What are Catholics taught about the Bible?

Question

What do Catholics believe about the Bible? How do they see it? The inerrant word of God? Factual? History? Moral guidelines?To be taken literally or to be taken figuratively?
I'm just curious. I have Catholic cousins...

Answer 1

They are taught little about the bible. All teaching has to come through the Vatican who put their own spin on things.

Answer 2

To a Catholic, the bible is the word of God and it is inspired books which tells about the creation till about 80AD! The Catholics also know that the bible is a compilation of books including the Deutorocanonicle books by the canon law! They know that is was compiled in about 300AD and before that there was the sacred oral tradition. Before the bible was compiled, the Catholic( early Christian), followed the sacred oral traditions and early church fathers teachings! The bible is the inerrant word of God! Since the compilation of the bible, no words added or taken out of the bible. To a Catholic, the bible is not God but word of God. They do not worship the bible as an idol!!! They venerate it!!!

Answer 3

In the Field of CHRIST, there are those called Wheat, who have a Catholic heart, and there are those called tares, whose hearts are devoid of the Catholic Faith. The latter are wolves in sheep's clothing, goats amidst the sheep, drwaing near to GOD at times with their mouths, but never near HIM in their hearts. These prey on the unformed, who have not begun as evil, but merely as yet to be educated. As a result, there are perfect Catholics, who consider the whole of Scripture wholly GOD's factual Word, though not the whole of the Word of the INFINITE GOD, and there are others intending, according to their knowledge, to be good Catholics, but who have been ill-informed along certain lines, and they have not the above-described view of the Bible, which is the Tradition of the Catholic Church from INCARNATE CHRIST on earth to the present in Communion with HIM in Heaven and on earth.

The Bible must be read passage by passage according to the intent. Some things are in deed written with some firgure traced out, and are literally read as such, though history is history, illustrated with Providential patterns, and figures traced out in certain passages do not depart from reality - otherwise we should expect to see a person against homosexuality using it only figuratively in a postive way here and there. But figures, just as the foreshadows of the New Covenant in the Old, must be consistent with the Economy of Providence implicit in all that is revealed as concrete fact.

Answer 4

Catholics believe that the Bible teaches truth about God but it is not historically factual at all times.

The Bible's primary purpose is to teach us the truth about God and His (or Her) love for us, not to teach facts about history or science.

All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that one who belongs to God may be competent, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

All Catholics are encouraged to read the Bible.

The Catholic Church teaches:

The Church forcefully and specifically exhorts all the Christian faithful to learn ‘the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ,' by frequent reading of the divine Scriptures. ‘Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.'

We also listen to the Word being proclaimed and explained in every Mass.

In every Sunday Mass there are at least four Bible readings
+ First Reading - usually from the Old Testament
+ A Psalm is prayed by all
+ Second Reading - usually from a New Testament Epistle
+ Gospel Reading
+ then the priest bring them all together and helps us apply them to our lives in the homily

For more information, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church, section 105 and following: http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt1sect1chpt2.htm

With love in Christ.

Answer 5

Word of God and we are encouraged to read it. It varies on some Catholics if they see it figuratively or literally.

Answer 6

definitely figuratively. Must be read considering the historical context of the world at the time it occurred. Inspired by God, written by humans. to be read prayerfully and openly to listen for the message God has for us today.

Answer 7

DOGMATIC CONSTITUTION
ON DIVINE REVELATION
DEI VERBUM
SOLEMNLY PROMULGATED
BY HIS HOLINESS
POPE PAUL VI
ON NOVEMBER 18, 1965

SACRED SCRIPTURE, ITS INSPIRATION AND DIVINE INTERPRETATION

11. Those divinely revealed realities which are contained and presented in Sacred Scripture have been committed to writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. For holy mother Church, relying on the belief of the Apostles (see John 20:31; 2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Peter 1:19-20, 3:15-16), holds that the books of both the Old and New Testaments in their entirety, with all their parts, are sacred and canonical because written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they have God as their author and have been handed on as such to the Church herself.(1) In composing the sacred books, God chose men and while employed by Him (2) they made use of their powers and abilities, so that with Him acting in them and through them, (3) they, as true authors, consigned to writing everything and only those things which He wanted. (4)

Therefore, since everything asserted by the inspired authors or sacred writers must be held to be asserted by the Holy Spirit, it follows that the books of Scripture must be acknowledged as teaching solidly, faithfully and without error that truth which God wanted put into sacred writings (5) for the sake of salvation. Therefore "all Scripture is divinely inspired and has its use for teaching the truth and refuting error, for reformation of manners and discipline in right living, so that the man who belongs to God may be efficient and equipped for good work of every kind" (2 Tim. 3:16-17, Greek text).

12. However, since God speaks in Sacred Scripture through men in human fashion, (6) the interpreter of Sacred Scripture, in order to see clearly what God wanted to communicate to us, should carefully investigate what meaning the sacred writers really intended, and what God wanted to manifest by means of their words.

To search out the intention of the sacred writers, attention should be given, among other things, to "literary forms." For truth is set forth and expressed differently in texts which are variously historical, prophetic, poetic, or of other forms of discourse. The interpreter must investigate what meaning the sacred writer intended to express and actually expressed in particular circumstances by using contemporary literary forms in accordance with the situation of his own time and culture. (7) For the correct understanding of what the sacred author wanted to assert, due attention must be paid to the customary and characteristic styles of feeling, speaking and narrating which prevailed at the time of the sacred writer, and to the patterns men normally employed at that period in their everyday dealings with one another. (8)

But, since Holy Scripture must be read and interpreted in the sacred spirit in which it was written, (9) no less serious attention must be given to the content and unity of the whole of Scripture if the meaning of the sacred texts is to be correctly worked out. The living tradition of the whole Church must be taken into account along with the harmony which exists between elements of the faith. It is the task of exegetes to work according to these rules toward a better understanding and explanation of the meaning of Sacred Scripture, so that through preparatory study the judgment of the Church may mature. For all of what has been said about the way of interpreting Scripture is subject finally to the judgment of the Church, which carries out the divine commission and ministry of guarding and interpreting the word of God. (10)

13. In Sacred Scripture, therefore, while the truth and holiness of God always remains intact, the marvelous "condescension" of eternal wisdom is clearly shown, "that we may learn the gentle kindness of God, which words cannot express, and how far He has gone in adapting His language with thoughtful concern for our weak human nature." (11) For the words of God, expressed in human language, have been made like human discourse, just as the word of the eternal Father, when He took to Himself the flesh of human weakness, was in every way made like men.

There's more.

Why not go directly to the source for the rest of your answer?

Here's the link to the Vatican, where the official document resides, that will provide all the information you need:

http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19651118_dei-verbum_en.html

Answer 8

Alot of it is ritualized gobbly goop.