God
inspired the human authors of the sacred books.
"To
compose the sacred books, God chose certain men who, all the while he employed
them in this task, made full use of their own faculties and powers so that,
though he acted in them and by them, it was as true authors that they consigned
to writing whatever he wanted written, and no more."
There
are no original manuscripts (called autographs) of any of the books of the
Bible; all have been lost or damaged. Acquired and existent are all
copies. However, they are still copies. Up until the appearance of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947, the oldest Old
Testament copy was dated approximately on the year A.D. 900. Roughly, the Dead Sea Scrolls have been
accounted from the time of Jesus, give or take 100 years and contain parts from
every book of the Hebrew Bible, except Esther. These scrolls likewise comprise the several
books called Deuterocanonical accounts: (Sirach,
1 &
2 Maccabees,
Judith,
Wisdom,
Tobit & Baruch)
which are all in Hebrew. The oldest New
Testament accounts are Greek which is dated from approximately AD350. Early manuscripts were destroyed when pagans
invading the town burned the churches and church libraries, and were quickly
corrupted considering that they were only written on papyrus or animal parchment.
Roughly
speaking, it was written over a period of 1500 years, by several authors. God
inspired and breathed into them which He desired expresses, and these authors
expressed their ideas in their own way.
The intention of which was not really to create book that would
presented into the Bible as we basically know it but to conserve the traditions of how God
commune with His people.
The
Bible was originally written in "uncial writing" , a type of writing which
consists of capital letter without connection between letters, no spaces
between, words and sentences, no period or comas, and no chapters or verses,
(ex: GODISNOWHERE). This clause can be
read in this generation as “God is now here”, or “God is nowhere, so that punctuation
and all that, can be very significant which the translators have to take notice
of it.
As
sampled in the above clause (GODISNOWEHRE) the meaning varies depending where
the spaces and punctuation marks have rest. Uncial as a method of writing was popular until the A.D. 800s. This had
been followed by "cursive writing" which was a regular writing started
with capital letters as the sentences begin, letters connected and spaces
between words, popularized from the A.D 800s up to innovation of printing in
1450.
All
Bible were handwritten by monks in the Catholic monasteries which lasted from
405 until 1452 using:
a. Papyrus – (the root word of paper itself) this
was sourced out from a reed growing in the Nile River. This is cut into strips, glued together, and
connected into 35 feet long scrolls. The
writers used reed as a pen.
b. Sheep/goats
skin (parchment) or young calves’ skin (vellum). In writing, metal pen or stylus was used
while the ink was a combination of soot
mixed with gum.
Preservation
of the Bible was made by copying it frequently on newer skins. In the monastery, they basically dedicate one
huge room (Scriptorium), or a few smaller rooms for reproduction of Bible
purposes alone. These rooms were developed to maintain efficient output.
Scriptorium was restricted to any entrance except the monk as scribe and the
superior. You could imagine how these monks patiently write down, while other
monks read the texts to the writers. As precautionary measures, they seldom
used lamps or candles to protect these scrolls. On cold weather the monks had
to endure a difficult task because these rooms were not heated to prevent from
fire. When a monk had finished copying
one page, he gave it to another monk to check for accuracy.
After
a monk had finished copying one page, another would take to check its
precision. After which, he would pass to another for further decoration if any.
Book of Kells is one of the most notably finest decorated handwritten books of the monks,
which is the manuscripts of the Four Gospels, which is claimed to be a creation
from the 7th or 8th
centuries, and this can be seen at Trinity College Dublin.
Various
examples or parts of the Bible are accessible in museums globally. Its artwork is superbly made using different
colors of ink, making it as priceless treasures. A lot of the Bible’s covers were made of silver
or gold and precious jewels were attached to it. The Bible was regularly
chained to the podiums to prevent from stealing so that everybody could access
it. Only a few could acquire and read a
Bible because it was so expensive. Copying the Bible in handwriting by the
monks would take approximately 10 months during the Middle Ages. Acquisition
cost if one desired to own one would have been $5,000 at the time, or $150,000
to &200,000 in current currency.
Through Stephen Langton (d. 1227) who later became the Archbishop of Canterbury, the
Bible was split into chapters. On the
other hand, Father Santes Pagninus , a Dominican Priest, divided the Old
Testament chapters into verses in 1528, while Robert Estienne who was a printer
in Paris did the same for the New Testament in 1551.
