The Old Testament in the Heart of the Catholic
Church
< > All Chapters
{161} Down
In the Catechism the bishops united with the Holy Father
a. apologize for the terms ''Old Covenant''
and ''Old Testament''
b. avoid the terms ''Old Covenant'' and
''Old Testament''
c. use the terms ''Old Covenant'' and ''Old
Testament''
Down
{162} Down Up
In the Catechism the bishops united with the Holy Father teach that
Christianity
a. has a closeness and a link to the Jewish
faith unlike any other.
b. must treat the Jewish faith the same as
any other religion.
c. should have less respect for the Jews,
since they rejected the Messiah.
Down Up
{163} Down Up
In the Catechism the Holy Father and the bishops teach that both Jews and
Christians await the Messiah. What's the difference in their waiting?
a. For Jews, the Messiah remains hidden
until the end of time.
b. Jews will be condemned by the true
Messiah on the last day.
c. The true Messiah will turn out to be
someone besides Jesus Christ.
Down Up
{164} Down Up
''Christ'' is just the Greek word for ''Messiah.'' ''Christ Jesus'' is
another way of saying ''the Messiah, Jesus.'' In the Catechism the Holy
Father and the bishops teach that the Jewish waiting for the Messiah ''is
accompanied by the drama of not knowing or of misunderstanding Christ
Jesus.'' [CCC 840] That sounds important. What does it mean?
a. An added element of dramatic suspense in
the Jewish people's waiting for the Messiah is that they do not know
Jesus, nor understand that he is the Messiah.
b. The Jewish rejection of Jesus is like a
drama, in which, on the Last Day, the Jews will be condemned by the very
Messiah they did not know.
c. The real history of the world is the
story of the dramatic struggle between the Old and New Covenants, until
finally the Old Covenant loses.
Down Up
{165} Down Up
The Old Testament is more like a library than a book. The Old Testament
is actually a collection of separate books, all written before the time of
Christ. Almost certainly, these books were not written by only one human
author or at the same time. In fact, the books in the Old Testament were
probably written over hundreds of years.
In all, 46 specific books make up the Old Testament - no more, no less.
Out of all the writings ever written, these specific 46 books, and these
alone, all belong together in the Old Testament. We know that these
specific 46 books are the only and exact ones that belong in the Old
Testament because
a. over a long period of time, Catholic
bishops in union with the Pope gradually came to agree about which books
truly belong in the Old Testament.
b. there is a special book in the very back
of the Bible that tells us which books are absolutely supposed to be in
the Old Testament, and which are optional.
c. two great saints, St. Jerome and St.
Augustine, agreed about exactly which books belonged in the Old Testament,
and which did not.
Down Up
{166} Down Up
Since you know that all questions in this text have only one best answer
(and therefore, that the other two possible answers are definitely wrong),
you now know that St. Jerome (who prepared the standard Latin version of
the Bible used by the Church for many centuries) and St. Augustine (a
brilliant scholar himself, and a bishop) disagreed about which books
really belonged in the Old Testament and were the true, inspired Word of
God. (Yes, until the Church makes a firm decision, even saints can, and
sometimes do, disagree).
In 382 AD, St. Jerome's boss, Pope Damasus I, published a list of the
books in the Bible that included 46 inspired books in the Old Testament.
St. Augustine and his brother bishops in Africa also decided to use the
same version. This was the version of the Old Testament gradually accepted
by all Catholic bishops of the world. <<
Down Up
{167} Down Up
Note: Do NOT restate the incorrect answers to this question. Only the
correct answer has meaningful content.
The Catholic Church has used the Old Testament for many, many centuries
with exactly the same books it uses today, no more and no less. However,
so that no doubt would arise in anyone's mind, the bishops in union with
the Holy Father solemnly and definitively affirmed those 46 books, no more
and no less, to be the true and inspired Old Testament in the year
a. 746 AD.
b. 1146 AD.
c. 1546 AD.
Down Up
{168} Down Up
For a long time it hardly seemed necessary to solemnly list which books
were in the Bible, since there they all were, in the Bible that was being
used every day by the Church. Then the Council of Florence (1438-1445)
repeated Pope Damasus's list verbatim. However, the early Protestant
reformers argued (in effect) that the Church had for centuries been
including some books that did not belong in the ''real'' Old Testament.
