There are a variety of Biblical Questions that are important to ask and answser.
What is the Bible?
The word Bible comes from a Greek word meaning “Book”. One could say that the Bible is a type of diary in which various authors at different times recorded for a variety of people their experiences of God’s loving. and life-giving presence, God's saving presence.'
The Bible comes from the community not before the community.
The Bible is the written story or stories of a people who have encountered the life-giving and loving presence of the One who tells them, “I want to be your God and I want you to be my people.” The community (the Church) comes before the Bible not the Bible before the Church. Thus the Church is the one who determines which books of the Bible tell the story best of all of how God interacts with the people. In more technical terms it is the Church that determines the Canon of Scripture.
Development of the Bible
The experience of God's saving love comes first, e.g. the escape of the Hebrew people from the slavery of Egypt to the freedom of the Promised Land. God's saving love reaches its fullness with Jesus, the Savior.
The experiences of God's people were recounted orally for many years before they were written down. Different writers in different times wrote sometimes as story tellers (Genesis) at other times as poets (psalms) and still other times as compliers of wisdom (Proverbs) and as messengers (Gospels), etc.
The Bible consists of the Hebrew Scriptures (We call it the Old Testament) and the Christian Scriptures (We call it the New Testament).
The Languages of the Bible
The original languages of the Bible are Hebrew (Old Testament) and Greek (New Testament) but they are written with a Hebrew-Jewish mindset and not from a Greek philosophical perspective. In part this means that the stories of the Bible are very specific and concrete. Flesh and blood are Hebrew concepts while body and soul would be Greek concepts. From the Greek philosophical concepts we would say that God is a pure spirit who is all-knowing, all-good and all-present. A Hebrew writer would have no problem with saying that God is a jealous God or gets angry with the people who turn away from him.
Because our culture was formed from both the Greco-Roman world and the Jewish-Christian world we need to be somewhat discerning about what we read in the Bible because we, as Americans, tend to think our mindset is the lens through which the Bible must be read.
The Canon
The word CANON comes from the Greek and means “reed” (reeds were used to measure distances in ancient times). Thus the Canon is the standard that different groups use to determine which books are accepted as part of the Bible and which are not. The word "deuterocanonical" means the 2nd Canon or those books about which there was some hesitation in accepting but were finally accepted by Catholics. Protestants generally call the deuterocanonical" books "apocryphal", that is not having the same status and the canonical books. At different periods of history, the elders or leaders of the Jewish religion, the Catholic Church, the Orthodox Church, the Protestant Church confirmed which books would be accepted in their Canon.
Certain books, like the Gospel of Thomas, etc. have never been accepted as Canonical Books because while they contain some insights, they do not adequately reflect the message that has been accepted by the Church at the time the Canon was established. Many of these come from the Gnostics meaning those who felt they had a special insight into God's dealings with humans and which most ordinary people could not understand.
Differences in the Books of the Bible
Given the influence of Greek Culture after Alexander the Great who lived from 356-323 BCE, the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek. It is called the Septuagint (meaning 70 because 70 Jewish elders were commissioned to do the translation in 70 days- sometimes the number of scholars is stated as 72). This work is thought to have been done sometime between 280-250 BCE. Additional books were added later on.
Until the Reformation, Christians used the Septuagint as the Old Testament. Martin Luther used the Hebrew Scriptures leaving out the later additions, e.g., Maccabees thus setting the stage for the differences in Catholic and Protestant Bibles. The New Testament is written in ordinary, daily Greek or Koine (common) Geek
Different Translations:
With the development of the printing press Chapters and Verses were determined (modern scholars would make some minor adjustments). There are a variety of translations to meet the needs of different people at different times and in different places.
St. Jerome, a true scholar, translated the Bible from Greek into Latin in the late 300's. The King James translation was composed beginning in 1604. The most modern translations are the New Revised Standard Version (NSRV) and the Revised New American Bible (RNAB). The Catholic Church in Canada uses the NSRV and in America the Church’s use the NAB. Both have been carefully translated from the original texts. There some translations done in more contemporary language, e.g., The Message. Others are more inclusive in using gender pronouns.