Before
the innovation of printing by Johann Guttenberg in 1450, the use of paper was
being perfected. As a result, this
transforms to the copying of the Bible a guaranteed precision and
efficiency. The Mazarin Bible was the first book printed, at Mayence in
1452, through Cardinal Mazarin’s request.
Subsequently, in 1522 the Catholic Church had sponsored the reproduction
of 626 editions of the Bible in different language which was composed of 14 complete editions in high German, 5
complete editions is low German, 11 Italian editions, 10 French editions,
2 Bohemian editions, 1 Spanish edition.,
1 Flemish edition, and 1 Russian edition.
Martin Luther translated the New Testament into German in 1522, the Old
Testament in 1534.
Throughout
A.D. 50 and A.D. 405, a number of the Apostles’ or sometimes close to an
Apostle’s writings appeared, which were regularly read in the church. At that
time, being the only Christian existent, the Catholic had to choose which writings
are accurate and inspired which would create the “canon,” or the list of the
sacred books of the New Testament, or the sacred writings as official list of the Church:
1. Written by an Apostle or one close to an
Apostle.
2. Liturgical use – use at Mass was an official
approval.
3. Orthodoxy in doctrine – the teaching had to
agree with the Catholic Church’s teaching.
A
list of the inspired books of the New Testament was first concurrent in the 39th
Pastoral letter of St. Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, Egypt, in A.D. 367.
He
sought this list of sacred books of the New Catharsis.
He took the 27 books of the New Testament and declared all are apostolic and
canonical. St. Athanasius recounted, “In
these alone is proclaimed the Good News of the teaching of true religion.” This list was confirmed by the Council of Hippo (393), the Council of Carthage (397), both in North Africa (St. Augustine being very influential in
both councils),Pope Innocent I (405), and the Council of Trent (1546). The Old Testament books accepted as canonical
were “officially declared to be the “Canon” of the Old Testament Scripture by
the Council of Trent. The Canon of
Scripture is 73 books in all, consists of 46 books in the Old Testament and 27
books on the New Testament.
The Bible: Important Translations of the Bible
Septuagint
comes from the Latin word “septuaginta” which means 70. This was a translation of the Hebrew Books of
the Old Testament into Greek, by 70 Jewish scholars. As a result of Babylonian
Captivity of 586-536 B.C., mostly of the Israelites in exile did not know
Hebrew so the translation turned to be vital to make the sacred books
comprehensible, which was made in Alexandria, Egypt sometime in between 250 B.C.
and 100 B.C. The Jews outside Palestine were cordially receptive of this, and
many Gentiles were able to read it who recognized the significant noted in the
Old Testament turning them to be responsive to Jesus’ teachings.
No
list of inspired books had been accepted or approved in the early church. Jesus and the Apostles did not provide us
these books. Nevertheless, the Septuagint was exceptionally prominent among
Jews living outside Palestine (and some inside Palestine) and was the sacred
writings espoused by the early Greek-speaking Christians. There are more than
300 direct quotations or paraphrases from the Septuagint Bible out of some 350
Old Testament references throughout the New Testament. This hinted the scholars that the Catholic
Christian writers of the Apostolic Era had embraced the Septuagint.
The
Christians took the Septuagint over so completely that the Jews decided to
adopt their own version. This was done
about 90 A.D. The Council of Hippo (393), the Council of Carthage (397), and Pope
Innocent I (405) listed the 46 books of the Septuagint as inspired. The Catholic, Greek, Russian, and other
Orthodox Old Testaments are based on the Septuagint.
Through Pope St. Damasus I request, St. Jerome (382-404) organized the Vulgate which is
the Latin version translating the Old Testament directly from the original
Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, and revised the existing Latin text of the New
Testament. “Vulgate” means “common” or
“popular,” and Latin was the popular language in Europe at the time. This translation was made in a language they
could comprehend. Very few knew how to
read.
The Council of Trent 1545-63) acknowledged it as the official Latin of the Bible
for Catholics and was used through the centuries.
This
had been the conduit for all English Catholic translations until the middle of the 20th century up to the time that the scholars started to use
original sources. This continued as the Latin text of the Bible for the
Catholic Church until Pope John Paul II changed it with the New Vulgate in
1979.
Catholic
Christians and non-Catholic Christians believe that the Bible is the inspired
Word of God based on their acceptance that the Catholic Church had the
authority to declare which books were inspired and should be included in the
list of sacred books of “Canon”, and which ones should be exluded.
