Trent Horn - 20 Answers- The Bible

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20 Answers

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The Bible

Trent Horn

20 Answers: The Bible

Trent Horn

2016 Catholic Answers

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Introduction

The Bible is the best-selling book of all time, and almost everyone has a strong opinion about it. An atheist might view the Bible as a bunch of made-up myths about God and miracles. Most Protestant Christians, on the other hand, see an inspired, inerrant book that is the only authoritative source of Christian doctrine. Other people think it has some nice stories and moral teachings, but dont consider it the word of God.

A Catholic approach to Scripture, in contrast, affirms that the Bible is inspired by God, but denies that it is the Christians only rule of faith. It also affirms that the Bible, having God as its author, is without error. The words penned over a century ago by Pope Leo XIII, in defense of this controversial truth of the Faith, still resonate today:

It is deplorable to see these attacks [on Scripture] growing every day more numerous and more severe.... By ridicule and scurrilous jesting, [critics] pervert the credulous and unformed minds of the young to the contempt of holy Scripture.... Should not these things, venerable brethren, stir up and set on fire the heart of every pastor, so that to this knowledge, falsely so called, may be opposed the ancient and true science which the Church, through the apostles, has received from Christ, and that holy Scripture may find the champions that are needed in so momentous a battle?

This booklet has been written to help you become one of the champions of Scripture that Leo VIII called for. If that sounds daunting, dont worry: most of the objections that critics make against the Bible exhibit a few common patterns and cite only a small percentage of the Bible. By reviewing these patterns and commonly cited passages you can learn to defend Scripture without having to examine each of the Bibles approximately 35,000 individual verses.

Remember, though, that God has given us his word in Sacred Scripture, but the fullness of Gods word is found only in his Son, Jesus Christ. That is because Christ is the Word incarnate (John 1:14) and he represents the one utterance in whom God expresses himself completely (CCC 102). Quoting the Catechism of the Catholic Church , Pope Benedict XVI wrote:

[T]he Christian faith is not a religion of the book: Christianity is the religion of the word of God, not of a written and mute word, but of the incarnate and living Word. Consequently the Scripture is to be proclaimed, heard, read, received and experienced as the word of God, in the stream of the apostolic Tradition from which it is inseparable.

1. What is the Bible?

The Bible (named from the Greek word for book ) is a collection of books and letters, written over a period of centuries, that describe Gods revelation to man and mans response to that revelation. The Bible, also called Sacred Scripture, is divided into two main parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament.

The first book of the Bible, Genesis, teaches that God created the world and made human beings in his image. It describes how our first parents rebelled against God and how God revealed himself to human beings in order to save them and their descendants from sin. This revelation took the form of covenants, such as those God made with Noah and Abraham, the latter of whom became the father of Gods chosen people, Israel. God decreed that this group of people, named after Abrahams grandson Jacob, whom God later renamed Israel, would bless the entire world.

The next books of the Bible describe how Israel was enslaved in Egypt until God formed a covenant with Moses. Moses led Israel to freedom out of Egypt and into the desert, where they wandered for forty years before settling in a land God had promised to them in Canaan (located in modern-day Israel). The first five books of the Bible, which Jewish people call the Torah and scholars call the Pentateuch, end with the death of Moses and the installation of his successor, Joshua. The books of Joshua and Judges continue Israels story and describe how Israel contended with the hostile tribes that inhabited the land of Canaan.

Along with books that tell the story of Gods people, the Old Testament (or Hebrew Bible) contains literature that teaches Gods people wisdom and right living (such as the book of Proverbs). It also contains collections of prayers and hymns, such as those found in the book of Psalms. Other books in the Old Testament include stories that were written to teach people to have faith in God, such as the story of Job, who kept his faith in spite of tremendous suffering.

The remaining historical books of the Old Testament, for example, Samuel and Kings, describe how Israel became a nation, and then a kingdom, and then a divided kingdom. The most famous of Israels kings was David, whom most people remember as the shepherd boy who defeated the Philistine giant Goliath with a sling and a stone. Davids son Solomon succeeded, him but his inability to keep Gods people from falling into idolatry and wickedness led to the nation being divided into northern and southern kingdoms.

After this division, God sent a series of prophets to exhort his people to repentance, but these prophetic reforms were either ignored or did not last. Not long after, other nations conquered both kingdoms and took Gods people into captivity. The final historical books of the Old Testament reveal how Gods people were freed from captivity and returned to their promised land. Unfortunately, even after their return Gods people suffered under the rule of foreign powers such as the Greeks (and later the Romans). In response to this, they patiently awaited the Messiah: a savior promised in Scripture who would restore Gods kingdom.

The New Testament is the story of that Messiah, Jesus Christ. The four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) tell us that Jesus existed as the Son of God before the creation of the world and that he became man in order to save humanity from its sins. The Gospels describe how Jesus gathered twelve disciples, taught, healed, performed miracles, and died on a cross to atone for the worlds sins. The Gospels end with an account of Christs resurrection from the dead and his commissioning of the disciples to become apostles (a Greek word that means messenger ) who would share this good news throughout the world.

The Acts of the Apostles is the book that picks up where the Gospels leave off (its author also wrote the Gospel of Luke) and describes how Christs Church flourished in spite of the persecution it faced from Jewish and Roman leaders. The remainder of the New Testament includes a collection of letters the apostles sent to various communities in order to teach and encourage them to keep the Faith. The majority of these letters were written by St. Paul, a Jewish leader who persecuted the Church until he encountered the risen Christ and became a Christian.

The last book of the Bible is Revelation, which contains visions of Gods heavenly kingdom given to the apostle John. It also contains prophecies about the end of the world and descriptions of how God will conquer evil and gather his people, both the living and the dead, unto himself in order to share glorious, eternal life with them.

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