The Old Testament in the Heart of the Catholic Church
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Through the sacrament of Holy Orders, the meaning of the Bible is perfectly protected, because in and through the sacrament of Holy Orders, by the power of the Holy Spirit,

a.   bishops become more holy than anyone else living at the same time.
b.   bishops become a great deal more intelligent than any other men.
c.   the Son of God himself protects the Church, his Body, his Bride.


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You couldn't ask for a more reliable protector of the meaning of God's Word than

a.   the best scholars of the time.
b.   the holiest saints of the time.
c.   the Word of God himself.


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The Catholic Church freely admits that if the sacraments are not real, then

a.   she has no authority whatever to say what the Bible means.
b.   she still protects the true meaning of the Bible.
c.   the judgments of her bishops are still the most reliable guide.


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Considering how truly rotten - let alone dense - some bishops, and even some popes, have been over the centuries, if the sacraments are not real, then by now, the Catholic Church would have made some fatal error. Mere human beings can not be ''lucky'' in their judgments, two thousand years in a row.

You should be told that a lot of people think that's exactly what happened. Since the sacraments aren't real (these people say), the Catholic Church's luck ran out a long time ago. A long time ago, they say, the Catholic Church started teaching error, not the truth about what the Bible means.

Thus, both sides, Catholics and everyone else, say it comes down to the Church's sacraments. Are they real? Everything about the Bible changes, if they are. <<


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Catholics believe that Christ

a.   continues the mission he entrusted to his apostles, and continues to be literally alive and present to his Church, in and through the Catholic Church and her sacraments, by the power of the Holy Spirit.
b.   died a long time ago, but some people still tell stories about what he was like when he was alive, gather together in prayer to celebrate those long-ago memories, and try to follow his example.
c.   is not literally around to influence things any more, but sent the Holy Spirit to specially guide each person individually, so that no truly sincere, nice person ever gets the wrong idea about Jesus and what he taught.


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Catholic bishops, when they act in union with the Pope, are able to act in the person of Christ himself by the power of the Holy Spirit, and therefore with certainty protect the true meaning of the Bible, as long as those bishops

a.   are the holiest and most intelligent people of their time.
b.   have validly received the sacrament of Holy Orders.
c.   make decisions that most experts think are correct.


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The Catechism of the Catholic Church was written, edited, and approved by Catholic

a.   bishops.
b.   professors.
c.   scientists.


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According to the bishop of Rome (the Pope), [Fidei Depositum, Part 3] the Catechism is

a.   ''a questionable but worthwhile presentation of the faith.''
b.   ''a sure norm for teaching the faith.''
c.   ''one of many possible interpretations of the faith.''


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When we see the English word, ''bat,'' we have to figure out from context whether it means a small flying mammal, or something a baseball player uses to hit with. We have to figure out the word's meaning from the context. That

a.   is an injustice perpetrated by an oppressive society.
b.   is something we can do without much trouble.
c.   proves that the word ''bat'' can only have one meaning.


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When we see the English word, ''man,'' we have to figure out from context whether it means a generic human being without regard for skin color, age, or sex, or a male human being. We have to figure out the word's meaning from the context. That

a.   is an injustice perpetrated by an oppressive society.
b.   is something we can do without much trouble.
c.   proves that the word ''man'' can only have one meaning.


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When you claim that, around 1970, all truly sensitive and intelligent people forgot the English word for ''generic human being,'' and so you change the phrase, ''all men are brothers'' to ''all men and women are brothers and sisters,'' you are

a.   including people who were left out in the original phrase.
b.   now excluding boys and girls, since they are not yet men or women.
c.   striking a blow that will end oppression once and for all.


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Before about 1970, no one at all ever taught this, but beginning around 1970, a great many theorists and academics in the English-speaking world began to teach that if someone uses the words ''man'' and ''he'' to refer to a generic human being, then we should all

a.   feel extremely hurt, outraged, and offended.
b.   regard it as an issue of no consequence.
c.   understand it to mean ''generic human being.''


