Getting Overwhelmed with this Discussion

[Verbum]

Hi BasBleu,

I heard someone say recently that the Church gave us the Bible, not the other way around.

This is true as far as it goes. But we must not think that the Bible is true because the Church approved it. The Church received the Bible from apostolic sources. She is a witness to its inspiration.

The Church rejects internal criteria for inspiration, meaning that the Bible is not inspired merely because it is inspirational or contains true prophecies or whatever.

Verbum

 

[BasBleu]

Well, I finally had a chance to get back to her and only said two things:

Where did the Bible come from and where does the Bible say it’s the sole rule of faith?

I didn’t go into anything else yet, until I see her response. I’m fairly certain about what she’ll say to #2 and where to go from there, but I’m not sure about #1. I don’t think I’ve ever asked that to a Protestant before-- espeically one who seems to intent on erasing the Church from history.

Thank you for all your help on this thread. I’ve been reading all the links provided and I may be back with more questions based on this lady’s replies.

 

[BasBleu]

Hi BasBleu,

I heard someone say recently that the Church gave us the Bible, not the other way around.

This is true as far as it goes. But we must not think that the Bible is true because the Church approved it. The Church received the Bible from apostolic sources. She is a witness to its inspiration.

The Church rejects internal criteria for inspiration, meaning that the Bible is not inspired merely because it is inspirational or contains true prophecies or whatever.

Verbum

Thank you for this. I really like the way you phrased it. I can see how the way I quoted it could lead to misunderstandings or misconceptions.

Where is a good place to read about the process the Church had when determining the canon? Especially what was inspired and what was not…

 

[Joe_5859]

Thank you for this. I really like the way you phrased it. I can see how the way I quoted it could lead to misunderstandings or misconceptions.

Where is a good place to read about the process the Church had when determining the canon? Especially what was inspired and what was not…

I haven’t read it myself, but I’ve heard good things about it:

Where we got the Bible: Our Debt to the Catholic Church

Another great website that might be helpful is Catholic Bridge. The site is geared towards evangelicals with questions about the Catholic faith, so everything is stated simply in an easy-to-understand manner. It has answers to all sorts of questions you’re likely to encounter. They also have a timeline of how the Bible came to us.