CHURCH AND BIBLE RELATIONSHIP
What is the relationship between the Bible and the Church? Which came first: the Bible or the Church?
The Church came first before the Bible because the Holy Church was the one who made this compilation of sacred books we call the BIBLE. (I’ll explain it later in Bible Panorama.)
“The ORAL TRADITION OF EARLY CHRISTIANITY WAS GRADUALLY REPLACED BY COMPOSED NARRATIVES, the earliest of which was probably the Gospel of St. Mark.” (Timetables of History by Random House, Inc. p.71, ©1991 by Random House, Inc., emphasis mine)
Thus, the Holy Church(i.e. the Church of the Saints. I will explain about the Holiness of the Church in my next posts), who made the Holy Bible, is the “producer”, “the writer” and the “official interpreter” of this Holy Writ.
||"The Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, is the official guardian and infallible interpreter of the Bible." (Origin, Inspiration and History of the Bible, New American Bible, p.xvi, © 1970 Catholic Bible Publishers, Imprimatur: His Eminence Patrick Cardinal O'Boyle, D.D., Archibishop of Washington, July 27, 1970)||
When was the Holy Catholic Church founded by Jesus Christ?
The Catholic Church was founded by Jesus Christ in Jerusalem in 33 A.D. (My Catholic Faith by Bishop Louise LaRavoire Morrow, S.T.D., p.102)
Thus, the Church already preached the Gospel 372 years before the Bible was made. The Apostles preached the Gospel without bringing with them a copy of the Bible (which was non-existent in the first 372 years of Christianity).
The 12 Apostles preached the Gospel in oral manner. During their time, the printing press was not yet invented. Their were no copies of the Bible. The Bible was not yet made by the Church that time. Christ did not write any book in the Bible with his own hands. He did not commission His disciples to make the Bible but to preach.
Later on, the Apostles and disciples realized the need of writing a book or epistle in order to inform others about the Good News. So, some of them started writing a book or epistle.
There were 27 books written by the Apostles and disciples. Only 10 Christians wrote these 27 books of the New Testament. During that time, the New Testament books were not yet compiled with the Old Testament. So, there was no Bible yet.
When was the Bible made?
The Bible was made in 382-405 A.D.
“For more than three hundred years after His death (Jesus Christ’s death) there was no official Bible. The inspired books written in different languages were scattered. It was only in 367 that Pope St. Damasus compiled these books and commanded St. Jerome to translate them into one language, Latin which was then the universal language of the Church. It took 30 years to translate them in a cave. When it was finished in the year 397, he presented it to the Pope, St. Siricius who called it the Bible, meaning the Word of God.” (Exposing the Doctrines and Practices of Non-Catholic Sects in the Philippines by Rev. Francisco S. Gianan, p.59, Imprimatur: Most Rev. Manolo de los Santos, D.D., Bishop of Virac )
In 382 A.D., Pope St. Damasus I (37th Pope since St. Peter) canonized the sacred books which are now compiled into One Holy Book we call Bible. From the Acts of the Roman Synod in 382, we knew which are the holy books received as revealed by God. We call this list the Canon of Sacred Scripture. (cf. The Sources of Catholic Dogma translated by Roy J. Deferrari from the Thirtieth Edition of Henry Denzinger’s Enchiridion Symbolorum, p. 33, ©Loreto Publications, Imprimatur: +Patrick A. O’Boyle, Archbishop of Washington, April 25, 1955)
“St. Jerome received the commission from Pope Damasus to correct and amend the Itala on the basis of the best Greek manuscripts. This he did in the year 383 for the New Testament and the Psalter. His work is the extant edition of the Latin Bible called Vulgate (“universally used).”(The New Testament of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ translated from the Latin Vulgate, p.16, © Imprimatur: His Eminence Patrick Cardinal Hayes, Archbishop of New York, Aug.8, 1924)
On Feb. 20, 405 A.D., Pope St. Innocent I, in his epistle to Exuperius, Bishop of Toulouse, declared the books of Vulgate of St. Jerome as the official Bible of the Holy Church. (The Sources of Catholic Dogma translated by Roy J. Deferrari from the Thirtieth Edition of Henry Denzinger’s Enchiridion Symbolorum, p.41-42, ©Loreto Publications, Imprimatur: +Patrick A. O’Boyle, Archbishop of Washington, April 25, 1955)
You can read:
HOLY BIBLE PART 1 here.
HOLY BIBLE PART 2 is here.
(to be continued)
