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Why Are Catholic And Protestant Bibles Different

What Is Protestant Bible

Why Do Catholics Have a Different Bible than Protestants?

Protestant Bible Strictly accepts only Hebrew scriptures and has 66 books as per the old testament and 27 books as per the new testament. The opposition of Martin Luther against the catholic church led to the formation of protestants. The Protestant Bible is the modified version produced by the Protestants. The Protestant Bible usually excluded the canonical ones considered significant.

Though initially, the Protestant Bible did not comprise of the Apocrypha, since martin Luther did not consider them, many English-speaking Protestants agreed to place them in a separate section of the old testament through the Apocrypha is not considered canonical. The protestant Bibles with Apocrypha is gaining popularity in recent times.

The protestants have a differently oriented and comparatively a contradictory approach towards Christianity though they have a lot of similarities.

Why Is Catholic Bible Different From Protestant

Catholicism and Protestantism have distinct views on the meaning and the authority of the Bible. Catholics, on the other hand, do not base their beliefs on the Bible alone. Along with the Holy Scripture, they are additionally bound by the traditions of the Roman Catholic Church.

How Can Anyone Own The Copyright On The Bible Isn’t It Free To Everyone

No one owns the copyright on the Bible itself. Rather, the copyright is held on particular translations or editions of the Bible. The Confraternity of Christian Doctrine owns the copyright on the New American Bible translation. Some versions of the Bible, such as the King James Version are in the public domain due to age.The copyright allows the owner to protect the integrity of the text so that individuals may not introduce changes without permission. Royalty fees earned by licensing the text to companies who publish and sell Bibles help to provide funds for Scripture scholarship and other educational needs.

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Do We Read From The Bible At Mass

Readings from Scripture are part of every Mass. At least two readings , one always from the Gospels, make up the Liturgy of the Word. In addition, a psalm or canticle is sung.For ease, these readings are typically read from a Lectionary, which includes the sections of the Bible to be read on a given day.

What’s The Difference Between A Bible And A Lectionary

Why the Protestant and Catholic Bibles are So Different ...

A Lectionary provides the readings and the responsorial psalm assigned for each Mass of the year . The readings are divided by the day or the theme rather than according to the books of the Bible. Introductions and conclusions have been added to each reading. Not all of the Bible is included in the Lectionary.Individual readings in the Lectionary are called pericopes, from a Greek word meaning a “section” or “cutting.” Because the Mass readings are only portions of a book or chapter, introductory phrases, called incipits, are often added to begin the Lectionary reading, for example, “In those days,” “Jesus said to his disciples,” etc.

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The Protestant Old Testament

Fast forward to the Protestant Reformation, and these extra books were removed from Protestant Old Testaments.

This is because they werent in the Jewish canon, specifically in the Masoretic Text, a 7th to 10th Century AD Jewish standardisation/translation of the Hebrew texts.

As mentioned above, the Jewish canon was finally set around the 2nd Century AD and a good two centuries after the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is the biblical canon of Rabbinical Judaism, which emerged after the destruction of the temple and the rise of Christianity.The Protestant Reformers believed that this was a far more reliable translation than the Vulgate and Septuagint.

In fact, the evidence suggests that it the Septuagint with its wider canon fell out of favour with the Jews because it was seen as being too Christian.

So Protestants re-classified the deuterocanon as apocrypha, and thats how we find ourselves in the mess were in today.

Why Does The Catholic Our Father Have A Different Ending Than The Protestant One

When discussing prayer with His disciples, our Lord said, This is how you are to pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread and forgive us the wrong we have done as we forgive those who wrong us. Subject us not to the trial but deliver us from the evil one’ . A similar version is found in Luke 11:2-4. Both versions do not include the ending sentence found in the Protestant version, For thine is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory now and forever.

The For thine is technically termed a doxology. In the Bible, we find the practice of concluding prayers with a short, hymn-like verse which exalts the glory of God. An example similar to the doxology in question is found in Davids prayer located in I Chronicles 29:10-13 of the Old Testament. The Jews frequently used these doxologies to conclude prayers at the time of our Lord.

The irony of this answer is that some Protestants sometimes accuse Catholics of not being literally faithful to Sacred Scripture and depending too much on Tradition. In this case, we see that the Catholic Church has been faithful to the Gospel text of the Our Father, while Protestant Churches have added something of Tradition to the words of Jesus.

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The Problem Of Canons

The Septuagint itself wasnt 100% set and there were variations within its canon too. So while the Orthodox have 49 books in their Old Testament, Catholics have 46.

Catholics have all of the books listed above expect for 1 Esdras and 3 Maccabees. We also have 150 psalms and we include the Epistle of Jeremiah in Baruch. So its actually a difference of 2 books that because of our counting systems, comes out as 3. These differences come from the different canons of the Septuagint circulating at the time.

There were also quite fluid concepts of what was truly canonical, what was deuterocanonical , and what was apocryphal. If the boundaries of the New Testament were still a little porous at the time, thats nothing compared to the Old Testament.

