Added: 08/21/2006 |
What is the Difference Between the Catholic Bible and the Protestant Bible?Through the years, the different translations of the English Bible have been a source of discussion and controversy. Many have tried to say that one translation is better than another. How can one know which translation is the best? What is the difference, for example, between the Catholic Bible and the Protestant translations? Learn more about the difference between Bible translations.
It was around 300 AD that the cannon of the Scriptures, as found today, were accepted and organized. Since that time, the Bible has been translated into thousands of languages across the world. There are many different English translations, as well, and this is a source of controversy amongst many different denominations. The Catholic Bible, for example, contains books that the Protestant Bible translations do not. These books contained in the Catholic Bible are called the "hidden books" and were accepted as part of the Catholic Bible at the Council of Trent, which occurred in 1545. There are fourteen hidden books, and they were rejected by the Protestants as they are of unknown authority. The Roman Catholic Church considers these books to be inspired. Because of this belief, the Roman Catholic Bible includes them.
Not including the hidden books, how were the books of the Bible selected among all of the ancient religious writings. Through much prayer and discussion, a group of godly people just after the time of Christ were given the insight to determine which books were true and inspired. There were strict rules about the authorship of the books, the date of the writings, and which language they were written in. Through studying these criteria, this group of dedicated believers determined which books were divinely inspired and included them in the Canon of the Bible. For the New Testament, this decision was made at the Council of Carthage, which occurred in 387.
Many people feel that it is of utmost importance to spread the Bible as cost-efficiently as possible. By forming a non-profit organization, called a Bible society, many groups are able to attain this goal and distribute the Scripture to many people who cold not afford to purchase one. Bible society editions usually do not contain any notes, but simply the words of the Scripture. Protestants tend to support Bible societies, as they believe that through reading of the Scripture, people can come to know Christ as their Savior. This is from the verse in Romans that says "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God."
Today, many churches take staunch stands as to which Bible version they use in their church. All of the English translations of the Bible are exactly that-translations. They do not contain any of the original words, since the original Scriptures were written in Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic. However, there are translations that did what they could to stay true to the meaning of the original texts. These are the best translations. While paraphrased translations have their place in Bible study and discussion, it is important to use the direct translations when formulating doctrines.
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