OTHCC Chapter 46: items 901 - 920

The Old Testament in the Heart of the Catholic Church < > All Chapters

{901}      Down

Regarding the entire existence and history of the northern kingdom of Israel that separated from the house of David, 1 and 2 Chronicles

a.   condemns it.
b.   excuses it.
c.   never mentions it.

{902} Down Up

David is flawed but faithful - David is always faithful. Solomon is wise but eventually unfaithful - Solomon is always wise and worthy. It is important not to fall into traps when comparing Samuel and Kings with Chronicles. Like Samuel and Kings, Chronicles is the true Word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit. Chronicles can not be ''less true'' than Samuel or Kings - or vice-versa.

There is no ''real'' Bible hidden in the Vatican that harmonizes and reconciles what seem to us to be differences among the books and passages in our real, true, inspired Bible as it actually exists.

In fact, we may have questions about the Bible that no one on earth - no pope, no bishop, no scholar, no saint - can answer to our satisfaction. This is normal. Scientists in all fields always have questions that they do not know how to answer. The physical world remains true even when men have a question about how it works that they can't answer. >>

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Actually, having questions is better than normal. It is a good thing. If scientists and other scholars had no questions left to answer, the world would be totally boring and there would no longer be any reason for them to go to work in the morning.

Questions about the Bible - even questions no one yet knows the answer to - are normal, and no threat to Catholic faith or to the truth of the Bible. The Bible remains true even when men have a question about its meaning that they can't answer.

If the Holy Spirit has not led the Holy Father and bishops in communion with him to a definite judgment, we have the freedom to do our best with any questions we may have about the Bible - as long as we do not explain away parts of the Bible, call some parts less ''true'' than other parts, or do anything else contrary to the defined true meaning of the Bible or of the Catholic faith. The work of scholars can help us.

Many scholars say that Samuel and Kings were written before and during the Exile, and that Chronicles was written at a later time, after the Exile and after the return to Jerusalem.

They also say that Chronicles was written with a different purpose in mind: to give new hope and a new direction to the people by emphasizing that Israel's earliest kings were truly faithful and good and can be models of faithfulness for the people in the present, and to show that worship under the re-established law in a rebuilt Temple in a rebuilt Jerusalem, under the leadership of the priests, is the key to faithful obedience to the LORD. <<

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The first nine chapters of 1 Chronicles are devoted to

a.   a genealogy from Adam to Abraham to those who return from the Exile.
b.   an account of David's hidden early years in his father's house.
c.   wars between the people of Israel and the surrounding peoples.

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Read 1 Chronicles, 1 Chr 16:1-36, a beautiful canticle of praise to the LORD. The presentations in 1 Chronicles 10-29 are devoted to

a.   David.
b.   Saul.
c.   Solomon.

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Many scholars have stated that 1 and 2 Chronicles emphasize many things that would be important and favorable to

a.   kings of Israel.
b.   priests of the Temple.
c.   slaves of the wealthy.

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Read 1 Chronicles, 1 Chr 10:13-14. Many modern scholars say that this account of the reasons for Saul's downfall is typical of the difference in emphasis between Chronicles and books such as Samuel and Kings in that Chronicles always

a.   carefully preserves memories of both the good and bad points of the person.
b.   presents an absolutely straight-line progression from unfaithfulness to downfall.
c.   refuses to make a judgment about the ultimate meaning of the person's deeds.

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2 Chronicles is an account of the reigns of Solomon and kings after him, and concludes with

a.   the decree of Cyrus that ends the Exile in Babylon.
b.   the destruction of Jerusalem and Exile in Babylon.
c.   the secession of the northern kingdom.

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The Holy Father and bishops in communion with him teach in CCC 60 that the people descended from Abraham would

a.   be the sole recipients of the promise God made.
b.   be the trustees of the promise God made.
c.   not be true recipients of the promise God made.