Inspiration:
Down through the ages, archeologists have discovered a variety of manuscripts and portions of the books of the Bible. In 1947 the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. While there are some minor differences in these manuscripts the Bible has come down through the ages in a remarkably consistent form.
Like Christ who is fully Divine and fully Human, the Bible is both the Word of God and the work of Humans. The Bible is the Inspired Word of God. It is a masterpiece, like a work of Beethoven or Michelangelo. God continually speaks to the heart and call people to conversion and new life through the words, stories and message of the Bible
Inerrant:
The Bible is Inerrant meaning that even though there are some historical errors about times, people and places, its message of God's saving love is true and without error.
Interpretation:
The Bible needs to be interpreted. Everyone who reads the Bible can understand the basic stories and events. They speak to the heart about God's loving and saving presence. The Bible can be read literally but it should be read in context rather than line by line, otherwise someone will actually "pluck out their eye" if they think it has been an occasion of sin for them. (Matt 5:29). This is not what Jesus is saying. New insights are gained when one understands the historical culture and context for the passage. There is also a spiritual or fuller sense that comes from the practice of Praying with the Scriptures as in LECTIO DIVINA.
Because the Bible is like a diary of those who have encountered God or God's Son, Jesus, and because the books of the Bible were selected by the leaders of the Church, the Bishops as a whole, have the authority as a living Church to make a final interpretation of the Biblical Message.
Tradition:
TRADITION and the Bible are witness of the God’s Good News especially as it comes to us through Jesus Christ.
The Bible is normative for the life of Christians. Its values and principles cannot be contradicted, but since it does not deal with all modern issues, e.g. nuclear war, genetics, etc. its values and principles need to be applied to current situations. The Bishops, in their teaching role, provide the Catholic Church with guidance in interpreting Tradition and the Bible according to the norms of various disciplines and in prayer.
The Church: Both Holy and in constant need of repentance. reform and renewal:
For more than 2,000 years the Community of Christ’s Disciples, visible as the Catholic Church, has extended Christ’s invitation to all to develop a loving relationship with God and reach out in true love to one’s neighbor. Men and women, young and old, people of every age, time and place have responded with a life of integrity, virtue and holiness and reached out in love to the poorest of the poor, women, children and immigrants. As a result the Church has been a forerunner in the founding of hospitals, schools, and social service agencies. At the same time its members have made significant contributions to the advancement of economics, politics and science in every field.
The fact that, at times, there have been leaders and members of the Church who have failed to live up to the call to holiness and a life of loving and life-giving service to others has been and continues to be a source of deep sorrow, hurt and yes, scandal to many. It is only by the forgiving and healing grace of the Risen Lord that its members can come to repentance, make some effort at restitution and begin once again to follow the WAY of Christ. It is with humility that Church members must carry on the mission of proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Jesus promised that “the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it” (Matt 16:18), which is to say the power of death will not overcome the life-giving power of the Church {the community of Christ’s disciples}.
Jesus himself said, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means, 'I desire compassion, and not sacrifice,' for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners." (Matt 9:12-13)
Because the Church consists of people there have been, are now, and will continue be times of failure in living consistently in accord with Christ’s message of both Love of God and others. This is why the Bishops of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) stated in their document The Church that “the church, embracing sinners in her bosom, is at the same time holy (because Christ is the head and there are always holy men and women as his disciples) and always in need of being purified and incessantly pursues the path of penance and renewal”. (Paragraph #8).
With humility the Church Community shares the Good News both in Word and Action as it proclaims the life-giving message of God’s Love that comes to us through Jesus Christ.
The Catholic Church presents the fullness of the Faith as stated in the Nicene Creed, celebrates the seven sacraments as it reaches out to people of every time and place and calls them to live a life of virtue and holiness.
Science and the Bible:
There is no real conflict between the truth that science and religion arrive at. Yes there have been real conflicts because of what some scientists have said and what religious leaders have taught. Further careful examination of what was thought to have been a fundamental conflict, which has sometimes taken many years to sort out, has often revealed that, in fact, there was no real intrinsic contradiction.
