DID THE CATHOLIC CHURCH GIVE US THE BIBLE?
Who wrote and canonized it? (The early Christians knew!)
The Catholic Church, the true bible Church.
Who made the bible? Over the course of many centuries, the
Holy Spirit employed faithful yet fallible men in the writing of the books and
epistles that would someday become the bible. These works, along with others
later to be deemed uninspired, became generally accepted as sacred scripture.
But there would be no consensus. Then, four centuries after the time of Christ,
other faithful yet fallible men would be used to discern which of these works
would ultimately be worthy of inclusion in a closed canon of Scripture.
Following a decree by Pope Damasus in A.D. 382, the final form of the Christian
bible was established. This collection of 73 books was confirmed at the Council
of Rome and later at two African councils. These official gatherings were
convened in cooperation with and under the authority of the Bishop of Rome –
Pope Damasus – with Saint Augustine presiding as Bishop of both African
councils. Because of his great knowledge and piety, Augustine, a
once-rebellious convert to the Catholic Church, is regarded as one of the great
champions of the Christian faith. In fact, Martin Luther (Lutheranism) was an
Augustine monk and John Calvin (Presbyterianism) quoted Augustine more than any
other theologian. Remarkably, both were prominent figures in the sixteenth
century Protestant rebellion against Augustine’s beloved Church. No institution
short of the Church founded by Christ Himself could ever possess the authority
to discern the final form of God’s written Word. So what did Augustine’s church
look like at the time of the bible’s birth? Catholic. Christians of the
pre-bible era already understood that the true Church must possess essential
characteristics; as the following writings will show:
BISHOPS, DEACONS AND PRIESTS
“You must follow the bishop as Jesus Christ
follows the Father, and the priests as you would the Apostles. Reverance the
deacons as you would the command of God. Let no one do anything of concern to
the Church without the Bishop.” (Ignatius of Antioch; Letter to the Smyrnaeans;
8:1-2; 107 A.D.)
“If
Christ Jesus is himself the high priest of God the Father; and if he offered
himself as a sacrifice to the Father; and if he commanded that this be done in
commemoration of himself, then certainly the priest, who imitates that which
Christ did, truly functions in place of Christ.” (Cyprian of Carthage; Letters 63:14; 253 A.D.)
THE REAL PRESENCE OF JESUS CHRIST “We
call this food Eucharist; and no one else is permitted to partake of it, except
one who believes our teaching to be true and who has been washed in the washing
which is for the remission of sins and for regeneration (baptism), and is
thereby living as Christ has enjoined in a state of grace. For not as common
bread nor common drink do we receive these; the food which has been made into
the Eucharist by the Eucharistic prayer set down by Him, and by the change of
which our blood and flesh is nurtured, is both the flesh and the blood of that
incarnated Jesus.” (Justin Martyr; First Apology 66; 151 A.D.)
“Do not regard the bread and wine as simply
that, to the Master’s declaration, the body and blood of Christ. Even though
the senses suggest to you the other, let faith make you firm. Do not judge in
this matter by taste, but be fully assured by faith, not doubting that you have
been deemed worthy of the body and blood of Christ.” (Cyril of Jerusalem;
Catechetical Lectures, 19:7; 350 A.D.)
“Let no one eat or drink of your Eucharist,
unless they have been baptized into the name of the Lord; for concerning this
the Lord has said, ‘Give not that which is holy to the dogs.” (The Didache
[Ancient handbook of Christian worship]; 70 A.D.)
HOLY MASS
“And on the day called Sunday, all gather
together to one place and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the
prophets are read. Then when the reader has ceased, the president (priest)
verbally instructs and exhorts to the imitation of these good things. Then we
all rise together and pray and when our prayer is ended, bread and wine and water
are brought and the priest offers prayers and thanksgivings and the people
assent, saying Amen; and there is a distribution to each and to those who are
absent, a portion is sent by the deacons. And they who are well to do, and
willing, give what each thinks fit; and what is collected is deposited with the
priest, who comforts the orphans and widows and those who are in want. But
Sunday is the day on which we all hld our common assembly, because it is the
first day on which God made the world; and Jesus Christ our Savior on the same
day rose from the dead.” (Justin Martyr; First Apology 66; 151 A.D.)
REGENERATIVE BAPTISM
“The Church received from the Apostles the
tradition of giving baptism even to infants. For the Apostles, to whom were
committed the secrets of divine mysteries, knew that there is in everyone the
innate stains of sin, which must be washed away through water and the Spirit”
(Origen; Commentaries on Romans 5:9; 244 A.D.)
“Happy is our sacrament of water, in that, by
washing away the sins of early blindness, we are set free and admitted into
eternal life.” (Tertullian; Baptism 1; 203 A.D.)
“Additionally, Augustine’s church possessed
all sacraments, practiced the baptism of infants, the ‘circumcision’ of the new
covenant, (Colossians 2: 11-13) believed in the perpetual virginity of Mary,
and taught that after the words of Christ are spoken by the priest, the bread
and wine of the Holy Eucharist become Christ – and remain bread and wine in
appearance only. (Transubstantiation) Sadly, the worship style of most modern
denominations would be unrecognizable to St. Augustine. Many Christians claim
obedience to Christ but have discarded the traditions that He and the Apostles
passed on to us. But looking to the early Christians, we too can worship Jesus
as did the Apostles did on His terms. “To be deep in history is to cease to be
Protestant.” (John Henry Cardinal Newman (1801 – 1890; Catholic convert from
Anglicanism)
[Our love for Truth should be as strong as
our love for Jesus; our obedience to Him requires it]
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