 367 AD, Athanasius writes a letter where he gives lists the name and order of the 27 books of the New Testament. This is done to help Christians know what writings about Christ were accurate and which writings were forgeries or false. In 382 AD, Pope Damascus made a decree that listed the books of today’s canon. In 393 AD, the canon of the New Testament is affirmed in an ecumenical council at Hippo. Pope Innocent presided over this council.
With all of this information it is clear that the Catholic Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, is responsible for compiling the Bible that we have today and for discerning what writings spoke truth and which ones did not.
IS IT TRUE THAT CATHOLICS DO NOT USE OR READ THE BIBLE REGULARLY?
While there is certainly a need for many individual Catholics to become more familiar and comfortable reading their Bible, to say that Catholics don’t use the Bible regularly would be completely false. Every week we immerse ourselves in Sacred Scripture when we celebrate Mass. The Gloria, Liturgy of the Word, Sanctus, Eucharistic prayer and other prayers within the Mass are all recited straight out of Scripture. The structure of the Mass is found in the Book of Revelation.
Priests, religious, and many lay people pray the “Liturgy of the Hours” every day – five times a day. The Liturgy of the Hours is rooted in the Scriptures – with psalms, canticles and readings. It has been called the “breath of the Church.”
CCC 141
CCC 1190
WHY DO CATHOLICS MAINTAIN BELIEFS AND PRACTICES THAT ARE NOT IN THE BIBLE?
Everything that we know about Jesus we have learned from His apostles or the people that were companions of the apostles. The New Testament was written after Jesus had ascended into heaven by these men, who were inspired by the Holy Spirit. The apostles are the ones who have passed down the teachings of Christ from generation to generation. The apostles called Jesus “rabbi,” meaning “teacher.” The Jewish tradition of a rabbi means that the 12 men dropped everything of their former way of life and went and lived with their rabbi for a period of time. They learned by his very way of life – how he prayed, what he taught, his manner of life. If we consider how much the apostles learned from simply observing Christ, then we must consider that there is a lot about Jesus that was communicated but was not written down in the Scriptures. This is called Sacred Tradition. It provides a key to understanding the Scriptures, and it is also a source of Divine Revelation. The Holy Spirit and the Church have protected Tradition all throughout the centuries.
2 Thessalonians 2:15
Tradition provides the key to properly understanding and interpreting the Scriptures. When Martin Luther broke from the Catholic Church in the Protestant Reformation, he also broke from this Sacred Tradition. Before this schism, the Church had only two divisions – Catholic and Orthodox (they divided in the Great Schism around 1000 AD). Since Luther preached sola scriptura Protestantism has divided into over 30,000 different denominations. The confusion created by not paying attention to the teachings of the apostles has caused a complete lack of unity in the Church.
WHY DO PEOPLE TRY TO CHANGE THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS CHRIST?
People have tried to change teachings about Christ for many different reasons. Sometimes it is to justify their particular belief or lack of belief. Sometimes it has been out of sincere but misguided or misinformed efforts to try to explain mysteries about Jesus Christ or God’s Revelation. In the early history of the Church, there were a number of heresies – false teachings – that developed. The Church
had to answer many tough questions to protect the teachings of Jesus Christ.
CCC 465 - 467
Frequently, in the early Church, these heresies gave the Church the opportunity to defend the teachings of Christ and to develop the theology of the Church. The Catholic Church has always protected the Truth of Christ. The Magisterium is the teaching body of the Church and it is made up of the pope and his bishops. As successors to the apostles, these are the people that Jesus entrusted with his teachings through apostolic tradition. Jesus promised Peter that the gates of Hell would not prevail against His Church. When we stand by the Church and her teachings, we stand by the one that was given authority by Jesus Christ to teach.
Matthew 16:18
CONCLUSION
This is why the Catholic Church is important. Because it compiled the Bible as we know it, it is the only authority able to accurately interpret it. There are many misconceptions that exist about the Catholic Church and the Bible; however, they are untrue. It is important for us to realize how deeply our Church is rooted in Sacred Scripture. We also need to become more familiar with it ourselves, so when we are asked about the relationship Catholics have with the Bible we can prove it with our words and actions.
(Taken from "The Family Bible" Life Teen International resource on Scripture)
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