It was messy.

Very messy.

Sometimes, the Church Fathers quoted from the deuterocanonical books as Scripture, other times they distinguished them from Scripture. Often, the same Church Father would do both along with occasionally quoting as Scripture other things no one accepts anymore, and even rejecting other things we all agree are Scripture as not Scripture.

How The Bibles Diverted

Why is the Catholic Bible different from the Protestant Bible?

During the 1500s, broke away from the Catholic Church and embraced St. Jeromes argument, and lead the Protestant Reformation, with the return to the original Hebrew scripture and away from the Greek translation. They only acknowledged 39 of the Old Testament books and refused to accept the seven books of Apocrypha as gospel.

This division is what has led to the core differences between Catholics and Protestants. Catholics view the word of the church, as having just as much, if not more authority then the words of the bible. While Protestants only acknowledge the word of God written in the Bible as having any authority over men.

The seven books of Apocrypha are also known as the books of Deuterocanonical scripture by Catholics, and have remained within their version of the bible. Meaning that the Catholic bible contains 73 books in total, as apposed to the Protestants 66 books.

It is from these books of Deuterocanonical scripture, that Catholics derive their belief in purgatory. That praying for the dead can influence the souls of the dead, and that doing good works will please God.

Protestants on the other hand, do not acknowledge the seven books of Apocrypha. Most do not accept the existence of purgatory, nor that praying for the dead has any influence on their souls what so ever. They also believe that its Gods grace regardless of a persons life or works, that leads to eternal life.

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Why Are Catholic And Protestant Bibles Different

Why do Catholics have 2 books in their Bible that Protestants do not have?

In fact the Catholic Old Testament contains not just two but quite a handful of books which are not in the Protestant Old Testament. These extra books are usually called the Apocrypha , or Old Testament Apocrypha , or deutero-canonical books , and include such books as I-II Esdras, Tobit, Judith, Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach, Baruch, Susanna, Bel and the Dragon, I-IV Maccabees, etc.

The reason for the Protestant/ Catholic difference here goes all the way back to the Old Testament, first written in Hebrew , and then translated about 200 B.C. into Greek. As it happened, some more late Jewish books were written not in Hebrew, but in Greek, because by then it was the common language of the Eastern Roman Empire. Naturally enough, these late books, written in Greek, were included not in the original Hebrew Old Testament, but only in the Greek translation of it .

Consequently, many of them accepted not the Greek additions, but only the original Hebrew books of the Old Testament. Thus, for example, the very first edition of the King James Bible included the Old Testament Apocrypha but after some Protestants objected, the second and subsequent editions excluded the Apocrypha. Thus to this day Catholic Bibles include the Old Testament Apocrypha, strictly Protestant Bibles exclude it, but certain ecumenical Bibles include it as an appendix.

Difference Between Catholic And Christian Bible

Categorized under Religion | Difference Between Catholic and Christian Bible

Catholic vs Christian Bible

The Bible is considered one of the most-read books of all time though people are not aware of the fact that there is not just one Bible but more than one Bible followed by people of different faiths and beliefs.

Christian BibleThe Christian Bible is also called The Holy Bible. The Christian Bible underwent canonization, which means a set of books were chosen to form one Bible. It is believed that when the first Christian Bible was being formed, the Christians had adopted a book called the Septuagint as the Old Testament. The Septuagint was the Greek translation of the original Jewish Scriptures. The Old Testament developed over time.

Similarly, the New Testament developed over time as no defined set of Scriptures was left by the apostles. The development of the New Testament was a result of a compilation process stimulated by doubts and disputes within and outside the Church. The Christian Church kept and followed all the books that were in the Septuagint they did not follow the revisions which were being made by the Jewish rabbis in their Scriptures. After removing a group of 15 Jewish books, they formed the Hebrew version.

Summary:

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The Modern Bibles Content

The modern bible is not just one book, but many books, stories and historical events that have been compiled into a single volume. These books come from both the Old Testament and the New Testament alike.

In the late 4th century, these books, and scriptures, were compiled into a single volume. The Protestant and the Catholic bibles are different from one another today. As the Catholic version includes seven books that the Protestant bible does not acknowledge.

The Catholic Bible Vs The Christian Bible

Why the Protestant and Catholic Bibles are So Different ...

Catholics along with all other Christians are of the same faith, they also share many of the same common religious practices. As most other Christians follow the same version of the bible, we will be comparing the Catholics version of the bible with the Protestants version of the bible.

Contents

  • 3 Book Contained Within the Bibles
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    The Church Adopts The Septuagint

    When Christianity moved out of its Palestinian matrix into the Greek speaking pagan world the LXX became its Bible. Pauls letters and other New Testament writings show quotes from the LXX. In the fifth century when Jerome made his Latin translation he noted that the deuterocanonical books were not used by the Jews.

