Do we need the old testament?

[katpants]

I remember a New Testament bible with psalms and proverbs was very common with Baptists when I was a kid.

As a Catholic, do we “do” anything with the Old Testament? I love Sirach and Isaiah but most of the old testament just gives me anxiety.

Thanks!

Kat

 

[on_the_hill]

Sure we do. Without it, anti-Catholics wouldn’t be able to point to obscure passages in Leviticus that prohibit wearing garments that contain different fabrics and use those words as evidence that we should allow gay marriage.

 

[PaulfromIowa]

The Catechism of the Catholic Church:

The Old Testament

121 The Old Testament is an indispensable part of Sacred Scripture. Its books are divinely inspired and retain a permanent value,92 for the Old Covenant has never been revoked.

122 Indeed, "the economy of the Old Testament was deliberately so oriented that it should prepare for and declare in prophecy the coming of Christ, redeemer of all men."93 "Even though they contain matters imperfect and provisional,"94 the books of the Old Testament bear witness to the whole divine pedagogy of God’s saving love: these writings "are a storehouse of sublime teaching on God and of sound wisdom on human life, as well as a wonderful treasury of prayers; in them, too, the mystery of our salvation is present in a hidden way."95

123 Christians venerate the Old Testament as true Word of God. The Church has always vigorously opposed the idea of rejecting the Old Testament under the pretext that the New has rendered it void (Marcionism).

Rationale for Catholics Reading the Old Testament: By Michael Steier, D.Min

On childhood visits to my Methodist grandmother, I often saw her read the Bible to understand how God was speaking to her. From it she drew inspiration and guidance for life. It was encouraging to see that despite our different churches, we shared the Bible in common. Back then, however, despite her example, I was not moved to read the Bible myself. Like many Catholics, I got my dose of the Scriptures at Sunday Mass. Reading the Bible has since become a valued part of my life. How about you?

Recent surveys by research groups such as the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) report that reading and studying the Bible is still a small part of faith life for Catholics in the United States. However, anyone reading Catholic news in the fall of 2008 likely saw articles about a special Vatican gathering, a Synod of Bishops from around the world, focusing on “The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church.” There, in comments to fellow bishops, Archbishop Terrence Predergast, S.J., a Canadian prelate from Ottawa said “All Catholics should have a Bible, all Catholics should read the Bible and all Catholics need to have regular prayer experiences where they open the book and let it become the word of God speaking to them.”

The Bible is the world’s best bestseller. Not only is it God’s inspired Word, it’s a great work of literature. It’s a collection of books composed over many centuries, with many literary forms, including history, historical novels, parables, allegories, and poems. It tells a tale that stretches back to the creation of the world and forward to the end of time. It speaks of faith, hope, love and forgiveness, describes every human emotion, depicts the heights and depths of human courage and depravity, and above all God’s unconditional love for humanity and his salvific plan.

There are numerous reasons to read the Scriptures.

It is part of the inspired Word of God. The Old and New Testament together form the inspired Word of God in human language. The Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation from the Second Vatican Council states clearly that “the books of Scripture must be acknowledged as teaching solidly, faithfully and without error that truth which God wanted put into the sacred writings for the sake of our salvation.”
It chronicles for us God’s loving plan of salvation for all.
Because the New Testament is hidden in the Old, and the Old is made manifest in the New.
Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ. 
Scripture is a deep font for the Church’s worship and prayer life. Since the Second Vatican Council, the Church has provided for an expanded use of Sacred Scriptures in the Liturgy of the Word at Mass, in the celebration of the other sacraments and the devotional life of the Church, and in its urgings to the laity to celebrate Morning and Evening Prayer which incorporates recitation of the Psalms.
It continues to instruct the faithful and call them to faithfulness in their covenant with God.

 

[josh987654321]

Sure we do. Without it, anti-Catholics wouldn’t be able to point to obscure passages in Leviticus that prohibit wearing garments that contain different fabrics and use those words as evidence that we should allow gay marriage.

haha, yup.

Not to mention the Ten Commandments and His Sermon on the Mount “Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them." Matthew 5:17

I hope this has helped

God Bless You

Thank you for reading
Josh

 

[GLam8833]

W/o the Old testament, we will be just
handling new treasures and not value
antiques! New products are fine for the
uninitiated, but appreciation of the value
of other era’s products will add DIMEN-
SION to your faith!

Consider one example:
Isaiah 26:19
in which this gem is found:
“Your dead will live,
their bodies will rise.
You who dwell in the dust,
wake up and shout for joy.
Your dew is like the dew of
the morning.
The earth will give birth to
her dead!”

Another beautifully describes
the blessings of the Eucharistic
offering:
Malachi 4:2-3
“But to you who revere My Name,
the sun of righteousness will rise
with healing in his wings and you
will leap like stall fed calves and
trample the wicked like ashes under
the soles of your feet on the Day I
am preparing, declares the Lord”
(I compare the priests’ elevating
the host in the presentation of the
offering to rising wings)

 

[odhiambo]

I remember a New Testament bible with psalms and proverbs was very common with Baptists when I was a kid.

As a Catholic, do we “do” anything with the Old Testament? I love Sirach and Isaiah but most of the old testament just gives me anxiety.

Thanks!

