Introduction to Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and the Biblical Canon

Sacred Revelation and the Bible

  • Purpose of the slides: Introduction to what the Catholic Church teaches about Sacred Scriptures, Sacred Traditions, Inspiration, and the Canon of the Gospels of the New Testament.
  • Learning goals embedded: Understand how Scripture and Tradition relate; what inspires the biblical texts; what makes up the Canon; and how the Gospels differ (synoptic vs. John).

Pre-Christian Revelation and the Bible

  • The Bible narrates God’s communication with humanity across different periods prior to Christ, summarized as Pre-Christian Revelation.
  • Three-part division of Pre-Christian revelation:
    • Primitive revelation: God’s revelation to Adam and Eve.
    • Patriarchal revelation: God revealed Himself to the patriarchs—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
    • Mosaic revelation: God revealed Himself to Moses and the prophets.
  • This framework situates the Old Testament as the record of God’s gradual self-disclosure before the coming of Jesus.
  • Core idea: Pre-Christian revelation is the foundation that leads to New Covenant revelation in Christ.

The Bible as God’s Communication

  • The Bible tells the stories of God’s communication with humanity, beginning in Paradise and continuing through Abraham and Moses.
  • The progression of revelation culminates in the coming of Jesus, who reveals the Father most fully.
  • This overarching narrative is the basis for understanding Bible as God’s self-revelation to humanity.

Divine Revelation: God as Author and Truth

  • Divine Revelation has God as its author and origin.
  • Key questions: Why? Because God cannot deceive nor be deceived.
  • Revelation is conveyed through two primary channels (see the two legs of revelation):
    • Old Testament and New Testament (through Scripture)
    • Sacred Tradition (the living transmission of the Apostles’ teaching)
  • Both channels are true and complementary.

The Holy Trinity and Divine Revelation

  • The charting of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit yields the Holy Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit work together in the economy of salvation.
  • This unity underpins the twofold transmission of revelation: Scripture and Tradition.

Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture: The Two Legs of Revelation

  • Sacred Scripture: from the Latin term meaning “the writings.” The Bible is a collection of writings.
  • Sacred Tradition: from the Latin meaning “what is handed down.” It denotes the living transmission of the Apostolic teaching.
  • Sacred Tradition (with a capital T) refers to the formal teachings handed down since the Apostles.
  • The two legs together (Scripture and Tradition) sustain the deposit of faith in the Church.

The Canon of the Catholic Bible: Structure and Contents

  • The Canon comprises:
    • Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) and Christian Scriptures (New Testament).
    • Major sections include the Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy), Historical Books, Wisdom Books, Prophets, Gospels, Acts, Pauline and Non-Pauline Letters, Hebrews, James, 1–2 Peter, 1–3 John, Jude, and Revelation.
  • The Old Testament and New Testament lists reflect the Catholic canon, which includes books not found in the Protestant canon (the Apocrypha) in the Catholic tradition.
  • The Old Testament structure includes:
    • The Pentateuch: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
    • Historical Books: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Tobit, Judith, Esther, 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees
    • Wisdom Books: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Wisdom, Sirach
    • The Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Baruch, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi
  • The New Testament structure includes:
    • Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John
    • Historical: Acts of the Apostles
    • Letters (Epistles): Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude
    • Non-Pauline Letters and Apocalyptic: Revelation
  • In short: the Catholic Bible is NT + OT, with a specific set of books in each testament.

The New Testament: Composition and Scope

  • The New Testament contains 27 books in total:
    • 4 Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John)
    • The Acts of the Apostles (historical narrative)
    • 21 Epistles written by St. Paul, St. Peter, St. James, St. John, and St. Jude
  • The NT covers the life of Jesus and the life of the early Church.

How to Read the Bible: Foundational Principles

  • The Bible is the Word of God; treat it with reverence and respect as Catholics.
  • It is inspired by God; the primary author is God Himself, though He used human writers.
  • The human authors contributed their own styles, personalities, and historical contexts; they wrote under God’s inspiration.

Timeline: The Bible’s Formation and Writing

  • The Bible was written over roughly 1300 years, from Moses (~1200 ext{ BCE}) to John the Evangelist (~100 ext{ CE}).
  • The Bible was originally written in three primary languages:
    • Hebrew
    • Aramaic
    • Greek (New Testament)
  • The period between the end of the OT and the beginning of the NT is traditionally marked as about 400 years of silence.
  • The juxtaposition of Old and New Testaments reflects the transition from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant in Christ.

The Making of the New Testament: Stages of Formation

  • Stage 1: Public Life
    • The Apostles were eyewitnesses to Jesus’ life and ministry; their experiences helped form and preserve the gospel in the first stage.
  • Stage 2: Oral Tradition
    • Three forms of oral preaching:
    • Kerygma: proclamation to non-believers
    • Didache: teaching
    • Liturgy: worship of early Christians
    • These oral traditions shaped early Christian formation of beliefs and practices.
  • Stage 3: New Testament Writings
    • The earliest NT writings were the Epistles of St. Paul.
    • The Gospels and other writings (Acts, Revelation) followed.
    • The formation of the Gospels followed the earlier oral and apostolic testimony.

The Canon and Gnostic Gospels: What Was Discarded

  • In the first century, about fifty gospels circulated, including Mary, Judas, Thomas, and Philip (Gnostic gospels).
  • Gnosticism tended to downplay Jesus’ full humanity; the Church ultimately recognized only four gospels as inspired: ext{Matthew, Mark, Luke, John}.
  • Other gospels were not included in the canon because they did not align with the apostolic witness or with the Church’s teaching.