    However the great doctor of the Church, Augustine, argued that on the basis of usage the majority of the Churches including the most emminent ones, accepted the Greek additions as canonical. His great stature tended to close the discussion. This reaffirmed the canonical lists of the Western Councils of Hippo , Carthage III , and Carthage IV and the letter of Pope Innocent I which included the Greek books.

    Comparison Table Between Catholic Bible And Protestant Bible

    Parameters Of Comparison
    Roots and Origin It comprises the teachings and stories of Jesus Christ. It is a revised version of the Christian Bible produced by Martin Luther and the protestants.
    Number of books The bible consists of 73 books in the old testament and 27 books belonging to the new testament. The old testament consists of 66 books in the old testament and 27 in the new testament.
    Pope The pope of the Catholic Church is considered to be a Vicar of Christ. He is faithfully believed to be an unerring leader who heads the church and he also heads the Vatican city. The protestants strongly believe human beings cannot be infallible and always faithfully believe Jesus Christ as the head of the Church.
    Eucharist They have their doctrine of Transubstantiation which emphasise that the bread and drink used during the mass become the body and blood of Christ himself. They call it the Communion or Lords supper. It commemorates the death of Jesus and according to them, the bread and wine are symbols that signify the body and blood of Christ.
    Praying to Saints Their doctrine of intercessory saints emphasizes praying to holy men who passed away in addition to the worship of Christ. veneration according to them is praying through the saints rather than praying to them. They emphasize the freedom and possibility of humans having direct access and connection with God.

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    What Is The Difference Between The Bible And The Catholic Bible

    For Christians, the Bible dictates faith. It is solely based on The Holy Scriptures considered the written Word of God. The Christian Bible is all that is required by a Christian to understand holiness and salvation if followed. Catholic Bible. In the Catholic Bible, the Old Testament is based on the Septuagint.

    Archaeological And Historical Research

    Difference between Catholic and Protestant Bibles (7 Books) With Gary Michuta

    Biblical archaeology is the archaeology that relates to and sheds light upon the Hebrew Scriptures and the Christian Greek Scriptures . It is used to help determine the lifestyle and practices of people living in biblical times. There are a wide range of interpretations in the field of biblical archaeology. One broad division includes biblical maximalism which generally takes the view that most of the Old Testament or the Hebrew Bible is based on history although it is presented through the religious viewpoint of its time. It is considered to be the opposite of biblical minimalism which considers the Bible to be a purely post-exilic composition. Even among those scholars who adhere to biblical minimalism, the Bible is a historical document containing first-hand information on the Hellenistic and Roman eras, and there is universal scholarly consensus that the events of the 6th century BCE Babylonian captivity have a basis in history.

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    Catholic And Protestant Bibles: What Is The Difference

    Question: What’s the difference between a Catholic Bible and a Protestant one? Is our Old Testament the same as a Jewish Bible? If not, why?

    Discussion: The most noticeable differences occur in the number of books included and the order in which they have been arranged. Both the Jewish Bible and the Hebrew canon in a Protestant Bible contain 39 books, whereas a Catholic Bible contains 46 books in the Old Testament. In addition, the Greek Orthodox, or Eastern Orthodox, Church accepts a few more books as canonized scripture.

    To give you a quick overview of a complicated subject, here’s what happened: Several hundred years before the birth of Christ, Babylonian conquerors forced the Jews to leave Jerusalem. Away from their Temple and, often, from their priests, the exiled people forgot how to read, write, and speak Hebrew. After a while, Jewish scholars wanted to make the Bible accessible again, so they translated Hebrew scriptures into the Greek language commonly spoken. Books of wisdom and histories about the period were added, too, eventually becoming so well known that Jesus and the earliest Christian writers were familiar with them. Like the original Hebrew scriptures, the Greek texts, which were known as the Septuagint, were not in a codex or book form as we’re accustomed to now but were handwritten on leather or parchment scrolls and rolled up for ease in storage.

    Protestant Vs Catholic Bible

    So, if the Hebrew Bible is the basis for both Protestant and Catholic Bibles, why are they different?

    Essentially, the Protestant Bible has the same number of books as the Hebrew Bible , but the Protestant Bible organizes it differently. For instance, the Hebrew Bible has the book of Samuel, but the Protestant Bible has Samuel 1 and 2. Same book but broken up into two parts making the Old Testament consist of 39 books.

    The Catholic Bible contains the same 39 Old Testament books, but it includes a few others you may have never heard of: Tobit, Judith, Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus , Baruch , I and II Maccabees, and additions to Daniel and Esther.

    The Catholic church used these extra seven books to create the Septuagint, which is a Greek translation of the Bible but based on a different Hebrew canon than what the Hebrews and Protestants use. Early Catholic priests used the Septuagint as scripture since they could only read Greek and not Hebrew causing a huge topic of debate over whether it should be used at all.

    At the time of Martin Luthers Protestant Reformation, the church decided that if the Hebrew Bible didnt have certain books then neither should the Protestant Bible. Early versions of the King James Bible still included the books contained in the Catholic Bible, but they were eventually phased out.

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