SCRIPTURE
Scripture
1. What is Sacred Scripture?
Sacred
Scripture comprises the books of the Old and New Testaments, whole and entire,
with all their parts. These books were
written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, have God as their author, and
have been handed on as such to the Church herself. They are truly the word of
God, and have always been venerated by the Church. [135*, 141*, 105].
2. Who are the authors of Sacred Scripture?
God
is the author of Sacred Scripture. God
inspired the human authors of the sacred books to make full use of their own
faculties and powers so that, though He acted in them and by and by means of
them, it was as true authors that they consigned to writing whatever God wanted
written, and no more. He thus gives
assurance that their writings teach without error his saving truth. [136*, 106].
3. How are the books of Sacred Scripture
inspired?
All
that the sacred writers affirm should be regarded as affirmed by the Holy
Spirit. Hence the books of scripture
firmly, faithfully, and without error teach the truth
which God, for the sake of our salvation, wished to included in the Sacred
Scriptures. [136*,
107].
4. Is the Christian faith a "religion of the
book"?
The
Christian faith is not a "religion of the book", but rather a
religion of the "Word of God".
It is a word which is not mute, but the Word which is incarnate and
living. Christ, through the Holy Spirit, opens our minds to understand the
Scriptures. [108].
The Old Testament
5. What types of books are contained in the Old
Testament?
Catholics
generally divide the 46 books of the Old Testament into the Pentateuch (first
five books), 16 Historical books , 7 Wisdom books,
and 18 Prophetic Books. [120].
6. How do the books of the Old Testament
recount the history of the Jewish People?
Genesis: explains the history from
creation to the 12 sons of Jacob (renamed Israel), Exodus: from the birth of Moses to Sinai, Numbers: from Sinai to reaching the Promised Land, Joshua and Judges: recount the conquest
and division of Canaan, and the rule by Judges, Samuel: the last of the Judges and the first two kings Saul and
David, Kings: from Solomon to the
capture of Jerusalem by the Babylonians, Ezra:
during exile in Babylon and the return, Nehemiah:
after return from exile, Chronicles:
summary of all this history, Maccabees:
the later revolt. [120]
7. What are some of the messages of the Wisdom
books?
The
Wisdom books emphasize the individual and his destiny, that real wisdom
consists in the reverence of the Lord. Job recounts the sufferings of Job, Proverbs is a collection of short
sayings, many involving the blessings of wisdom, Ecclesiastes is a search for meaning, nothing is new under the sun,
vanity of vanities, all is vanity, Song
of Songs is an allegory, lover and beloved are like God and Israel (like
Christ and His Church), Sirach
(Ecclesiasticus) presents the Jewish way of life as superior to the secular
way, and the Book of Wisdom appeals
to make learning have an impact on moral life.
[120].
8. What is a prophet, and what is his mission?
Prophets
in the Old Testament were called by God to be His spokesmen and mediators
between God and
9. Who were the main prophets?
The
main prophets were: in the Northern Kingdom Israel (Elijah, Elisha, Amos,
Hosea, Jonah), in the Southern Kingdom Judah (Isaiah Ch. 1-39, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Micah,
Nahum, Zephaniah, Habakkuk), during the Babylonian Exile (Ezekiel,
Deutero-Isaiah Ch. 40-55, Daniel, Baruch, Lamentations), after the Return from
Exile (Trito-Isaiah Ch. 56-66, Joel, Obadiah, Malachi, Zechariah, Haggai). [120].
10. What great figures among the Gentiles are
venerated in the Old Testament?
The
Bible venerates Abel the just, Noah, Daniel, Job, and the king-priest
Melchizedek, a figure of Christ. [58].
The New Testament
11. What types of books are contained in the New
Testament?
The
27 books of the New Testament are often divided into Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John), Acts of the Apostles, Pauline
Letters (Romans, Corinthians [2], Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians,
Thessalonians [2],Timothy [2], Titus, Philemon, Hebrews), Catholic
Letters (James [2], Peter [2], John [3], Jude), and the book of Revelation (Apocalypse). [120].
12. What is the significance of the four Gospels?
The
four Gospels are the heart of the Scriptures; they occupy a central place because
Christ Jesus is their center. [139*, 125].