Kat

Here is what Saint Augustine said about the Old and the New Testaments:

“The New Testament lies hidden in the Old Testament and the Old Testament is unveiled in the New Testament
(St. Augustine)

 

[peter26]

On the advice of my priest I am currently reading the documents of the First Vatican Council. Here is what they say about the Old Testament

(Chapter 2: Revelation)

1. The complete books of the old and the new Testament with all their parts, as they are listed in the decree of the said Council [Council of Trent] and as they are found in the old Latin Vulgate edition, are to be received as sacred and canonical.

1. These books the Church holds to be sacred and canonical not because she subsequently approved them by her authority after they had been composed by unaided human skill, nor simply because they contain revelation without error, but because, being written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they have God as their author, and were as such committed to the Church.

Outside of the Psalms, there are at least four messages from the OT that immediately come to my mind as important for us today.

1. Genesis 1-3. God created the world perfect and humans brought sin into the world. This story also illustrates the way the devil tempts people.
2. The Exodus. In many ways, a foreshadowing of the Gospels and showing God at work in the salvation of man. Egypt is often representative of sin in the Bible and Moses bringing the Israelites out of Egypt into the Promised Land is a portent of Jesus salvation of all who believe in Him on the Cross, leading people to Heaven. Also in Exodus of course we find the Ten Commandments, the basis for morality for millions over the centuries and still very relevant today.
3. Numerous prophecies of Jesus help us to understand that the events in the Gospel were per-ordained. A quick search for “prophecies of Jesus” will show you how many there are. Just one example would be Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”
4. Numerous passages in the OT show that people prosper, individually and as a community, when they obey God’s commandments and suffer when they disobey God’s laws. The Exile would probably be the best example of this. Job also provides a second perspective on suffering, showing that good people can suffer as part of a trial allowed by God but carried out by the devil.

The bottom line is that if you start reading at Matthew, you have missed half the story and will not fully understand how God has worked in the world over the centuries.

 

[midori]

odhiambo beat me to it.

I got a new Knox Bible as a gift, so I started reading it from the beginning with my kids. I hadn’t really sat down to plow through the Old Testment since my Mom read it to us when I was in grade school. We tried to do two chapters a night before bed.

You don’t mention why the OT gives you anxiety. I thought it was really cool to read the Pentateuch with them and see the foreshadowing. It’s sort of like reading a novel and going, “Oh! Oh! Hey, kids, pay attention to that part— they’re going to be talking about that again 1,000 pages in the future!”

It also helps if you read things through the proper lens. You don’t read an advice column the same way you read a letter, and you don’t read a law book the same way you read a history book, and allegory and poetry require their own totally different filter, and so on.

 

[Faxero]

Why wouldn’t we need the Old Testament? It provides valuable insight into God’s mind. It helps us better understand what God expects from Mankind and whatnot.

You feel anxiety when reading the Old Testament? Well that’s better than feeling bored. If the graphic violence in the Old Testament upsets you, then keep in mind, it’s all for a good cause; it helps us realize the fruits of sin, the dangers of betrayal, the price paid for maintaining loyalty to God, etc.

 

[truetofaith]

I remember a New Testament bible with psalms and proverbs was very common with Baptists when I was a kid.

As a Catholic, do we “do” anything with the Old Testament? I love Sirach and Isaiah but most of the old testament just gives me anxiety.

Thanks!

Kat

The 10 Commandments are from the Old Test.–…and watching the news everyday should give you more anxiety!

Jesus is prophesized in the O.T.

 

[brigid12]

But, St. Therese said she found that she read only the Gospels.

 

[Richca]

I remember a New Testament bible with psalms and proverbs was very common with Baptists when I was a kid.

As a Catholic, do we “do” anything with the Old Testament? I love Sirach and Isaiah but most of the old testament just gives me anxiety.

Thanks!

Kat

Yes, we do lots with the Old Testament for the Old Testament is the word of God and divine revelation. We do lots with the Old Testament in the Liturgy of the Church and in all its official celebrations. For example, the first reading in the Liturgy of the Word at Sunday Mass is generally if not always taken from the Old Testament. Then the Psalms we sing or say at every Mass are of course from the Old Testament. The Church’s celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours is the recitation or singing of the Psalms of the Old Testament together with readings from either the Old or New Testaments. Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the Old Testament as Jesus said “I came not to destroy the Law but to fulfill it.”

 

[Vic_Taltrees_UK]

Abraham and Jacob illustrate events in the growth of our faith.

Nehemiah portrays the establishing of the church.

Ezekiel ch 37 is about God reviving those who are dead in some way.

 

[Mystrx]

Well we kind of have to since Jesus quotes from it during his ministries. Plus its the reveled word of God and all. So yeah.

 

[drforjc]

But, St. Therese said she found that she read only the Gospels.

… and St. Therese’s personal preference for spiritual reading relates to the OP question exactly how?

 

[katpants]

Thanks for the help!

Kat

 

[Bookcat]

Catechism: scborromeo.org/ccc/p1s1c2a3.htm#IV

 

[Stillsosola]

the old testament is crucial to our faith, i personally love the old testament the psalms and proverbs and job, i remember my dads mother who is protestant gave me a bible once a cute little one with just the psalms and the new testament, i was like 7 and i only used it to go to church with her. I much prefer the catholic bible with all of its books and for spiritual reading i prefer the psalms seems theres a psalm for every need

 

[porthos11]

Given that I can’t easily start my day or end it without the Liturgy of the Hours, yes, I would say we badly need the Old Testament.