Commentary on Catechism of the Catholic Church The Canon of Scripture
The Church discerned Sacred Scripture by the apostolic Tradition, the list is called the canon of Scripture. There are 46 books in the Old Testament, and 27 books for the New. It is as follows, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Tobit, Judith, Esther, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiaster, the Song of Songs, the Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Baruch, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, the Acts of the Apostles, Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1 and 2 Peter, 1, 2, and 3 John, Jude, and finally Revelation.
The Old Testament is
part of Sacred Scripture as much as the New Testament is. It is equally
divinely inspired and inerrant. The Old Covenant has never been revoked,
instead it is continued in the New Covenant expressed in the New Testament.
There is great wisdom, teachings on God and from God, and prayers written down
in the Old Testament. The New Testament contains as its central object, Jesus
Christ, His life, His teachings, and the beginning of His Church under the
guidance of the Holy Spirit.
The Gospels are the heart
of all Scriptures because they are the principal source for the life and
teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ. There are 3 stages in the formation of the
Gospels, first the life and teaching of Christ, then the oral tradition, and
finally the written Gospels. The Gospels hold a special place in the Church as
evident in the Liturgy and the attraction it exercises on the saints. As
mentioned in the Catechism by the example of St. Caesaria the Younger and St.
Therese of Lisieux.
The Old and New
Testaments are intrinsically united. Through typology we discover how Christ
fulfills the prefigurations of the Old Covenant. However, we must not forget
that aside from being prefigurations of Christ, the Old Testament events and
realities possess their own value as Revelation from God. Christ Himself affirms
the Old Testament. We must read the New Testament and the Old Testament in light
of each other. As a saying goes, the New is hidden in the Old and the Old is
unveiled in the New.
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