13. What are the three stages in the formation
of the four Gospels?
The
stages are: 1) The life and teachings of
Jesus are historical events faithfully presented in the Gospels, 2) The oral
tradition involves the apostles handing on to their hearers what Jesus had said
and done, but with a fuller understanding acquired through enlightenment by the
Spirit of Truth, and 3) the written Gospels involve recounting selected events
synthesized or explained with an eye to the situation of the churches, always
in a fashion that provides us with the truth about Jesus. [126].
Interpreting Scripture
14. How are the Scriptures understood and
interpreted?
All
the faithful share in understanding and handing on revealed truth,
and the Holy Spirit instructs and guides them into all truth (sensus fidei). However, the task of interpreting the word of
God authentically has been entrusted solely to the Magisterium (teaching
authority of the Church), that is to the Pope and to the bishops in communion
with him. [99*-100*, 91-95].
15. What is the sensus fidei?
The sensus fidei is a supernatural
appreciation of the faith shown by the universal consent in matters of faith
and morals manifested by the whole body of the faithful under the guidance of
the Magisterium. [glossary,
92].
16. In what spirit should the Scriptures be
interpreted?
Interpretation
of the inspired scriptures must be attentive above all to what God wants to
reveal through the sacred authors for our salvation. What comes from the Spirit is not fully
understood except by the Spirit's action.
[137*].
17. What are the three criteria proposed by the
Second
These
criteria are: 1. Be
especially attentive "to the content and unity of the whole
Scripture", 2) Read the Scripture within "the living Tradition of the
whole Church", and 3) be attentive to the "analogy of faith".
[111-114].
Characteristics of Scripture
18. What are the senses of Scripture?
According
to an ancient tradition one can distinguish two main senses of Scripture, the
literal and the spiritual. The literal
sense is the meaning conveyed by the words themselves, and discovered by
exegesis or sound principles of interpretation.
The spiritual sense results from the realities and events of scripture
being signs, and can be subdivided into allegorical, moral and analogical
senses. The allegorical sense identifies
the significance of Old Testament events in Christ, the moral sense recognizes
events in scripture as written for our instruction, and the analogical sense
views realities and events in terms of their eternal significance. [115-117].
19. What is typology?
Typology
is the discernment of persons, events or things in the Old Testament which
prefigured and thus served as a "type" (or prototype) of the
fulfillment of God's plan in the person of Christ. The typology of the Old Testament which is
made clear in the New Testament demonstrates the dynamic unity of the divine
plan for salvation. [glossary,
128, 130].
20. What is the "analogy of faith"?
The
"analogy of faith" is the coherence of the truths of faith among
themselves, and within the whole plan of salvation. [114].
21. In what way do the scriptures exhibit a
unity?
The
unity of the two testaments proceeds from the unity of God's plan and his
revelation. The Old Testament prepares
for the New, and the New Testament fulfills the Old; the two shed light on each other; both
are the true word of God. Christians
therefore read the Old Testament in the light of Christ crucified and
risen. [140*, 128,
129].
Canon of Scripture
22. What is the canon of Scripture?
The
canon comprises the official texts of the collection of the 46 books that
constitute the Old Testament, and the 27 books that constitute the New
Testament. The New Testament canon was officially established at the Councils
of Hippo and
23. Why does the Catholic bible have more books
than the Protestant bible?
When
Jesus was preaching in Palestine there were two versions of the scriptures (Old
Testament) in use, the Masoretic version written in Hebrew for use by Jews living in Palestine, and the
Septuagint version written in Greek for the Jewish people of the Diaspora who
lived elsewhere, and could not read Hebrew.
The Septuagint includes the following books called the Deuterocanon or apocrypha which are not in the Masoretic text: Tobit, Sirach, Judith,
Baruch, Wisdom, Maccabees 1 and 2, as well as parts of Esther and Daniel. The Catholic Church accepts these books as
inspired, and includes them in the bible, whereas Protestants do not accept
them. Most of the scripture quotations
from the Old Testament that are found in the New Testament are from the
Septuagint. Catholic and Protestant biblical scholars agree on the text of the
New Testament. [glossary, 213].