Indeed it is precisely because the Christian religion recognizes that God is above and beyond this world, that men and women have been encouraged to explore every aspect of the world and the cosmos. Thus, , the first person to propose what we now call the "Big Bang" was a Catholic priest and physicist, Fr. George Lemaitre. Fr. Gregor Mendel, a Catholic priest, physicist and horticulturalist is known as the father of genetics.
This does not mean that the church, especially the Catholic Church, will approve and support everything that scientists can do. This is particularly true with regard to those issues that affect life and the common good of people. Indeed the Church will teach and act consistently in these matters precisely in order to conserve and promote the life of the individual person and the life of the human community.
Violence in the Bible:
Why does the Bible have so many passages about God and violence? Why has the Church supported violence as in the Crusades of the Inquisition? Why do so many "religious people" seem to be involved in acts of violence?
Author, Gil Bailey in his book entitled Violence Unveiled, discusses violence as a plague that has been part of human history from the very beginning of time. He uses the Bible as a “record” of violence beginning with Cain killing his brother Abel until the crucifixion of Jesus on the Cross.
We too are plagued by violence but we, especially as followers of Jesus Christ, know today as we have not known so well in the past that violence is not the answer and should never be used to solve our problems. This does not preclude the use of appropriate force to resist and counteract those who wish to inflict violence on us. Bailey addresses both civil and religious violence. An example of civil violence would be what happened in the “wild west”. When a horse thief was caught, he was publicly hanged with the town’s people watching. Such public hanging served as a deterrent but only for a time. We know that such civil or state approved violence is not a permanent deterrance to crime.
In our own time we have seen the terrible effects of violence done in the name of religion, e.g., 9/11/2001, and more recent acts of terrorism, etc.
Violence has been and is still used by both civil and religious leaders because of the illusion that it will solve certain problems or issues. But such violence only works for a short time and is in reality an illusion. That's why the title of the book is Violence Unveiled. Jesus is the victim of both civil and religious violence since both the religious leaders at that time and Pilate, acting in the name of the Roman Emperor, condemned him to death. In dying as the victim of violence and then rising from the dead as he did, Jesus broke the cycle of violence. He did not create other victims. Thus his followers could away from violence, especially the violence that comes from a sense of revenge and retribution.
Indeed as he was being crucified, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them they know not what they do.” These words of Jesus Christ directed toward those who crucified him and his first words to his disciples after his resurrection. “Peace be with you!” provides a framework for a new way of life, the way of true peace. Peace is not simply the absence of violence but rather the building up of right relationships, relationships that bring goodness, order and life.
The major challenge for each generation and each person is to turn away from the allure of violence and the illusion that it is the answer to whatever issues one may be concerned about. It is not religion, itself, that causes a person to become violent but rather a failure to fully live up to one’s religious teachings.
Saint Pope John Paul II stated very clearly that there can be no future without peace, no peace without justice, no justice without forgiveness. There can be no peace without justice. Justice means that people are able to share equitably in the goods of the earth and work of human hands. Everyone has a right to be safe, to have some measure of shelter, food, clothing, etc. Justice also demands that wrongs be acknowledged and that there be some reparation for those wrongs. In this world, however, nothing is 100%. This simply means that nothing is either 100% good, or 100% evil or bad.
That’s why the Pope said, there can be no justice without forgiveness. Forgiveness is a personal choice, a decision of the heart, to go against the natural instinct to pay back evil for evil. Thus as followers of Christ we do not believe in “an eye for an eye” which is simply a way of saying, “ I want 100% payback for a wrong done.”
Forgiveness is, in the final analysis, an act of love which opens the door to the rebuilding of relationships. Ultimately the person who has been wronged will never be fully justified in this world. That’s why a person needs to let go or forgive the hurt.
Forgiveness, however, does not mean simply forgetting. One cannot and should not be naïve and continue to place one’s self in harm’s way again whether it be from verbal harm, physical or some other type of harm. Forgiveness lies between remembering enough so that one does not naively place one’s self in harm’s way and forgetting enough to move forward in right relationships.
It is by remembering Jesus' teachings about forgiveness, love and most of all how he himself lived, died and rose to new life, that we can learn to follow his example and find true peace in our heart and in our relationships with others.
When read the Bible in this way it becomes astory of gradually turning away from violence and embracing the way of Christ’s peace.