• We can learn a great deal about the journey of Lewis and Clark by reading their diary. So by reading the Bible we can learn how God interacts with people and how God wants people to interact with their neighbor and their world. Indeed God speaks to the heart of each person who reads the Bible.
  
  
• If Lewis and Clark were still alive and we had questions about what they wrote, we could ask them for clarification. While, like Lewis and Clark, the authors of the Bible have died the Church Community keeps alive its understanding of the Biblical message as part of its TRADITION (literally a handing on of how we, God's people are called to See, Celebrate and Live life). Thus the Church is the authoritative interpreter of the Biblical message.
  
  
• Catholics see the Bible as an expression of the Community's Faith in God and Jesus. The Bible is not something that comes from outside the Community. The Bible is God's Revelation that comes to us through the Community. Thus we can say it is the Church's diary.
  
  

The word Bible means Books. The Bible consists of the Old Testament (more properly called the Hebrew Scriptures) and the New Testament (more properly called the Christian Scriptures). The Hebrew Scriptures consists of 46 books and the Christian Scriptures consists of 27 books. In poetry, in history and in a variety of other literary styles these books tell of God's call and a people's response to enter into a loving relationship. In the Middle Ages the book were divided into Chapters and Verses. Thus Genesis 3:1-8 refers to the Book of Genesis, Chapter 3 verses 1 through 8. Each book is also abbreviated. Thus Genesis is abbreviated Gen and Mark is Mk. You can usually find these abbreviations in the front of your Bible.

The Hebrew Scriptures tell the story of God's encounter with a particular people. (The Hebrews are the descendents of Abraham who migrated to Egypt. They are also called Israelites after Abraham's grandson, Jacob, renamed Israel by God. Finally they are called Jews, members of the tribe of Judah, the tribe of the great King, David..)

The story begins with God (Yahweh) calling Abram, later changed to Abraham in Genesis 12. Abraham's descendents eventually migrated to Egypt to escape a famine. Initially they were welcomed because Joseph a great grandson had risen to a place of honor and responsibility in Pharaoh's court.

When a new Pharaoh ascended the throne, however, the Hebrews became slaves. Eventually God sent Moses to free them from Egypt. Once they crossed the Red Sea to freedom and safety, God made a covenant, an agreement, with them. In essence God said, "I will be your God who will always lead you to new life and you will be my people who will trust me, give me thanks for my mighty works of salvation and give life to one another." It is in the context of the Covenant that the 10 commandments are given. These spell out one's minimal relationships to God and neighbor. Because the people were not faithful to their part of the covenant they wandered in the desert until a new generation rededicated themselves to the Lord. At last the people reached the Promised Land. This is the Exodus story. It is the central event of the Hebrew Scriptures because it tells of God's faithfulness in bringing people to new life. In a sense, the rest of their history is the story of their commitment, failure and recommitment to live up to the covenant made at Mount Sinai.

Upon reaching the Promised Land, the people were led by Judges and eventually Kings. King David was the great King who united the people into one Kingdom. Because of his and his successors unfaithfulness, however, the kingdom was eventually split, the people were conquered and led off to captivity in Babylon. Once again God freed them and led them back to their land and their city Jerusalem. But the people learned slowly

The Christian Scriptures tell the story of how God sent the Eternal Son, who was born as a human, Jesus, the Christ (which means the Anointed one). Like a new Moses, Jesus came to free all people from slavery to sin and the fear of death and lead them to the freedom of living as God's beloved. Jesus is the one who best reveals to us what God is like and how we are to live with one another. He came to make God's Way of Life, the way of love a reality. This is God's Kingdom, God's rule and so it will never end.

The central story of the New Testament is that of Jesus' Death and Resurrection. In his dying he accepted to the full what it means to be human. At the same time he showed us what it meant to trust in God. Even though he was unjustly condemned he did not create other victims but rather forgave those who crucified him. Jesus' life was one of loving service to his neighbor. His death was the final act of sacrifice, of self-giving, that others might live. As a result God raised him from the dead and made him Lord and Savior. This is the Good News of the New Testament.

he Bible originated as oral stories relating peoples' encounter with God and Jesus. Only later were these stories edited and written down. Still later the Church Community decided which books presented an accurate account of what it meant to encounter the Living God, God's eternal Son, Jesus and how to live as a Disciple. Thus some books were left out of the Bible, e.g., the Gospel of Thomas, because they present either a fanciful or partial view of what it meant to encounter Christ. The fact that the Bible contains some geographic and historical errors does not invalidate its basic religious message.

The Bible stands as normative, meaning that its shapes the Church Community and the Church cannot go against its basic message. The Catholic Church does not believe that every Biblical verse or passage is to be followed literally but that each Book of the Bible and the passages within the books need to be interpreted. In some cases the Church needs to go beyond the Bible, applying its values and principles to new situations. Thus the Bible does not address such issues as genetic experimentation or working in a world economy. Yet the values and principles of the Bible help us deal with such issues today.

The Catholic Church recognizes that the Bible contains a good deal of wisdom with regard to daily living in relationship with God, others and creation. At the same time it is important to recognize that the Hebrew world is not our world. Thus the proverb "Those who spare the rod hate their children, but those who love them are diligent to discipline them" (Proverbs 13:24) does not mean that parents must spank their children but certainly does mean that they must discipline their children.

As a result of this view Catholics do not believe that that Bible provides a direct and immediate solution or answer to every particular situation of daily life. But the Bible does provide the values and principles by which we should live.

Catholics and Protestants differ on a number of issues with regard to the Bible, from its relationship to the Church, to how literally it should be read. There is a wide range of opinions on these issues among the various Protestant denominations.

At the same time there is a good deal of agreement and sharing among Catholics and mainline Protestant Biblical Scholars. Much of this agreement has come about because Biblical scholars have been aided in their work by the findings of archeology, a better understanding of how texts develop and dialogue with one another.

This has led to a common acceptance of newer translations and commentaries, e.g., The New Revised Standard Version (a modern translation of the King James version) and The International Biblical Commentary which is a joint effort of both Catholics and Protestants Scholars. In addition many Churches now use the Common Lectionary so a great many Christians hear the same readings from the Bible when they attend Church each Sunday.