Opening the Scriptures: Q & R Episode

Fr. Matt Rossi and Fr. Cody Turner sit down to work through the questions you submitted about the Bible. 

Questions fall into two main categories:

I. General quesiotns about reading Bible and what it is

II. Questions about the Old Testament specifically

I. General questions about the Bible

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Q1: On Canonization: We believe that the Word of God is true, but we struggle sometimes with who decided which 66 books are the Word of God. Why and how do we trust the people who canonized (or decided which books should be in the Bible), and why do we say that these books are true but the other books not included in the Bible are not?

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Q2: Why is the Bible so difficult to understand?

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Q3: On Translation: If none of the Bible is written in English, but our Bibles are English Bibles, how can we know that what we’re reading in English isn’t missing something really significant in translation, or that our inability to read the original texts means we aren’t accessing the Bible in its purest form?

II. Questions about the Old Testament 

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Q4: How do you explain the difference between the violent, vengeful God of the Old Testament and the loving, accepting, and healing Jesus (and therefore God) of the New Testament?

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Q5: Why Deuteronomy?

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Q6: Is the story of Jonah literal in the way it’s told, or is it a fantastical comedy of a more realistic story about Jonah avoiding God’s to Ninevah? 

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Q7: Was there a creation before Genesis 1 opens up? The Holy Spirit was hovering over the waters, but it describes the layout of the creation of the earth, animals, etc.

Final General Questions

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Q8: Why can’t we all somewhat agree to a *few* interpretations of the Bible?

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Q9: If you’ve never read the Bible all the way through, where is the best place to start?