During my freshman year in college at a secular university, there was a requirement to take either an introductory class on the Bible or a general religion course.\u00a0 I opted for the second choice.\u00a0 My professor was a German Catholic who specialized in Islam.\u00a0 An assignment early in the semester was to read the Book of Genesis in order to discuss the similarities between the stories within it and various origin stories of ancient Mesopotamian civilizations.\u00a0 As I opened the Bible I had purchased for the course, I began to read, \u201cIn the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth \u2013 and the earth was without form or shape, with darkness over the abyss and a mighty wind sweeping over the waters \u2013 then God said: let there be light, and there was light.\u201d<\/p>\n
I had been reading many books for various classes, but a thought came into my mind as I read Genesis.\u00a0 \u201cThis is not just another book to study; this is what I believe.\u00a0 This book is different from all other books.\u201d\u00a0 This simple yet profound thought deepened as I read books by the Jewish author Chaim Potok \u2013 I had been on a kick to read all of his novels after reading My Name is Asher Lev in high school.\u00a0 I read In the Beginning where a young, bright Polish young man from a devout Jewish family discovers Biblical scholarship which at times was in disagreement with what he learned from his father and his yeshivah.\u00a0 As an adult, David resolved his inner conflicts between faith and academia to became a successful Biblical scholar while retaining his faith.<\/p>\n
The Bible certainly is different.\u00a0 We believe God has inspired men throughout the centuries to write this collection of books which the Church has recognized as containing everything that is necessary for our salvation.\u00a0 To read the Bible is not just to read another book.\u00a0 Written by a variety of authors in different genres and throughout the centuries, the Bible remains ever living and ever pertinent because it is the living Word of God.<\/p>\n
Before the 1960s, Catholics were cautioned in regards to reading the Bible on their own; mostly because it requires adequate preparation to properly understand it.\u00a0 Since the 1960s, the Church has actively promoted the personal study and reading of Scripture.\u00a0 Beyond that, the readings proclaimed at Sunday Mass were greatly expanded with a new three-year-cycle lectionary compared to the one-year-cycle that existed before.\u00a0 If a Catholic attends Mass every Sunday for three years straight, he or she will hear proclaimed 40.9% of the New Testament.\u00a0 If that individual also attends daily Mass and Feast Days in addition to Sunday Mass, he or she will have heard 71.5% of the New Testament.\u00a0 This is compared to 3.7% and 13.5% respectively before the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council.<\/p>\n
God speaks to us through his Sacred Word \u2013 he confirms our desires, consoles us at the right time, and convicts us so we may repent.\u00a0 Saint Augustine famously heard children chant, \u201cTake up and read,\u201d which he interpreted as picking up the Bible.\u00a0 He took it, opened it and read, \u201clet us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy.\u00a0 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 The passage of Saint Paul convicted Augustine of his past disordered life, and led to a conversion.\u00a0 It confirmed his desire to follow God, and gave him the strength to make the necessary change.<\/p>\n
The Bible is not just another historical and spiritual book.\u00a0 Inspired by God and written by men, it contains all that we need to achieve salvation.\u00a0 We revere it because we recognize that God manifests Himself through its contents, guiding us personally toward greater fulfillment and joy.\u00a0 It is not just another book to study; it is what we believe.<\/p>\n
Picture taken from the public domain.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
During my freshman year in college at a secular university, there was a requirement to take either an introductory class on the Bible or a general religion course.\u00a0 I opted for the second choice.\u00a0 My professor was a German Catholic who specialized in Islam.\u00a0 An assignment early in the semester was to read the Book […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2533,"featured_media":6814,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[217],"tags":[1964,208,2059,137,2062],"class_list":["post-6808","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-bible","tag-catholic-church","tag-inspired","tag-scripture","tag-word-of-god"],"yoast_head":"\n