Do Catholics believe that the Catechism ≥ Bible

[Homerun40968]

If not, what exactly is its status and role. Some of you who have replied to some of my other questions in the past know that I’m a prospective convert but have some problems to overcome first.

 

[BlestOne]

Hi Homerun and Welcome!!! The catechism or CCC as it is often referred to, is basically a book that explains why we believe the things we believe. It often references scripture and is set up in a very readable way. If you look at it, the CCC is set up in it’s table of contents you will see it covers just about every aspect of what we believe and how we live our lives as Catholics. There are 4 parts… what we believe, how we celebrate our belief, how to live in Christ and prayer. You can open a CCC and search for say marriage as an example. You will find why we believe it is sacramental, what it is, how God helps us in our marriages and what the Church teaches about marriage… pretty cool huh? There is no status to the CCC, but the role is to clarify to us the why’s of our faith. I recommend reading it to any Christian just because of some of the ways it helps us understand God. Below is an example of a few lines from the book about our desire for God… as you can see it is universal…

PART ONE - THE PROFESSION OF FAITH

SECTION ONE - “I BELIEVE - YOU BELIEVE”

SECTION TWO - THE CREEDS

PART TWO - THE CELEBRATION OF THE CHRISTIAN MYSTERY

SECTION ONE - THE SACRAMENTAL ECONOMY

SECTION TWO - THE SEVEN SACRAMENTS OF THE CHURCH

PART THREE - LIFE IN CHRIST

SECTION ONE - MAN’S VOCATION IN THE SPIRIT

SECTION TWO - THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

PART FOUR - CHRISTIAN PRAYER

SECTION ONE - PRAYER IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE

SECTION TWO - THE LORD’S PRAYER
27 The desire for God is written in the human heart, because man is created by God and for God; and God never ceases to draw man to himself. Only in God will he find the truth and happiness he never stops searching for:
The dignity of man rests above all on the fact that he is called to communion with God. This invitation to converse with God is addressed to man as soon as he comes into being. For if man exists it is because God has created him through love, and through love continues to hold him in existence. He cannot live fully according to truth unless he freely acknowledges that love and entrusts himself to his creator.[1]

 

[jfallaw]

If not, what exactly is its status and role. Some of you who have replied to some of my other questions in the past know that I’m a prospective convert but have some problems to overcome first.

Simple answer? NO. In fact the CCC refers to the Bible to explain every Catholic belief. The Catholic Church believes the Holy Bible is the Word of God and is totally free of error. A forum member recommended this website to learn more about the Catholic view of the Bible:

salvationhistory.com/online/Beginner/WalkGen.cfm

I have found it very helpful in overcoming the well-meant, but false, things I heard about Catholics from the evangelical crowd I come from.

 

[Leopard]

Do Catholics believe that the Catechism ≥ Bible

No, but the Catechism may be more useful than the Bible alone in teaching specific things about what the Church believes, as the Catechism was designed to be a teaching and reference tool. It directly and explicitly refers to many topics that the Bible only addresses implicitly. One of the sources the Catechism draws from in its teaching is the Bible.