Why do Catholics and Protestants
have different Bibles?
Today's Question:
I
received this question from my daughter. What is your response to
this question. Thanks, sue:
"In 393 AD, the church bishops gathered in the
African city of Hippo to decide which texts were inspired and
which were not. Man meddles. When the Protestants split from the
Catholic church, they omitted 7 books from the Bible. Man
meddles. But, today there are two accepted Bibles, and if God
protects his word, which is protected and which is not?"
Bible Answer: Sue, your
daughter asked you about why Protestants and Catholics have two
different Bibles. The difference is that the Catholics include
the Pseudepigraphal books (seven books) that were written after
the last Old Testament prophet and before John the Baptist. So
they don't deal with Christ nor any prophecy about Christ. There
were no prophets during the time of these books, so the Jews
never regarded them as inspired. Protestants believe the same
about these books. Catholics accept them because in one verse it
confirms their belief about praying for the dead (2 Maccabees
12:46). Jews and Protestants don't believe in praying for the
dead.
Jesus clearly set the canon of the Old
Testament in Luke 24:27, "And beginning with Moses and all
the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the
Scriptures concerning himself." Notice that Moses
and all the Prophets were the Scriptures that Jesus
used, not the Pseudepigraphal books. And in the time of Jesus,
the Pseudepigraphal books were excluded from the traditional canon by the
Jews, and Jesus did not dispute their tradition, but accepted it. Later between
70-90 AD, the Jews confirmed their canon at the council of Jamnia.
It is obvious that the canon was confirmed based on the
traditions during their age, which would include the times of Christ. The
leaders would never be able to confirm the Canon and exclude the Pseudepipraphal
books if the Jews had regarded them as Scripture just 40 years before, during
the times of Christ. Catholics of course judge the Jewish leader's motives by
accusing them of removing the books for the sole purpose of eliminating or
editing any scriptural references to the Lord Jesus and His doctrines that
Christians would refer to in supporting their theology. The trouble with their
accusation is that there is no clear references to the Lord Jesus in the Pseudepigraphal
books. The truth is Catholics use them to support their view of praying to the
dead and purgatory.
There is another statement Jesus made which confirms the canon to include
only the Old Testament that both Jews and non-Catholic Christians accept:
"Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the
prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, from the blood of
Abel to the blood of Zechariah" (Luke 11:50-51). Zechariah was the last prophet
to be martyred, and he is the author of the book of Zechariah and was a
contemporary of Haggai but continued his ministry long after him.. He is
considered one of the last of the prophets in the our Bible. Malachi was the
last but he was not martyred. Jesus totally excluded those that had died during
the period after the prophet Zechariah, because they were not "prophets", and
that period tells the story of the sacrifices of many Jews which is recorded
in the books the Catholics accept. The point is clear, Jesus defined the period
of the inspired books of the Bible to include the beginning (Genesis) with Abel
and the end with Zechariah.
The Lord's words should define for all Christians which books are considered
the infallible Word of God. The Catholic Church by accepting the
Pseudepigraphal books take odds against Jesus own words which
excludes their books. So who do you believe, Jesus or the Catholic Church?
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