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on earth. The New Testament writers were familiar with this ideas as well. In 1Tim 3:15 St. Paul refers to the Church as the "pillar and foundation of truth." With this kind of scriptural evidence, the questions posed above have no meaning because the evidence points to an authoritative body on earth – the Church. Divine inspiration is not a matter of personal interpretation of sacred texts (2 Peter 1:20-21). To deny the existence of an earthly authority leaves the faithful to their own wits about what is divinely revealed, and consequently to their own selves as a source of infallible truth.
Sola Fide (Faith Alone)
Martin Luther, wanting to avoid the responsibility of doing good works, promoted the idea of faith alone as a means of salvation. The Church has always taught that faith, hope, and love (charity) are required for salvation. The only time the expression “faith alone” is mentioned in the bible is in James 2:24, where the author says Abraham was NOT saved by faith alone.
What good is faith without works? Jas 2:14-26
Must avoid sin
"Earning" forgiveness
Must do will of God
Paul disciplines himself to avoid losing salvation 1Cor 9:27
Works have merit
Keep commandments
Deuterocanonicals (The Protestant "Apocrypha") For a brief history see Deuterocanonical (Apocryphal) Books on page 29. Deuterocanonicals were used in New Testament: 2 Mac 6:18-7:42 Heb 11:35 Wisdom 3:5-6 1 Pet 1:6-7 Wisdom 13:1-9 Rom 1:18-32. Septuagint (Greek, w/ Deuterocanonicals) version of Old Testament quoted in New Testament, noticeably different from Hebrew version: Is 7:14 Mt 1:23; Is 40:3 Mt 3:3; Joel 2:30-31 Acts 2:19-29 Ps 95:7-9 Heb 3:7-9
Deuterocanonical (Apocryphal) Books Often people ask why Catholics use the Deuterocanonical books, and many Protestants do not. For the most part there is nothing in the Deuterocanonical books that would separate different forms of Christianity, except for two passages. In 2 Maccabees, chapter 12, they pray for the souls of the dead. This passage is significant in that it contradicts justification by faith alone, and supports the idea of purgatory. Another point is in Tobit 12:12 where the angel Raphael presents Tobit's and Sarah's prayers to God. This is an example of intercessory prayer instead of praying "direct to God".
The Old Testament Before Christ In popular history the earliest known canon of old testament books is known as the Septuagint. The Septuagint was translated from Hebrew to Greek by seventy (hence Septuagint, commonly abbreviated LXX) scholars for Alexander's great library in Egypt around the year 300 BC. Supposedly, the scholars were commissioned by Alexander the Great to collect the writings of all the major religions of the time. The Septuagint contains the Old Testament books shared by all Christians along with the Deuterocanonical books used by Catholics, traditional Protestants , and many Orthodox Churches.
In "The New Jerome Biblical Commentary" (NJBC) the authors suggest a more plausible history regarding the Septuagint arguing that the existence of the seventy seems unlikely, and it is more likely that the books were collected and translated over time. Other sources give different dates as well, but it is generally agreed the translation was complete by 100 BC.
Scripture During Jesus' Time Much of the debate today centers on whether Jesus accepted the Septuagint as scripture. In the Gospels Jesus never quotes the Septuagint directly. This does not condemn the Deuterocanonical books since there are many other Old Testament (OT) books Jesus did not quote either. No Christian Church accepts only those OT books quoted by Jesus. Old Testament books not quoted by Jesus are still considered scripture. So what did Jesus mean when he refers to scriptures? This seems to be the more compelling question because apparently there was no closed canon of scripture in Jesus' time.
In The NJBC the authors maintain that there was no clear canon of scripture at the time of Christ. After reviewing the data they state "The conclusion that there was no rigidly closed canon in Judaism in the 1st or 2nd centuries AD means that when the church was in its formation period and was using the sacred books of the Jews, there was no closed canon for the church to adopt" [p. 1041] Part of the evidence they present is the existence of Deuterocanonical books in the Qumran scrolls (Dead Sea scrolls). In these scrolls were found parts of three Deuterocanonical texts giving the impression that there was very little distinction between a closed canon and all other texts. They note that both "scriptural" texts and secular texts are included together, with no apparent distinction.
They also dispel any notion that Jews in Jerusalem had a different canon than Jews elsewhere. "The thesis that the Jews in Alexandria had a different theory of inspiration from the theory shared by the Jews in Jerusalem is gratuitous" [p 1041]
Jamnia
Jamnia, (aka Jabneel) was a city about 12 miles south of Judah near the present day city of Yebna. In the late first century, after the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD, it became a seat of Jewish learning. According to popular history a council was held in Jamnia that determined the canon of the Old Testament. The dates for this council range from 75 AD to 100 AD depending on the reference used. In The NJBC the authors |
