Can You Trust the Bible? a Popular Guide for Catholics
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Can You Trust the Bible? A Popular Guide for Catholics Frances Hogan Servant Publications Ann Arbor, Michigan Contents Introduction / vii Part I: The Problem of Origins Copyright ®1991 by Frances Hogan All rights reserved. 1. A Book with a History / 1 Excerpts from Scripture are taken from the Jerusalem Bible, 2. Who Wrote the Bible? / 11 copyright ®1966, 1967, and 1968 by Darton, Longman & 3. The Four Old Testament Traditions / 17 Todd Ltd. and Doubleday & Company, Inc. and are used by permission of the copyright holder. 4. Tradition Expressed in Different Ways / 25 Scripture used in the Appendix is from the New International Part II: The Problem of Authenticity Version of the Bible, copyright ®1978 by New York International Bible Society, used by permission of Zondervan 5. The Divine Author / 45 Bible Publishers. 6. Discernment of the Canon / 55 With Ecclesiastical Permission: Martin Hogan, L.S.S., 7. Tracking Down Errors / 63 Dublin, Ireland, January 20, 1991. 8. Archaeology: The Silent Witness / 73 Published by Servant Books P.O. Box 8617 Part III: The Problem of Understanding Ann Arbor, Michigan 48107 9. Can We Really Understand the Bible? / 85 Cover design by Michael Andaloro 10. A Wealth of Literature / 95 Cover photo by David Knox 11. The Bible Speaks on Different Levels / 103 91929394 10987654321 12. An Age-Old Search for Meaning Printed in the United States of America ISBN 0-89283-694-6 Becomes a Modern Battle / 111 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Part IV: The New Testament Is Born Hogan, Frances, 1941 13. Gospel Beginnings / 123 Can you trust the Bible? : a popular guide for Catholics / Frances 14. The New Testament Letters / 131 Hogan. 15. Three Gospels and Acts / 141 p. cm. ISBN 0-89283-694-6 16. Writings of John, the Beloved / 149 1. Bible-Evidences, authority, etc. 2. Bible-Hermeneutics. 3. Catholic Church-Doctrines. I. Title. BS480.H56 1991 220.6'1'02422- Part V: The Problem of Truth dc20 90-26092 17. The Gospels Come under Attack / 159 18. The Infancy Narratives: Fact or Fiction? / 165 19. The Bodily Resurrection of Jesus / 179 Part VI: Ultimate Realities 20. Is there a hell? / 197 21. Judgment in the Parables of Jesus / 205 22. The Day of the Lord / 211 Introduction Epilogue: We Meet Jesus: The Word in the Word of God / 219 Appendix: Old Testament Prophecies CHANGING AN ELECTRICAL PLUG on a household gadget is a far Find Their Fulfilment in Jesus / 223 cry from the experiments carried out in university labora- tories. Many people who claim no interest in scientific research are nonetheless happy to apply its results in the safe use of electrical power in the home. Two very important things are touched upon here that are pertinent to this book. First, we need experts working on their scientific investi- gations in order to have progress. Second, practical applica- tions of the fruits of scientific investigation can yield a safer, more comfortable, more efficient lifestyle. Too little knowledge is a dangerous thing. This is true of electricity in the home; it is certainly true of the Scriptures. Many of us are uncomfortable with the Bible because of all that trickles down to us from the esoteric heights of biblical scholars. Fundamentalists claim absolute certainty on every- thing. Liberals question everything, even the historicity of the Gospels. Scientists have questioned the authenticity of the Creation accounts in Genesis. Archeologists have added fuel to the fire by claiming to disprove some of the dating in the Old Testament. In all this confusion, how could anyone really trust the Bible anymore? In the midst of all this confusion, we Christians know that the Bible is the written Word of God. In this book I would like to deepen in us an awareness of that truth. Yes, I hope to answer the critics, but more than that, to share with you the awe I experience as I read and study the Bible. We can grow in our love for the Lord as we research the words of men looking for the Word of God. The more we study the Bible, vii viii / Can You Trust the Bible? Introduction / ix the more fascinating the research becomes, and the more faith and morals. I also assume that you accept the two one marvels at the ways of God in dealing with his beloved sources of revelation, namely Tradition and Scripture. This children. book will attempt to show you that they cannot be Each generation challenges the Bible in some way. This separated without distortion, for the church today is the challenge is an opportunity to seek the Lord for guidance. same reality as the church of the Apostles, and a con- The