The Jerome and the Vulgate: Bringing Scripture to the People

  • St. Jerome (commissioned by Pope Damasus) translated the Scriptures into Latin to make them accessible to the people.
  • At the time, the Old Testament was in Hebrew and the New Testament in Greek.
  • Around the year 400, the Pope sought a single Latin translation for the people, resulting in the Vulgate.
  • Jerome’s work took about 35 years to complete; the Vulgate became the standard Latin Bible for centuries.

The Numbers, Languages, and Timelines: Quick Synthesis

  • The Bible is a single library (Latin biblia) containing the Old and New Testaments: OT + NT.
  • The Old Testament contains 46 books in the Catholic canon; Protestant Bibles typically contain 39 (the Apocrypha is omitted).
  • The New Testament contains 27 books: 4 Gospels, Acts, 21 Epistles, and Revelation.
  • The entire Bible was written over approximately 1300 years.
  • The original languages include Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek (for the NT).
  • The period of “400 years of silence” separates the prophetic/mosaic era from the life of Jesus.
  • Jesus’ death is commonly dated around AD ext{ ~}33; NT writings began approximately between AD ext{ 42} and AD ext{ 97}, with some Gospel circulation before the close of the 1st century.
  • The early Church preached the Gospel orally before many books of the NT were written (Epistles and Gospels composed later, roughly from the 40s to the 100s CE).

Key Verses and Theological Anchors

  • John 3:16 summarises the fullness of revelation in Christ: ext{John } 3:16 ext{ (quotation in context)}
  • Matthew 28:19–20 (The Great Commission): “Go therefore, and make disciples of all the nations.” ext{Matt } 28:19 ext{–}20
  • John 8:1–11 (Story of the woman caught in adultery) offers a unique written-down account in John’s Gospel and raises questions about Jesus’ words and actions; debates about what He wrote are traditional.
  • John 21:25: “There are, however, many other things that Jesus did. If every one of them were written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.” This affirms that not everything Jesus did or said is contained in Scripture, and there is Sacred Tradition alongside Scripture. ext{John } 21:25

The Bible as a Library and the Concept of Inspiration

  • The Bible is a unified collection of sacred writings, a “library” formed by different authors and time periods.
  • The writers of Scripture were inspired by the Holy Spirit; their minds were enlightened, yet they retained their human freedom and distinctive styles.
  • The sense of inspiration is not coercive; authors cooperated with God while using their own personalities and historical contexts.
  • The overall notion is that Scripture and Tradition together preserve the truth without error in the areas necessary for faith and morals (with Catholic teaching emphasizing Sacred Tradition along with Sacred Scripture).

Summary: The Canon, Transmission, and Faith Practice

  • The Catholic Canon includes both OT and NT with a fixed set of books considered inspired and authoritative.
  • Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition function as two complementary channels of divine revelation, both essential to the Catholic understanding of faith.
  • The process of formation of the Gospels involved: eyewitness testimony (Stage 1), oral preaching (Stage 2: Kerygma, Didache, Liturgy), and eventual written texts (Stage 3).
  • The Church discerns the canon by aligning writings with apostolic teaching and consistent fidelity to the faith handed down from the Apostles.
  • St. Jerome’s Vulgate played a pivotal role in making Scripture accessible in the Latin-speaking Church; it represents a landmark in the history of Bible translation and reception.

Key Terms for Homework

  • Primitive revelation
  • Patriarchal revelation
  • Mosaic revelation
  • Bible (biblia): a collection of books; a library
  • Sacred Scripture
  • Sacred Tradition (capital T)

Quick Reference: Figures, Dates, and Concepts

  • Ages and timeframes
    • Old Testament written: up to around 400 ext{ BCE} (Malachi)
    • New Testament written: roughly between AD ext{ 42} and AD ext{ 97} (with some early church practice possibly earlier)
    • 400 years of silence between the OT and NT
    • The overall time span of composition: ext{about } 1300 ext{ years} (from Moses to John)
  • Canon specifics
    • Old Testament: Catholics have 46 books; Protestants have 39 (absence of certain deuterocanonical books, often called the Apocrypha)
    • New Testament: 27 books (4 Gospels, Acts, 21 Epistles, Revelation)
  • Language distribution
    • Hebrew, Aramaic (OT and parts of the intertestamental period)
    • Greek (NT)
  • Notable verses for study
    • John 3:16; Matt. 28:19-20; John 8:1-11; John 21:25
  • Translation milestone
    • St. Jerome and the Vulgate (~AD ext{ 400}), completed in about 35 years
  • The two legs of revelation
    • Sacred Scripture
    • Sacred Tradition (capital T)

Endnotes and Connections to Broader Themes

  • The material connects belief about revelation with practical faith life: understanding why Catholics hold sacred tradition as a necessary companion to Scripture.
  • The Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) are contrasted with John to explain differences in content, style, and theological emphasis.
  • The real-world relevance includes recognizing the Bible as a living library read within the Church’s tradition, rather than as a lone, isolated text.
  • Ethical and philosophical implications emerge from the belief in a divinely inspired text that was written through human authors; this invites reflection on the relationship between divine truth and human history, language, culture, and memory.