The
Catholic Church knew it, had this authority and guidance because:
- “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always. – the Spirit of Truth” (John 14:16-17)
- “But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth.” (John 16:13)
- “...I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20)
- “Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”(Matthew 16:19)
- “...it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit (Ephesians 3:5)
- “...which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of truth. (1 Timothy 3:15)
These
73 books of the Bible as inspired which make up the list of sacred books have
been accepted and taught for more than 1500 years in the Catholic Church. The Apostles and the Church were given the
gift of the Holy Spirit when He said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” (John 20:22) Likewise, Jesus said, Jesus
also said, “But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all
truth” (John 16:13). This is a promise
which was crafted for church alone.
Anyone who gainsays with this is opposing the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of
Truth, who guides the Church perfectly for 1900 years.
Martin
Luther refused this promise and accepted the Hebrew Bible which does not have
the 2nd Book of Maccabees which says, “ It is a holy and wholesome
thought to pray for the dead that they may be loosed from their sin.” (2 Maccabees 12:46)
Luther refused the praying for the dead,
rejected the seven books of the Old Testament, and snubbed these New Testament
books: Hebrews, 2 John ,
3 John, James, Jude,
2 Peter and Revelation. These books hold teachings deviate his
teaching. Nevertheless, the Lutheran scholars re-instated these books to the
New Testament, as Jesus promised,that
His Spirit would be with His Church (John 14:16-17) and that the Spirit of
Truth would guide the Church into all truth (John 16:13) Paul said, “...which
is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Timothy
3:15). So the Spirit of Truth funnels
the Church in all truth but not to a single person.
As official list of sacred writings, Jewish
scholars group four criteria which sacred books had to undergo to be accepted
in the Jewish canon:
1. They had to be in harmony with the Pentateuch
(first five books of the Bible)
2. They had to have been written before the time
of Nehemiah (c.400 BC).
3. They had to have been written in Hebrew.
4. They had to have been written in Palestine.
These
criteria barred the seven books which are not in the Hebrew Canon or Protestant
Old Testament namely: Judith, Tobit, 1st Maccabees, 2nd Maccabees, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus (Sirach), and
Baruch. For a quick recall, take the first letter of each book making it J.T.
Macweb. And this is why, if you had experienced to sit down in their Bible
study, you would be encouraged to use their Bible Version so to avoid
disagreements of teachings.
The
Protestant Old Testament is similar as the Hebrew canon, and their New
Testament is akin to the Catholic New Testament. Most Protestant Bibles, while not accepting
these seven books as inspired, are now counting them in at the Old Testament,
as did the 1611 King James Versione (Authorized Version).
The Catholic Church has:
- Written the New Testament
- Decided which books went into the Bible, i.e. decided what books are inspired and should make up the “Canon” of Scripture.
- Compiled those books into a collection which it named the “Bible”
- Preserved the Bible, for the first 1500 years by hand writing each book over and over again on fresh papyrus, or on fresh skins of animals.
- Preserved the Bible from destruction.
- Preserved the Bible from error
- Defended the Bible through the last 1900 years.
- Grounded her doctrines upon the Bible.
- Held the Bible in highest veneration.
- Interpreted the Bible for Her people.
- The right to call the Bible Her book.
"I would not believe the Gospel unless moved thereto by the authority of the Church." – St. Augustine
From
time to time, we can come across with people who would naturally say "If it
isn't in the Bible, I don't believe it," which “presupposes” that all
Jesus had done and said were recorded in the Bible. We should be reminded that Jesus “didn’t make
His graces reliant upon the capacities to read or own a Bible.
Jesus
didn't order that His Apostles go and write down everything He had said so that
people can read it but instructed them, " Go, therefore, and make disciples of
all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of
the holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19-20)
Jesus’
truths were to be propagated which was evidently indispensable through word of
mouth before the printing press came in. It is factual that some of the
Apostles and their cohorts wrote several accounts of our Lord’s life and
doctrine. However the traditions (oral
teachings) of the Apostles are just as genuinely the Word of God as their
scribbled words that we discover conserved in the New Testament. This verity is substantiated as articulated
in the following Biblical references:
- Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of (his) disciples that are not written in this book. (John 20:30)
- There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written. (John 21:25)
- Therefore, brothers, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught, either by an oral statement or by a letter of ours. 2 Thessalonians 2:15)
- Jesus says " Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me." (Luke 10:16)
- "Although I have much to write to you, I do not intend to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to visit you and to speak face to face so that our joy may be complete" (2 John 1:12)
- " I have much to write to you, but I do not wish to write with pen and ink. Instead, I hope to see you soon, when we can talk face to face." (3 John 13-14)
The
last verses can exceptionally be valued on a realistic ground that as family
members for example, family ties are built up not by passing notes back and
forth but by conversing to each other face to face. The indispensable God’s
favor are enclosed in the Scripture but this doesn’t mean that those who are
privileged to acquire it catches more graces than the underprivileged. In fact, people in the cities who are
accessible to the Bible have more loathsome characters (corruption in the
government, wars between two opposing countries, different version of hoaxes in
developed countries, labor malpractice, etc.) than the people in the mountains
who are inaccessible to the Scripture.
