Scripture question, folks!

[Belle777]

What is the Catholic view of the Old Testament compared to the New Testament?
I ask because one person told me the Old Testament isn’t even used any more by most Christians, and another said it’s used but not as often or taken as seriously as the New Testament.

 

[bengland]

The New Testament is used more in nearly all Christian Churches. Some denominations have pretty much abandoned the Old Testament. I believe that the Catholic Church holds the Old Testament to be of value because from it we can have a more complete understanding of Christ’s teachings and the formation of the early Church. Without it you have a void in your understanding. The Lectionary Readings in the Catholic Church do not use the OT very heavily, except where it can reasonably point to the NT and provide insight. It’s very useful to study these books as they will aid you in understanding the NT.

 

[Belle777]

That makes sense.
nods
I’ll be watching for more (name removed by moderator)ut!
glues her eyes to the thread

 

[NCSue]

The OT provides important background information. Lots of instances of God seeking to restore fellowship with his people, who were rebellious and unfaithful. Lots of prophecy pointing to his final solution to this problem - Jesus, true God and true man, coming to teach us how to live and willingly giving his live in atonement for our sins.

 

[Eucharisted]

The Jewish People and their Sacred Scriptures in the Christian Bible: vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/pcb_documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20020212_popolo-ebraico_en.html

 

[WMM]

What is the Catholic view of the Old Testament compared to the New Testament?
I ask because one person told me the Old Testament isn’t even used any more by most Christians, and another said it’s used but not as often or taken as seriously as the New Testament.

The entire Bible is the inspired Word of God. Of course, the Old Testament is important!

 

[Joe_Kelley]

I think this goes back to a second century heresy, Marcionism.

As I recall Marcion had contributed heavily to the building of some churches. When he was declared a heretic the communities scraped together enough to return his contributions and directed him to his proper destination.

 

[NPS]

What is the Catholic view of the Old Testament compared to the New Testament?
I ask because one person told me the Old Testament isn’t even used any more by most Christians, and another said it’s used but not as often or taken as seriously as the New Testament.

You couldn’t do better than to read the link Eucharisted provided:

vatican.va/roman_curia/co…braico_en.html

Even if you just read the bolded parts and scan some paragraphs you will get a good idea of how closely the Church holds the Old Testament to her heart and how she sees the relationship between Old and New…

The Orthodox churches are, generally speaking, the same as us. Other christian churches vary widely in their use of the OT. I have seen quite a bit of expanded use of the OT by some christians—although they often predictably follow their tried and true pick-and-choose method. Other christians I know will literally tell you the OT has zero relevance.

 

[juliamajor]

It’s really rather simple- the NT wouldn’t exist without the OT.

 

[Ignatius]

I think this goes back to a second century heresy, Marcionism.

What goes back to second century…?

 

[Joe_Kelley]

What goes back to second century…?

The split between Old Testament and New, or Judaism and Catholicism.

The Church’s teaching is that the New Testament completes the Old; and the Old provides the foundation for the New.

 

[AIC]

It is a great pity that the Old Testament is so overlooked by Catholics today. Firstly, so much of the Old Testament is foreshadowing Jesus, whether in the Psalms, Daniel, Isaiah or other prophets. Secondly, there is much prophecy yet to be fulfilled; one need only to look at Daniel or Ezekiel, for example - reading these will not only corroborate the eschatological teachings in the gospels and St John’s Revelation, but also help us to understand them in clearer terms and act as a guide in these final days.

So, the Old Testament is incredibly important!

 

[Ignatius]

The split between Old Testament and New, or Judaism and Catholicism.

The Church’s teaching is that the New Testament completes the Old; and the Old provides the foundation for the New.

Thanks, wasn’t sure what you meant. Sometime there may be several posts between when I start to reply and when my reply actually goes in. It helps clarity to always quote what you are replying to. God Bless.

 

[NPS]

It is a great pity that the Old Testament is so overlooked by Catholics today. Firstly, so much of the Old Testament is foreshadowing Jesus, whether in the Psalms, Daniel, Isaiah or other prophets. Secondly, there is much prophecy yet to be fulfilled; one need only to look at Daniel or Ezekiel, for example - reading these will not only corroborate the eschatological teachings in the gospels and St John’s Revelation, but also help us to understand them in clearer terms and act as a guide in these final days.

So, the Old Testament is incredibly important!

Gosh, I don’t think the OT is overlooked by Catholics that much at all—at least by the ones who read and study the bible. In my experience, Catholics and LDS are pretty “into” the OT, and strive to use it to look at the overall picture quite a bit.