generations before us found the answers to their tinuation of it. Now the vine has twentieth-century questions, and so will we. branches instead of first-century ones, and it has accumu- Our generation is questioning the historicity of the Gospel accounts. Watch how the Lord will provide proof lated much knowledge and experience in the intervening after proof to help those who are sincerely seeking the period. This increased knowledge increases our responsi- truth. (No amount of proof will help those who do not want bility to obey the Word and to proclaim it. to be persuaded.) I will show in the sections on manuscripts This book contains four parts. The first three treat and archeology just how kind the Lord has been in general matters pertaining to both the Old Testament and furnishing proofs. the New Testament: their origins, their authenticity, and We should not be disturbed by the controversies over the the search for their meaning. Each topic is illustrated with Bible, nor by the interim explanations given by scholars en examples, so that you are not faced with pure theory. I am route to deeper knowledge. All this research is necessary not attempting a full treatise on any of the subjects touched and good, but like electricity, the information needs to be upon. If an explanation is still at the theory stage, that is handled in such a way that it will give life, not snuff it out! stated clearly. I hope that the few examples given will I believe that we have reached a mature stage with regard stimulate a desire for more study on the subject, and thus to the Scriptures and with regard to our Christian faith as a open up for you the wonders of the biblical world. result of all that is going on. None of us can get by The fourth section deals exclusively with the New anymore on an uneducated or uninformed faith. Testament, which has been the subject of extensive Just as we have progressed dramatically in science and research for the past hundred years. Among scholars of the technology in this century, so now we hope to progress New Testament there is such divergence of opinion that with regard to the sacred sciences, namely, the knowledge many ordinary people have lost confidence in its of the Scriptures and the knowledge of God. As we explore authenticity. Some scholars question the very foundations outer space, so we need to explore "inner space," the of our faith. I stand firmly by Tradition, the early church tabernacle of God on earth that is our own beings. Our fathers, and the church's magisterium today. reasons for believing must be based on facts, not on "we It is not the prerogative of scholars to give us a new always did it this way." Where Scripture is concerned, most faith, rather they are to illumine the old one. It is their of us are overdue for a refresher course. I hope you enjoy privilege to explain the Scriptures, not to destroy them. this book as an introduction to such a course. The Holy Spirit is our illuminator, the One to whom both This book is not written by an expert for experts, but by scholar and believer must turn. a believer for believers. I assume that the reader accepts the authority of the church to teach and guide us in matters of Part I The Problem of Origins ONE A Book with a History ITS MOST RECENT SECTIONS are two thousand years old, and yet the Bible remains the world's number-one bestseller. It is the best preserved of all the ancient texts. Translated into numerous languages, it is used by people on every continent on earth. People have died for the privilege of reading the Bible; others have risked their lives to bring it into countries where it was banned. The Bible has influenced the whole history of civilization. From its laws have developed legal codes found in many middle eastern and western civilizations. Its main theme is the history of salvation, in which we all have a part. Because this history is embedded in the history of Israel, no civilization is more studied and better known than that of the Middle East. Today millions of people read the Bible on a daily basis, looking for life and direction just as their forebears did in previous centuries. Yes, even the modern world with all its sophistication needs the spiritual nourishment that comes from reading God's Word. Yet many ordinary people today are upset by what they have heard from the scholars, the skeptics, the scientists. They hear questions being raised concerning the veracity of what the Bible teaches. Since they do not have the oppor- tunity or the learning to check these things for themselves, they are tempted to put the Bible aside for fear of being led 1 2 / Can You Trust the Bible? A Book with a History / 3 astray.