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Let's say that, beginning in 1970, all English speakers stopped using the words ''man'' and ''he'' to refer to a generic human being (which, by the way, has not happened - ''mankind,'' ''cave men,'' ''man-made,'' etc., are still regularly being used on national television news broadcasts, advertisements, etc. ) But just suppose. Then let's say we all did this because we agreed that it is impossible for human beings to hear the words ''man'' and ''he'' as having two separate meanings, depending on the context.

But now it's time to teach our children something from the previous one thousand years of the use of the English language. Let's say it's the Declaration of Independence. We get to the phrase, ''all men are created equal.'' (By the way, this is an actual difficulty for modern history books today. This question is based on what one of those history books implicitly taught children about the phrase ''all men are created equal.'') What do we teach the children about the meaning of that phrase? One recent history book in effect tells children that

a.   people formerly used the word ''men'' to mean ''generic human beings,'' but we don't do this anymore, because we just don't.
b.   people formerly used the word ''men'' to mean ''generic human beings'' without any problem, but we have lost the ability to do this.
c.   people used to think that the word ''men'' could refer to generic human beings, but all along, they were making a big mistake.


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A ''craze'' is defined by the dictionary as ''an exaggerated enthusiasm, a mania.'' In other words, a craze is something many people get very excited about, all at the same time, for little or no good reason. This book has spent time on the words ''man'' and ''he'' not because it's such an important topic in itself, but to gradually lead you to understand something very important about crazes. What is it?

a.   In our modern scientific world, it is impossible for large numbers of people to get excited about something for no good reason.
b.   Theorists and academics from great universities can always participate in crazes, and even start them, just like everybody else.
c.   Theorists and academics from great universities never start or participate in crazes, because their great learning makes them immune.


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One thing about crazes: we never know that we're in them, while we're in them. It's only later, after we've calmed down, that we realize we've been doing something silly.

Another thing about crazes: no one is immune. We're all susceptible - you, me, everyone. Academics have crazes all the time, just like everybody else. They are academic crazes rather than fashion crazes, celebrity crazes, sports crazes, stock market crazes, etc., but they are still crazes.

You need to be aware of the continued existence of crazes in general, and academic crazes in particular, even in our ''advanced, modern society,'' because you need to understand that Catholic scholars who study the Bible for a living are also not immune to them.

In fact, American Catholic scholars who study the Bible for a living strongly urged American Catholic bishops to re-translate the Bible and all liturgical books to conform to the craze about the words ''man'' and ''he.'' They did not start the craze, but the majority of these scholars were swept up in it and became completely converted to its line of thinking. In fact, because it was a specifically academic craze and they are academics, they were probably much more swept up in it than the average person.

Remember, this is meant to be a general example. We are not going to fix the human propensity to start and to be fooled by crazes, even when the craze about the words ''man'' and ''he'' finally disappears.

Scholars are only human, just like everyone else. They try to do their best, and they do make progress, but they also make mistakes, and, just like the rest of us, they can also get very silly. It is probable that many of the things that modern scholars think about the Bible will stand the test of time. It is also a certainty that some of what they think now will turn out to be on the wrong track.

So how do we tell in advance which of their ideas are on the right track, which are partly correct and partly mistaken, and which are just silly crazes?

Obviously, we can not tell in advance. Expert opinion is highly useful and generally better than what we could come up with on our own (that's why we pay them), but it could also be dead wrong. And sometimes, it's a long time before anyone even notices.

Expert opinion can at times even be silly. The academic craze about ''man'' and ''he'' is one example.

There's just no way to completely eliminate the human propensity to make mistakes, and to have crazes. That's just the way it is.

Sometimes, even when we are trying our hardest to get things right, we mess up and get things totally wrong. Sometimes (perish the thought) we get things totally wrong even when we have advanced degrees from great universities. These perennial truths about the human condition turn out to be facts that are highly important to your own serious study of the Old Testament. <<


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St. Joan of Arc was just nineteen years old in 1431, the year she was condemned as a heretic and turned over to the civil authorities to be burned at the stake by the bishop of Beauvais, France (who was the former rector of the most famous Catholic university of the time), and the dozens of theological experts from that university which he brought with him. This virtually proves that

a.   bishops are always right, at least when they very carefully follow the advice of their own experts.
b.   the Catholic Church should not be believed, since its leaders and experts obviously make mistakes.
c.   when bishops protect the true meaning of the Bible, Holy Orders had better be a sacrament, or all is lost.