So, in 1546, the Council of Trent (the Catholic bishops of the world in
union with the Holy Father, meeting at Trent, Italy) definitively taught
that the 46 books - no more and no less - which the Church had been
reading from for generations, make up the true and inspired Old Testament,
and they listed them. The bishops and the Holy Father reaffirmed this
definitive judgment during the First Vatican Council (1870), and do so
again in the Catechism [CCC 120]. <<
Down Up
{169} Down Up
How do we find out whether the 46 books in the Old Testament - no more
and no less - really are the inspired Word of God?
a. We look deep within ourselves, make
certain that our hearts are pure, then pray for guidance from the Holy
Spirit, who will inform us by giving us a special feeling for the correct
answer.
b. We study the tradition of the Catholic
Church's judgment on the matter, and if the Church has at some point in
her history come to a firm judgment, we can trust the judgment as that of
Christ himself.
c. We study the works of the most
distinguished scholars in the most reputable universities, carefully
examine the evidence pro and con, and form a mature judgment based on the
facts.
Down Up
{170} Down Up
How can we be certain that we are not moving away from Christ when we
choose between various ideas about which books ''really'' belong in the
Old Testament?
a. Due to the fact that all truly
intelligent people agree about which books belong in the Old Testament, we
know that a committee of very smart people with university degrees will
find the books that really belong.
b. Even though history shows that we do not
necessarily find the ''real'' contents of the Bible on our own, Christ
himself continues to protect the true contents of the Bible through the
sacrament of Holy Orders.
c. Since even great saints have disagreed
about exactly which books belong in the Old Testament, we can't ever
really be certain who is right when people disagree about which books
belong in the Old Testament.
Down Up
{171} Down Up
If you think that the Catholic faith is owned by whoever happens to be
the Holy Father and bishops in communion with him at any given time, and
so therefore they can say anything they want and that would make it real,
then you are very seriously mistaken.
The Catholic faith is a specific reality, not an idea. It is the New
Covenant, the actual, specific union of Christ with his one and only Bride
and Body, the Catholic Church, and through her, Christ's actual, specific
union with all men and with the whole world. Mere men can not bring that
reality into being, nor change it in any way.
That is a lucky thing for us. Fallen man apart from Christ, not only weak
but also sinful, turns from God at almost every opportunity. If the
reality of the New Covenant, Christ's union with his Church, depended on
us and on what we do, then the New Covenant would have disintegrated a
long time ago.
All men always have the freedom to turn away from the reality of the New
Covenant. Still, it is a very good thing that no power in heaven or on
earth, and certainly no man, can EVER destroy the reality of the New
Covenant. >>
Down Up
{172} Down Up
The pope, a mere man, and bishops in communion with him, can protect the
meaning of the Bible not because they have the power to make up the New
Covenant as they go along, but because they participate, by their
sacramental ordination, in that New Covenant, the highly specific reality
of intimate union that Christ has made with his Catholic Church.
Holy Orders is a sacrament, a work of Christ himself. To draw all men
closer to him, Christ speaks the 'name' of things, by the power of the
Holy Spirit, in and through the judgments of the pope, and bishops in
communion with him. Absolutely nothing about them qualifies them for this
task. It is a task that is IMPOSSIBLE for them to do, but only Christ.
When Christ, the New Adam, spouse of his beloved Bride and Body, the
Catholic Church, acting in and through the solemn judgments of the pope
and bishops in communion with him, speaks the 'name' of something, then
''that is its name.''
A genuine physical and spiritual reality now exists, and that reality is
eternally part of the union of Christ and his Bride. From then on, nothing
can change that reality, ever, not even another pope. >>
Down Up
{173} Down Up
One example of this is that even the pope has no ability to make a man
not a priest. Under special circumstances a priest can be 'laicized,'
(released from his promises as a priest and forbidden to act as a priest),
but he remains a priest.
Christ himself spoke a new 'name' for that man on the day he was
ordained, and now, it is literally true that even the pope can't change
that 'name.'
One day, a bishop laid hands on that man and said, ''You are a priest
forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.'' From then on, part of
that man's 'name,' part of his essence and identity, part of the meaning
of his life, became 'priest.' No one can ever change that, not even the
pope.
So, even if some horribly sick or evil future pope said (for example)
that there were only six sacraments, that still would not make it so. A
long time ago, Christ spoke the 'name' of the number of his sacraments. If
even a pope can't make a priest not a priest, if even a pope can't change
the 'name' of even one man whom Christ has given the name priest, then a
pope can certainly not change the 'name' of the number of the sacraments.
Christ has spoken that 'name,' and it is forever.
Throughout the centuries, popes and bishops make many judgments that are
NOT solemn and forever. They also make judgments that might one day be
declared to be solemn and forever but aren't yet. Both kinds of judgments
may well be changed by future popes and bishops - or they might not.