It’s also mentioned that not all of us can read it to ourselves and
comprehend what is being written, as the Ethiopian eunuch recounted, “How can I, unless
someone instructs me?"(Acts 8:30-31)
We should be reminded that neither did it imply that it is the
exclusive source as the Bible itself re-echoes, “All scripture is inspired by
God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for
training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16)
We
should fully be acquainted that:
- The Bible, Word of God that it is, doesn't assert to be the sole source of information but instead manuscripts of evident episodes and the institution of a teaching authority within His Church; and
- Implying that the Bible is the sole authority can be tantamount to saying that Jesus’ word is not reliable as He Himself professes that He will be with His Church (as it baptizes and teaches) until the end of time (Matthew 28:20)
The
Bible is not a catechism or theological thesis where one can locate a quick
answer. We’re mishandling the Holy Scripture if only for finding the answer is
our intention. The truth can be found on
it but we must know how to get to the brim of it as it is not presented in a
clear-cut mode that could promptly be comprehended by the 20th
century Christians. This is so obviously
because the sacred writers relied deeply on 1st century and even
prior Jewish traditions, customs, and beliefs which are not automatically
recorded in the Bible. It is highly
imperative that we also check the other chronological accounts, for credibility
and authenticity, to indeed learn, how the manuscripts had been brought in as
part of the Holy Scripture whereby only important writings at that time, and
how this was comprehended and educated by the concerned to whom the writings
were dealt with.
"If
it isn't in the Bible, I don't believe it" may seem logical to the one
parading it, but it is a self-contradicting declaration because the Bible does
not in any way affirm that the Bible is the exclusive authority. Hence, the
person verbalizing this professes something which the Bible does not say, as
the Scripture says that the Church is the authority: "the church of the
living God, the pillar and foundation of truth." (1 Timothy 3:15)
If we’ll look at it, many religions
have sprouted like mushrooms. While everybody claims they’re telling the
truth and nothing but the truth, still everybody ridicules each one saying
"Your religion is a false advocate." As a responsible Catholic
who is also like anybody else (from any religious affiliation) who desires to
embrace God physically at the appointed time, I must admit that Catholicism
have been accounted with a lot of abusive acts taken from the Pharisees, Popes,
the villain
friars and Priests of
the past , but this doesn’t mean that the whole Catholic Church and doctrines
have been corrupted by the few rotten fruits. Jesus entrusted His church
to St. Peter which the latter passed to his successor and the successor to its
subsequent heir, which means that Jesus’ choice is a perfect choice as He is
perfect (Matthew
5:48) and being the Perfect God,
He has all the perfect capacities and attributes to select what is best for His
church. There were imperfections in between because of these bad apples just
like what’s happening to any family or any religious affiliation for that
matter, but remember that there’s always a constant room for
transformation.
If God therefore trusts these Popes,
who then trust its Priests, who are we not to trust these God’s chosen?
Are we questioning the veracity of God’s choice or are we just equipped with a
“protestant mind” who can’t patiently wait for God’s revelation, which is but
like another version of the Israelites who stayed in Egypt for 430 years (Exodus
12:40) and another forty years of eating manna until reaching their
final destination (Exodus 16:35) because
of overly grumbling which redounds to their communal and personal misgivings,
than obedience?
References:
1. http://www.ewtn.com/library/SCRIPTUR/DEADSEA.htm, Dead Sea Scrolls: Threat to Chiristianity?
2. http://www.cathtruth.com/catholicbible/bookbook.htm, The Book of Books
3. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13635a.htm, Scriptorium
4. https://www.tcd.ie/Library/bookofkells/book-of-kells, The Book of Kells
5. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/329781/Stephen-Langton, Stephen Langton
6. http://www.scborromeo.org/truth/truth.pdf#search=bible, History of the Bible
7. http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0839/_INDEX.HTM, The New American Bible
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