Posted on 03/07/2007 9:10:18 AM PST by Salvation
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Catholic and Protestant Bibles: What is the Difference? |
Question: What's the difference between a Catholic Bible and a Protestant one? Is our Old Testament the same as a Jewish Bible? If not, why?
Answer: The most noticeable differences occur in the number of books included and the order in which they have been arranged. Both the Jewish Bible and the Hebrew canon in a Protestant Bible (aka Old Testament) contain 39 books, whereas a Catholic Bible contains 46 books in the Old Testament. In addition, the Greek Orthodox, or Eastern Orthodox, Church accepts a few more books as canonized scripture.
To give you a quick overview of a complicated subject, here's what happened: Several hundred years before the birth of Christ, Babylonian conquerors forced the Jews to leave Jerusalem. Away from their Temple and, often, from their priests, the exiled people forgot how to read, write, and speak Hebrew. After a while, Jewish scholars wanted to make the Bible accessible again, so they translated Hebrew scriptures into the Greek language commonly spoken. Books of wisdom and histories about the period were added, too, eventually becoming so well known that Jesus and the earliest Christian writers were familiar with them. Like the original Hebrew scriptures, the Greek texts, which were known as the Septuagint, were not in a codex or book form as we're accustomed to now but were handwritten on leather or parchment scrolls and rolled up for ease in storage.
Eventually, the Jewish exiles were allowed to return to Jerusalem where they renovated the Temple. Then, in A.D. 70, warring peoples almost completely destroyed the sacred structure, which has never been rebuilt. Without this central place of worship, the Jews began looking to the Bible as their focal point of faith, but to assure the purity of that faith, only Hebrew scriptures were allowed into the Jewish canon. By then, however, the earliest Christians spoke and read Greek, so they continued to use the Septuagint or Greek version of the Bible for many centuries. After the Reformation though, some Christians decided to accept translations into Latin then English only from the Hebrew texts that the Jewish Bible contained, so the seven additional books in the Greek translation became known as the Apocrypha, meaning "hidden." Since the books themselves were no secret, the word seemed ironic or, perhaps, prophetic because, in 1947, an Arab boy searching for a lost goat found, instead, the Dead Sea scrolls, hidden in a hillside cave.
Interestingly, the leather scrolls had been carefully wrapped in linen cloth, coated in pitch, and placed in airtight pottery jars about ten inches across and two feet high where, well-preserved, they remained for many centuries. Later, other caves in the same area yielded similar finds with hundreds of manuscripts no longer hidden. Indeed, the oldest copies of the Bible now known to exist are the Dead Sea scrolls of the Septuagint.
Because of this authentic find from antiquity, many publishers in the twentieth century added back the books of Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch, First and Second Maccabees, as well as additions to Esther and Daniel. So now, when an edition of the Bible says "with Apocrypha" on the cover, the extra books from the Septuagint will usually be placed between the Old and New Testaments or at the end of the Bible. Catholic Bibles already contained those books, however, so you'll find them interwoven with other Old Testament books of history and wisdom writings.
For the New Testament, it's a different story and short. All of the books were written in Greek or Aramaic from the start. Although some debate occurred about which Gospels or Epistles should be included, all Christians eventually accepted all of the same 27 books in the same order. So, as long as you choose an edition that does not add explanatory notes opposed to a Catholic perspective, any reputable translation of the New Testament is fine.
Yes, there are some translations I'd not want to cross the threshhold of my home.
But God is NOT anemic, impotent, hands tied in some tiny little box OF OUR CONSTRUCTION! Nor of any other construction.
THOSE WHO SEEK HIM SHALL FIND HIM.
And it is our task to seek Him daily and follow Him daily. Not ought else.
Thanks for your kind reply.
You should explain exactly what you mean. What distorted scriptures and teachings do you assume Protestants derive. I think your remark is extrememly offensive. Please back it up with scripture you believe is false and distorted. Also, let me know why you assume Protestants need to distance themselves from the Word of God.
Thanks for the ping!
And thank you for your interest, Alex Murphy!
When we put any thing or any one above that - including self - we are in deep spiritual error.
The second commandment is distant from the Great Commandment and I paraphrase it as: love our neighbors unconditionally..
As Jesus said in Matthew 22, the law and the prophets hang on those two commandments.
Again, to paraphrase: "if you get these two right, you won't sweat the details."
The One Holy catholic and Apostolic Church is not a sect.
Where does it say in Scripture that man made traditions should have more importance than the inspired Word of God?
You didn't read the quote, it seems. +John Chrysostom merely states that the saints God chose to reveal Himself to did not require anything in writing because they were pure in heart (remember: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God"?)
The Scripture is for those who are not pure in heart because they tend to corrupt even the word of God. Obviously, God chose not to drop the Old Testament in Moses' lap, nor did He distribute the New Testament to His Apostles. Obviously, God does not prefer Scripture. Obviously, those who are pure in heart do not need Scripture.
And while we are at this, where do you find "sola scriptura" fantasy in the Bible?
The scripture of 1 Corinthians 11:14&15 about hair is in reference to when the fallen angels will come back, at the end of days.
10.For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.
15. ".............for her hair is given her for a covering."
The manuscripts say veil instead of hair. That is a veil of Christ and He will protect her spiritually and physically. Men (vs.14)will be attacked in the same way so "long hair" is in reference to a homosexual attack.
and "treat people the same way you want them to treat you," is the Law and the Prophets." [Mat 7:12]
That response you replied to was part of a discussion I had been having with kawaii...
Qx:Still recovering from the . . . shocking . . . sentence above.
I guess that would explain:
Matthew 5:18
For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
INDEED.
Quite true and more briefly put than mine!
Thanks for your kind reply.
The One Holy catholic and Apostolic Church is not a sect.
= = =
I suppose I could agree that CHRIST'S BODY is not a minor sect.
But CHRIST'S BODY includes believers from all sect's . . . sectarian groups . . . incluring RC's et al
I think those 289 words have become a cherished, idolized talisman with which to flog those not agreeing precisely with one's own construction on reality.
you: and "treat people the same way you want them to treat you," is the Law and the Prophets." [Mat 7:12]
If I get those two right, then my self-interest is not a factor either way.
And thank YOU, dear brother in Christ!
If I get those two right, then my self-interest is not a factor either way.
= =
INDEED!
I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude. Please forgive me.
Hyper literalists also ignore the writings about women being quiet in Church too.
When one employs a quotation it is appropriate to make an attribution. Otherwise, it appears that you are attributing it to me. I said no such thing. Please be more precise.
Hyper literalists . . .
= = =
I'm a little curious if this perspective re Hyper literalists is
--theoretical
--experiential and practiced
--as a PhD level expert in the topic . . .
or what?
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