Do Catholics use the same Bible?

Question

Do Catholics use the same Bible as Christians do?
Don't they believe basically the same things?
I'm going to be visiting a Catholic friend, so if you could fill me in on the basics, I'd appreciate it. I know a little about Catholicism, but I'm Christian.

Thank you very much! Have a great Christmas, everyone!

Answer 1

Hi,

Catholic Christians do use the same New Testament book (as well as the Orthodox) and Protestants.

There are several Old testament books that are kept by the Catholics in the old testaments. Here is the drift:in a nutshell:

What is the difference between Protestant and Catholic Bibles?

At the time the Christian Bible was being formed, a Greek translation of Jewish Scripture, the Septuagint, was in common use and Christians adopted it as the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. However, around 100 A.D., Jewish rabbis revised their Scripture and established an official canon of Judaism which excluded some portions of the Greek Septuagint. The material excluded was a group of 15 late Jewish books, written during the period 170 B.C. to 70 A.D., that were not found in Hebrew versions of the Jewish Scripture. Christians did not follow the revisions of Judaism and continued to use the text of the Septuagint.

Protestant reformers in the 1500s decided to follow the official canon of Judaism for the Old Testament rather than the Septuagint, and the excluded material was placed in a separate section of the Bible called the Apocrypha. Protestant Bibles included the Apocrypha until the mid 1800s, but it was eventually dropped from most Protestant editions.

The Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches continue to base their Old Testament on the Septuagint. The result is that these versions of the the Bible have more Old Testament books than Protestant versions. Catholic Old Testaments include 1st and 2nd Maccabees, Baruch, Tobit, Judith, The Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach (Ecclesiasticus), additions to Esther, and Susanna and Bel and the Dragon which are included in Daniel. Orthodox Old Testaments include these plus 1st and 2nd Esdras, Prayer of Manasseh, Psalm 151 and 3rd Maccabees.

The Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox New Testaments are identical.

Mike K

Answer 2

The New Testament canon of the Catholic Bible and the Protestant Bible are the same with 27 Books.

The difference in the Old Testaments actually goes back to the time before and during Christ’s life. At this time, there was no official Jewish canon of scripture.

The Jews in Egypt translated their choices of the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek in the second century before Christ. This translation of 46 books, called the Septuagint, had wide use in the Roman world because most Jews lived far from Palestine in Greek cities. Many of these Jews spoke only Greek.

The early Christian Church was born into this world. The Church, with its bilingual Jews and more and more Greek-speaking Gentiles, used the books of the Septuagint as its Bible. Remember the early Christians were just writing the documents what would become the New Testament.

After the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, with increasing persecution from the Romans and competition from the fledgling Christian Church, the Jewish leaders came together and declared its official canon of Scripture, eliminating seven books from the Septuagint.

The books removed were Tobit, Judith, 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees, Wisdom (of Solomon), Sirach, and Baruch. Parts of existing books were also removed including Psalm 151 (from Psalms), parts of the Book of Esther, Susanna (from Daniel as chapter 13), and Bel and the Dragon (from Daniel as chapter 14).

The Christian Church did not follow suit but kept all the books in the Septuagint. 46 + 27 = 73 Books total.

1500 years later, Protestants decided to keep the Catholic New Testament but change its Old Testament from the Catholic canon to the Jewish canon.

The books that were removed supported such things as
+ Prayers for the dead (Tobit 12:12; 2 Maccabees 12:39-45)
+ Purgatory (Wisdom 3:1-7)
+ Intercession of saints in heaven (2 Maccabees 15:14)
+ Intercession of angels (Tobit 12:12-15)

The books they dropped are sometimes called the Apocrypha.

Here is a Catholic Bible website: http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/bible/

With love in Christ.

Answer 3

NO. There is a difference in the bibles we use.

There is a Catholic Version of the Bible. It says Catholic Version on the Bible.

If you open the first few pages of the Catholic bible where the credits are there is a letter page where there is seal & a signature from the Vatican saying it is an official Catholic Bible. We use the New American Catholic one because its more to our language used in the USA. Its the interpretation/language used to translate its scriptures to us so that we can understand it better.

Answer 4

Gideon and King James Bibles are considered incorrect for Catholics. Douay Confraternity versions are the accepted norm. The Catholic Bible must bear the 'nihil obstat' and 'imprimatur' on the inside title page to be considered correct for teaching the Bible to Catholics
Consulting a non-Catholic Bible is only appropriate if no other Bible can be obtained, and a well-versed Catholic is aware of all the differences.

Answer 5

There's nothing weird or out of place that you have to worry about. She's just as human and Christian as you. Just enjoy your visit. Merry Christmas!

Answer 6

Yes they do. The only difference is their beliefs in the bible, but they still share the same Biblical writing.

Answer 7

No.Different texts were used to translate theirs.Some things yes.But many unbiblical doctrines that you will find strange.