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In 1990, the Catholic bishops of the United States overwhelmingly approved a statement written by experts that the bishops themselves had hired. The Vatican later required the statement to be revised, but here are excerpts from the original document:

Even though words like ''men'' (and ''brothers,'' etc.)

ORIGINAL:

''were once understood as inclusive generic terms,''

TRANSLATION INTO ENGLISH:

(even though, for a thousand years, we all used words like "men" to refer to generic human beings),

ORIGINAL:

''in contemporary American usage these terms are perceived to refer only to males.''

TRANSLATION INTO ENGLISH:

(around 1970, all Americans suddenly forgot that words like ''men'' can refer to generic human beings).

When the Catholic bishops of the United States overwhelmingly approved the document that made these statements, they virtually proved that

a.   bishops are always right, at least when they very carefully follow the advice of their own experts.
b.   the Catholic Church should not be believed, since its leaders and experts obviously make mistakes.
c.   when bishops protect the true meaning of the Bible, Holy Orders had better be a sacrament, or all is lost.


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Catholic bishops and their experts can make very silly mistakes, and they may also make such grim and horrible mistakes that we might have to say that sin seriously blinded their judgment. This shows that

a.   Catholic bishops are much sillier and more sinful than you or me.
b.   people can make serious mistakes, even when they sincerely try to get it right.
c.   you personally are special and can figure things out better than other people.


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It is absolutely OK if there are things that we must just receive from Christ, as a gift from him, in order to be able to appreciate the full meaning of the Bible. In fact, receiving from him (in and through his one and only Bride and Body, the Catholic Church) is the beginning of our freedom.

You probably know that many people, including many professionals who study the Bible, now think that 'receiving' in that way makes men into submissive slaves, mindless 'puppets of Rome,' instead of free men who think for themselves.

Although this is incorrect, it is a very understandable mistake in many cases. Over the centuries there have been enough Catholics who have said that everyone should 'submit' his intellect to the 'authority' of the Catholic Church. That might justify some of the nervousness people have about receiving from Christ's own Bride and Body, the Catholic Church.

The next nine items belong together. They talk more about receiving, freedom, and using our own freedom and own powers to move closer to Christ. This discussion may be a little complicated for you right at the moment, but we can't wait any longer to plunge into these things, since they're so important. Do the best you can, and don't forget that you can return to these items and re-read them later if you want to.

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Exactly when does your free relationship with God begin? The Catholic Church is very clear about this. You are not born in isolation, by yourself, and then, at some later point, you enter into a free relationship with God. You are born WITHIN a free relationship with God. [CCC 1] That's a crucial difference, and it is the deepest reason that no one can give himself everything he needs to find the real, full truth of the Bible. To see this better, we need a little more background.

You are created with freedom and power of your own. That is because you are created within a free relationship and to be in a free relationship - not a slavery. You are given so much freedom and power that you can even walk away from the free relationship within which you are created.

Free relationships are entered into with genuine freedom - on both sides, not just on God's side. Man is created with real freedom and real power, so that he can be in a relationship with God that is really free, on man's side, too. >>


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Out of love God created you to be in a relationship of real freedom with him. You can truly make a decision about the free relationship within which you are created. You can decide that you have no need of it, or that it doesn't matter all that much, or even that it actively gets in your way.

That's exactly what happened with Adam and Eve. The devil told them that God was getting in their way, limiting their power and their happiness, and that the solution was to ignore the fact of their relation to God and be god themselves. They chose to believe the devil.

If the matter weren't so devastating and serious, it would almost be funny that by rejecting (and by being able to reject) the free relationship within which they were created, Adam and Eve proved both that God really did create them with real freedom, and that he really did desire a free relationship with them. If they had not been truly free, or if God did not desire a truly free relationship with them, they would not have had the power to reject their relationship with him.

Pretty obviously, man is still not done with Adam and Eve's sin. Man is still quite capable of convincing himself that the fact that he does indeed have genuine strengths and powers (which he has so that he can be in a genuinely free relationship with God, not a slavery) 'proves' the exact opposite point: that he is not in a relationship with God, and that he can do everything all by himself. >>


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