Gary Michuta - Why Catholic Bibles Are Bigger- 2nd Edition: Revised Second Edition

G ARY M ICHUTA

Why Catholic Bibles Are Bigger

Revised Second Edition

2017 Gary Michuta

All rights reserved. Except for quotations, no part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, uploading to the Internet, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher.

Except where otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations in this book are taken from the Revised Standard Version: Catholic Edition 1965, 1966, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.

Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation (www.Lockman.org). Used with permission.

Quotations taken from Bruce M. Metzgers, An Introduction to the Apocrypha 1957 Oxford University Press, Inc., 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016. Used with permission.

Quotations from Theological Dictionary of the New Testament 1967 by William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan. Gerhard Friedrich, ed., and Geoffrey W. Bromiley, trans. and ed. Used with permission.

Quotations from The Apocrypha In Ecumenical Perspective UBSMS 6 1991 by United Bible Societies. Used with permission.

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Table of Contents

PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION

The first edition of Why Catholic Bibles Are Bigger was certainly a success by anyones standard, especially in light of the limited resources available to produce and promote the book. It was the first book-length Catholic defense of the deuterocanon since A.E. Breen wrote his General and Critical Introduction to the Sacred Scripture back in 1897, and even Breen only dedicated about half of his pages to the topic. Needless to say, much of the material Breen offered in his book is now out of date (although a good portion of it is still serviceable), and apologetics on the deuterocanon was sorely in need of an update. More specifically, there needed to be a work that specifically tackled one of the questions most frequently asked by Protestants and Catholics: did the Council of Trent addbooks to Old Testament Scripture or did Protestantism remove them?

The question is easy to ask, but a good answer requires an enormous amount of research. The original manuscript for Why Catholic Bibles Are Bigger was well over a thousand pages, and it looked like, at one point, that it would come out as a two-volume set, far too long for a popular work on the subject.

In 2006, the mammoth task of editing began. Much of the book was left on the proverbial cutting room floor. While trying to trim down this unwieldy manuscript, the complexity of the subject made even the simplest edit difficult. Even citing a source correctly is not easy since different sources use different versification. As a result, the first edition was a solid work, but it did have its share of problems, such as typos and versification errors. Whatever its faults, though, reception of the first edition was very positive.

My attention was then drawn to other areas of apologetics. However, the deuterocanon remained one topic that I could never totally avoid. Over the past ten years, my research continued. I couldnt help but gather more data on the subject. Items that I decided not to include in the first edition because I felt I couldnt adequately substantiate the point became solidified. The years after the first edition also allowed me to get a better overall picture of the subject and see connections that I missed while working out the details. Along with my continuing research in the area of the deuterocanon, I also received some very good constructive criticism. Despite my best efforts, Why Catholic Bibles Are Bigger wasnt the easiest book to read for someone not already familiar with the topic. It didnt have an introduction. Some people expected Why Catholic Bibles Are Bigger to give a positive case for the deuterocanon being inspired Scripture, instead of focusing on the question of whether Protestantism or Catholicism changed the Old Testament canon. To meet the need for a positive case for the deuterocanon, I wrote my second book on the topic, The Case for the Deuterocanon: Evidence and Arguments (Nikaria Press, 2015).

The publication of that book helped bring into better focus what exactly Why Catholic Bibles Are Bigger needed to address. There were places where the first edition spent too little time looking at important issues and too much time looking at secondary issues. With more data to bring to the discussion and better appreciation of the overall subject, the time had come for a new edition.

Readers familiar with the first edition will notice several changes. The most glaring is disappearance of the footnotes that crowded the bottom of the page. Footnotes are very convenient for those who love details, but it tends to make the text appear intimidating. To improve readability, all the footnotes have been moved to the back of the book. Another change is the overall layout. The backbone of the first edition was its chronological layout, tracing the history of the deuterocanon from Sirach (c. 200150 B.C.) to Vatican I (1870). The chronological layout is still retained, but this edition focuses more on addressing specific issues or questions than on laying out a detailed history. The chapter arrangement is also slightly different, so that those who do not wish to know whether the writers of the tenth century accepted these books can safely skip to the next chapter without missing too much. New treatments are offered on important issues and less important data is compressed to a short summary or placed in the endnotes. All these measures will hopefully make the book a faster and more pleasant read.

The issue of the deuterocanon is perhaps the most important subject for anyone who takes the word of God seriously. The question of whether books were added or removed needs to be answered, and the only way to give you the full and complex answer is to present the data for your consideration. My hope is that this new edition will serve to make this fascinating issue more easily understandable and to finally give a definitive answer to whether Catholicism or Protestantism changed the Old Testament.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Amico fideli nulla est conparatio et non est digna ponderatio auri et argenti contra bonitatem fidei illius.

Sirach 6:15

There are a number of people I would like to acknowledge and thank for bringing this book to completion. First and foremost, I would like to give thanks to the Holy Spirit who has spoken through the prophets and has given us the Sacred Scripture as a treasure of his love and wisdom. I would also like to thank Rod Bennett who patiently worked through this book and made it warm, accessible, and readable for all. I would also like to thank the team of editors, proofreaders, and designers who helped to turn this book from research to reality, especially Dennis Walters, Adele Brinkley, Gigi Mills, Brenda Polk, and Launa and Alan Wakenhut. Thank you also Paul, Cassandra, and the Husak family for the gift of your time, wisdom, and support for this project. My gratitude is also extended to Diane Everett and John McAlpine for all their hard work. To my good friend Robert Corzine, whose advice and encouragement helped guide me through the entire development of this book. Many thanks to Douglas Eiben for spending hours in front of a hot photocopier. I also owe Steve Ray and Patrick Madrid a very large debt of gratitude for the constant support and guidance. I would especially like to thank Todd Aglialoro and the team at Catholic Answers Press for making this second edition possible. They have been faithful friends indeed. Finally, I would like to thank my wife Chris, and my children, Paulina, Daniel, and Jennifer, for their patience and understanding while I was running off to libraries.