The Bible ALONE ?
Is the Bible alone what God had given us to follow?
First of all, it has to be made clear. The Bible is the very WORD of GOD. We have to read it, and follow it in our lives. But we have to follow the true meaning of the words of God (Jn 8:32).
Very commonly mistake is made by Christians who preach the doctrine of 'Sola Scriptura' - the Bible alone sufficiency. Does God speak to us through the Bible ALONE? Is the Bible ALONE sufficient?
Knowing that during the first period of the Church there was no New Testament Bible, and that the Word of God was preached only orally, the answer is negative. The Bible alone is not sufficient. Although God speaks to us through the Bible, His inspired Word (2 Tim 3:16), it is not the only way He speaks to us. If God had wanted us to follow only the Bible, He would have said so. There is not a single quotation in the entire Bible where God says: ”Follow the Bible alone, that is enough”.
On the contrary, in the second letter to the Thessalonians Saint Paul speaks about the Traditions to be followed:
'And so brothers stand firm and hold fast to the TRADITIONS, that you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by our letter' (2Th 2:15).
God speaks to us in two ways: Through the Scripture and, through the Tradition.
Paul speaks strongly that we must keep the Tradition brought to us through the Apostles:
'Now we command you, beloved, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from believers who are living in idleness and not according to the TRADITIONS that they received from us' (2Th 3:6).
It is not enough to read the Bible. We have to know the true meaning of what we read, as Peter points out: … speaking of this as he [Paul] does in all his letters. There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do to other scriptures (2 Pet 3:16).
How can we be sure whether we follow the correct interpretation, the right meaning of what we read? Is there any way to find the true meaning of the Word of God written in the Bible?
To avoid any doubts and confusions, God bestowed upon His Church the obligation to keep and to guard the truth. The Catholic Church, the one and true Church established by Christ Himself 2000 years ago, the Church filled and guided by the Holy Spirit, the Church which is the pillar and foundation of the truth was commissioned to do this. As Saint Paul says
: ...if I am delayed, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and the bulwark of the truth (1Tim 3:15).
The Magisterium of the Catholic Church presents to us the final and true meanings of the texts written in the Bible. The Second Vatican Council states it: But the task of giving an authentic interpretation of the Word of God, whether it is in written form or in the form of Tradition, has been entrusted to the living teaching of the Church alone.[1]
The Church is not a child of the Bible, but its mother.[2] The Church existed before the New Testament (Bible) was written. It ought to be very clearly stated, that the New Testament (Bible) was written by the Church and for the Church. The Scriptures can be properly understood only if they are read from within the Church, the Church established by Christ Himself, the Catholic Church.[1] Dei Verbum, 10[2] Rev. John A. O’Brien, The Faith of Millions, p.128.
You may watch a video clip:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fotMH3nQic&t=44s
Very recommended to watch !!!!
How did we get the BIBLE ?
How did we get the Bible, the Old and the New Testament?
Let us have a look at the first part of it, the Old Testament. It is the Jewish Bible, mostly written in Hebrew (except for seven books, written in Greek). During the reign of the emperor Alexander the Great (356 – 323 B.C.), the Jewish Bible was translated from Hebrew into Greek. The translation was done in a town called Alexandria. The Jewish Greek Bible (called Septuagint) consists of 46 books. Thirty nine (39) of them were translated from Hebrew into Greek and seven (7) books were written originally in Greek. The Jews commonly used their Bible with all 46 books, although in some areas only the Bible written in Hebrew was in use. At that time there was no decision made yet among the Jews regarding the canon (The exact number of the inspired books) of the Jewish Bible.
During Jesus’ public proclamation of the Gospel, the Jewish Bible with 46 books was commonly in use.
For example Paul’s letter to the Romans (Rom 1:18-25) refers to the text written in the Book of Wisdom (Wis 13:1-5), one of the seven books written in Greek.
In the year 70 A.D. at Jamnia, (Yavneh) the Jewish leaders made a decision regarding the number of inspired books of their Bible. The Jewish authorities decided to accept only the part of the Bible, which was written originally in Hebrew. Only 39 books were regarded as the inspired Word of God. The main reason for such a decision made by the Jewish leaders was to separate themselves from Christians.
Contrary to the Jews, however, the Christians kept the entire Bible with 46 books as the inspired Word of God.
To avoid any doubts about the number of the inspired books, the Catholic Church officially declared in the year 382, during the synod of Rome that 46 books were the inspired Word of God. This was repeated at Hippo in the year 393 and Carthage in 397. Finally during the Second Council of Nicaea in the year 787 that decision was reconfirmed.
It was in the fifteen hundreds that Martin Luther, an ex-Catholic priest, decided to follow the Jewish leaders and rejected the seven books from the Old Testament Bible that were originally in Greek.
How did we get the New Testament?
Christ preached the Good News. There is no reference that He wrote anything down, or commanded anything to be written. The Apostles were given an order to go to all the nations and preach the Good News (Mt 28:20).
During the first nine years of the proclamation of the Good News there was nothing written down, there was no New Testament Bible. The Apostles were the only authority to proclaim the Word of God and the only authority to explain its meaning to listeners.
Christ’s message was implanted in the hearts of the first Christians. The early Church lived the Gospel without having it written down.
Several years later, Catholics, the Christians of the Church, looked after by Popes (Peter, Linus, Cletus, Clement, Evaristus…), began to write down the Word of God preached by the leaders. The last book, the Book of Revelation, was written by John the Apostle around the year 100 A.D.
At that time there were some letters used by the first Christians, which actually were not the inspired Word of God, for example: the gospel of Thomas, the gospel of James. To avoid any confusion, and to point out which books were truly inspired by God, the Catholic Church made the decision during the synod in Rome (382), the same decision being repeated at Hippo (393) and Carthage (397). And finally it was confirmed during the Second Ecumenical Council at Nicaea (787).
The Catholic Church then officially declared that only 27 books were the inspired Word of God. The books of the New Testament Bible were finally and officially announced; 27 books which have been used by all Christians up to the present time.
You might watch a video clip:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjt1ooTV6LU&list=UURX45Vs1P94s9vgXN8V2oqw&index=54