3.1: The Bible

Question 1

What is the Old Tesatament divided into?

Answer 1

• The Torah - the first 5 books of Moses containing all the laws of Judaism including the Decalogue
• The Prophets - the histoty books usch as Joshua and Judges, and books by the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah who claimed that they had a message from God to the people.

Question 2

What is the New Testament divided into?

Answer 2

• The Four Gospels of Matthew, Luke, Mark and John which record the life, works and teachings of Christ
• The Acts of the Apostles which record the history of the early church from the ascension to St Paul’s arrival in Rome.
• The Letters written by St Paul, St John, St Peter, St Jude and St James to encourage and instruct early groups of Christians
• Revelation - an apocalyptic, prophetic book about last things.

Question 3

Why is the Bible important to Catholics?

Answer 3

• The Bible records the life and teachings of Christ which show Catholics what to belive, how to live, and how to make decisions.
• The Bible records the life,death and resurrection of Jesus which forms the basis of the Chrisitan faith.
• The Bible contains the Decalogue, whicha re God’s basic guidelines on how to live.
• The Bible reveals what God is like, and what he does for Christians.

Question 4

What are some different Chrisitan understandings about which books should be in the Bible?

Answer 4

• The Septugiant (Greek Old Testament), and the Carthage new Testament (formed by Council of Carthage in 397) were accepted by both Catholics and Orthodox Christians as well as the Bible translated into Latin by St Jerome called the Vulgate.

Question 5

CCC 105

Answer 5

“God is the author of the Sacred Scripture”

Question 6

2 Timothy 3:16

Answer 6

“All Scripture is inspired by God and so is useful for telliong the truth, rebuking error, correcting faults, and giving instruction for right living”