"In the process of salvation by co-operating with grace through faith in Jesus Christ, as sustained

"In the process of salvation by co-operating with grace through faith in Jesus Christ, as sustained by the sacraments and by works of love, because faith without works is dead."

Sunday, June 1, 2025

Scripture

 


The Bible from a Catholic Perspective

What it is, how it developed, and how the Church understands and interprets it today

1. What Is the Bible According to the Catholic Church?

For Catholics, the Bible, also known as "Scripture," is the inspired, written Word of God, entrusted to the Church and interpreted through the Holy Spirit.
The Church teaches that Scripture is:

a. Inspired by God

“God is the author of Sacred Scripture.”
— Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC §105)
https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P17.HTM

b. Written through human authors

The Bible is both fully divine and fully human, because God inspired human authors who used their own faculties, cultures, and styles.
CCC §106
https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P17.HTM

c. Inerrant in what God wanted written for our salvation

Catholicism teaches “the books of Scripture firmly, faithfully, and without error teach that truth which God, for the sake of our salvation, wished to see confided to the Sacred Scriptures.”
CCC §107
https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P17.HTM

d. Part of the larger Deposit of Faith

The Catholic Church does not see the Bible as a stand-alone authority.
It’s part of the Deposit of Faith, which includes:

  • Sacred Scripture

  • Sacred Tradition

  • The Magisterium

This triad is essential to Catholic understanding.

“Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture make up a single sacred deposit of the Word of God.”
— Vatican II, Dei Verbum §10
https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19651118_dei-verbum_en.html

2. How Catholics Read the Bible

a. The literal and spiritual senses

Catholics interpret Scripture on several levels:

  • Literal sense — what the human author intended

  • Spiritual sense — how the Holy Spirit reveals Christ through the text

    • Allegorical

    • Moral

    • Anagogical

CCC §§115–118
https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P1D.HTM

b. The unity of Scripture

The Old and New Testaments interpret each other.
Christ is the center of Scripture.

c. Read within the living Tradition of the Church

The Bible was born inside the Church, not the other way around.
This is key to Catholic hermeneutics.

3. The History of the Bible in the Catholic Church

a. Jewish roots

The Old Testament developed over many centuries in Israel, and the early Church inherited the Scriptures used by Jesus and the Apostles.

b. Apostolic writings

From A.D. 45–100 the Gospels, Acts, Epistles, and Revelation were written by Apostles and apostolic men — within the Church and for the Church.

c. Early use in liturgy

By the 2nd century, Christians everywhere were publicly reading:

  • The four Gospels

  • Pauline letters

  • The Septuagint (Greek Old Testament)

The Bible grew naturally from the life of the Church.

d. The Canon: How the Bible Was Decided

Contrary to popular myth, the Bible was not formed by private interpretation or individual Christians.
It was the Catholic Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, that discerned which books were inspired.

Key councils that formally recognized the canon:

  • Rome (382 A.D.)

  • Hippo (393 A.D.)

  • Carthage (397 A.D. & 419 A.D.)

These councils listed the 73 books (46 Old Testament, 27 New Testament) that Catholics still use today.
Source:
https://www.catholic.com/tract/the-old-testament-canon

e. Why Catholics Have 73 Books

Catholics include the Deuterocanonical books, which were part of the Septuagint and used by early Christians.
Reformers in the 1500s removed these books — not the early Church.

More:
https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/why-catholics-have-more-books-in-the-bible

f. The Latin Vulgate

St. Jerome’s translation (4th century) became the standard Bible of the Western Church.
It shaped Christian civilization for over 1,500 years.
Source:
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Jerome

4. The Catholic Bible Today

a. Translations

Approved Catholic translations include:

  • NABRE (USA)

  • RSV-CE

  • NRSV-Catholic Edition

  • Douay-Rheims

List of Church-approved Bibles:
https://www.usccb.org/resources/approved-translations-sacred-scripture

b. The Bible and the Mass

Catholics hear more Scripture at Mass than most Christians realize — a three-year Sunday cycle and two-year weekday cycle, covering nearly the entire Bible.
The Mass is saturated with Scripture.

Mass lectionary readings:
https://bible.usccb.org/

5. What the Bible Teaches in Catholic Understanding

The Catholic Church teaches that the Bible reveals:

a. One God in Three Persons — Trinity

Matthew 28:19; 2 Cor 13:14

b. Creation, fall, redemption

Genesis–Revelation show God’s plan to save humanity through Christ.

c. The centrality of Jesus Christ

Christ is the fulfillment of all prophecy and the heart of Scripture.
CCC §102
https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P16.HTM

d. The Church is founded by Christ

Matthew 16:18; 1 Timothy 3:15
The Bible reveals the Church as “the pillar and foundation of truth.”

e. Salvation as a relationship, not just a moment

Both faith and works, grace and cooperation, are part of biblical salvation.
James 2:24; Philippians 2:12; Matthew 7:21

f. Sacraments instituted by Christ

Scripture explicitly reveals:

  • Baptism (John 3:5)

  • Eucharist (John 6)

  • Confession (John 20:21–23)

  • Holy Orders (Luke 22:19)

  • Anointing of the Sick (James 5)

  • Matrimony (Matthew 19)

Catholics see the sacraments as the Bible in action.

6. My Perspective

Here is my view, stated simply:

The Bible did not create the Church — the Church created the Bible.

I often say:

“I don’t have a Bible-based Church. I have a Church-based Bible.”

This doesn’t diminish Scripture.
It honors it — because it places the Bible in the family where God first entrusted it.

The same Holy Spirit who inspired Scripture also guided the Church that preserved and canonized it.
Without the Church:

  • there would be no canon,

  • no unified Scripture,

  • no trusted translation tradition,

  • no apostolic interpretation.

The Bible is God’s Word, yes — but it is the Church that safeguards its meaning, proclaims it in the Mass, and interprets it authentically.

And that is precisely why I trust Scripture:
because I trust the Church through whom we received it.

7. Key Hyperlinks and Resources

Official Texts

Catholic Bible Resources

Historical Sources

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