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''Trustees'' are

a.   the one and only true owners of something precious.
b.   those who can not receive or possess something precious.
c.   those who preserve and take care of something precious.

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After God made the covenant with Abraham, what was the status of the covenant he had made with Noah? The covenant with Noah

a.   became a metaphor for the covenant with Abraham.
b.   completed its purpose and so passed into history.
c.   will never be revoked and continues in force.

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There is a history of the covenants, a history in which God gradually reveals himself and his desire for an intimate and unbreakable relationship of love with men. According to the Catechism [CCC 288], this history begins with

a.   Creation.
b.   the Fall.
c.   the Flood.

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Read Gen 5:26-27 (chapter 5, verses 26-27). Is the literal sense of that passage that Methuselah actually lived nine hundred sixty-nine years?

a.   Maybe.
b.   No.
c.   Yes.

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Have the pope and bishops united with him firmly decided that anyone who thinks that Methuselah actually lived nine hundred sixty-nine years is by that fact alone moving farther from Christ?

a.   Maybe.
b.   No.
c.   Yes.

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Have the pope and bishops united with him firmly decided that anyone who thinks that Methuselah did not actually live nine hundred sixty-nine years is by that fact alone moving farther from Christ?

a.   Maybe.
b.   No.
c.   Yes.

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It is likely that millions of Catholics, for century upon century, thought that Methuselah actually lived nine hundred sixty-nine years. This judgment

a.   by itself moved them farther from Christ.
b.   did not by itself move them farther from Christ.
c.   may by itself have moved them farther from Christ.

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It is likely that millions of Catholics today think that Methuselah did not actually live nine hundred sixty-nine years. This judgment

a.   by itself moves them farther from Christ.
b.   does not by itself move them farther from Christ.
c.   may by itself move them farther from Christ.

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A Catholic priest who is a Bible scholar teaches a class on the Old Testament and informs you that the Fall is ''perhaps best understood not as a personal sin committed by a historical first man and first woman (Adam and Eve). Rather, the point of the Adam and Eve narrative in Genesis - and the concept of 'original sin' - is to acknowledge and explain the mystery of evil in human existence and in the world and its impact on us.''

After having this statement translated into English, you realize that he's just told you that Adam and Eve were not real, and that the Fall was not a real event. If you moved toward that judgment expressed by that Catholic priest and scholar,

a.   by itself that would move you farther from Christ.
b.   by itself that might not move you farther from Christ.
c.   by itself that would not move you farther from Christ.

{919}      Down       Up

A Catholic priest who is a Bible scholar teaches a class on the Old Testament and informs you that the age given for Methuselah in Gen 5:26-27 ''should be interpreted in the light of the saga/genealogy-form in which the passage occurs.''

After having this statement translated into English, you realize that he's just told you that Methuselah's age should be interpreted as part of a story told about the history of a long line of great heroes descended from one another, doing great deeds in the ancient past. If you moved toward that judgment expressed by that Catholic priest and scholar,

a.   by itself that would move you farther from Christ.
b.   by itself that might not move you farther from Christ.
c.   by itself that would not move you farther from Christ.

{920}      Up

Suppose that a group of very smart and very learned scholars formed a club to study the Bible. They made this rule for their club:

''If a scholar relies on the judgments of the Holy Father and bishops united with him to help him find out what the Bible means, then he is out of the club.''

So, suppose you wanted to prove that there are exactly 46 books in the Old Testament - no more and no less. You could say that there are 46 books because that is an ancient tradition in the Church. You could still be in the club. (Of course, Protestants - for instance - would point out that having 46 books wasn't the only ancient tradition).

However, if you said that there are exactly 46 books in the Old Testament - no more and no less - because the Holy Father and bishops united with him have determined this, then you would be out of the club. No one would listen to you.

This particular Bible-study club

a.   does not exist, but it might some day.
b.   exists, and there are many Catholics in it.
c.   exists, but there are no Catholics in it.

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