Remember also that while Christ, Truth Himself, who always speaks truly,
will never, ever turn his back on a single part of the specific truth of
the New Covenant as we have it and know it now, nonetheless, Christ is
also the font of all the good surprises that will ever be. Thus, we may
put no limits on what Christ might teach us in the future.
After all, the apostles were absolutely flabbergasted by the
resurrection. That was the greatest, most beautiful surprise that they had
ever experienced. So, more great, beautiful surprises may await us as
Christ works by the power of his Holy Spirit in and through the Catholic
Church to draw us closer to him.
Christ can deepen our understanding of himself and of his union with his
Catholic Church. The reality of that union is staring us in the face, but
we will never grasp it completely. There's no telling what wonderful
surprises await us as Christ leads us to a deeper understanding.
>>
Down Up
{174} Down Up
Still, it is important to remember: the reality of the New Covenant as we
specifically have it and know it now is forever. One day, you might wake
up in a very bad mood and say that the Old Testament is not part of the
''real'' Bible. Even I might say that.
Our saying that won't make it so. It won't change the reality of Christ's
very specific physical and spiritual union with his one and only Bride and
Body, the Catholic Church. Whatever any of us says, there the Old
Testament will still be, still part of that forever reality.
<<
Down Up
{175} Down Up
The following six questions refer to this imaginary scenario (but
something like it might indeed happen some day). As always, as you answer
the questions, pay attention to the wrong answers also. Try to figure out
why they are definitely incorrect. First of all, you need to know that
there really is a book of Malachi in the Old Testament, but no ''Second
Malachi.'' Here is the imaginary scenario:
Archaeologists discover an ancient and previously unknown book written
before the time of Christ, which they call ''Second Malachi.'' They prove
that, around 125 AD, a genuine early Catholic community with a
validly-ordained bishop venerated a copy of ''Second Malachi'' as the
inspired Word of God, regularly used it in the community's liturgies, and
truly believed it to be part of the Old Testament. Now on to the
questions. <<
Down Up
{176} Down Up
The newspaper headline reads, ''Forty-Seventh Book In Old Testament
Found!'' A forty-seventh book in the Old Testament is
a. extremely possible.
b. just barely possible.
c. simply impossible.
Down Up
{177} Down Up
A Catholic priest who studies the Bible for a living says that ''There is
no reason that we could not seriously consider adding Second Malachi to
the Old Testament. After all, a faithful early Christian community used it
and believed it to be part of Sacred Scripture.'' This priest is making a
mistake because
a. There is no way that a truly faithful
Christian community could ever have used and venerated some other book
besides the 46 books in the Old Testament.
b. The Pope and bishops in communion with
him first need to discuss the issue thoroughly with people who study the
Bible for a living.
c. The Pope and bishops in communion with
him have already solemnly ratified the Church's ancient tradition that
there are 46 books in the Old Testament.
Down Up
{178} Down Up
A Catholic nun writes a scholarly article stating that ''Second Malachi
should be included in the Old Testament. It gives a powerful and authentic
witness to the Spirit's presence, and is plainly the inspired Word of
God.'' This sister's statement could not be correct because
a. The archaeologists made a mistake when
they said that an early Christian community considered the book to be the
inspired Word of God.
b. The Pope and bishops in communion with
him are the only ones able to determine which books are inspired and
belong in the Bible.
c. This nun is only one person - many more
people would have to agree with her before the book could be considered
the true Word of God.
Down Up
{179} Down Up
Someone points out that the early Catholics who venerated ''Second
Malachi'' as the inspired Word of God did so with the support and approval
of their bishop. This
a. does not mean that their bishop was
leading them away from Christ.
b. means that their bishop was leading them
away from Christ.
c. proves that their bishop did not
properly consult with the bishop of Rome.
Down Up
{180} Up
A Catholic commentator writes a column that is eventually published in
many newspapers across the country, warning ''Vatican officials'' that any
failure to include Second Malachi in the Old Testament would tell the
world that ''the Roman Church is making a typically crude attempt to
silence the authentic voice of yet another Christian community - this time
one that existed long ago.'' To this you reply, ''How can the Catholic
Church...
a. ''... continually fail to see how
severely she has been oppressing other Christian communities?''
b. ''... not follow her Lord whose Spirit
has already led her to discern which books belong in the Old
Testament?''
c. ''... once again risk the displeasure of
the entire world over this really minor point about the Bible?''
Up < > All Chapters
copyright (c) 2001 John
Kelleher. All rights reserved.
www.catholiclearning.com