"And there are also many other things which Jesus did, and which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written." (John 21:25, KJV)

"hold fast to the traditions you received from us, either by our word or by letter." (2 Thessalonians 2:15, KJV)

And in Luke 10:16 where Jesus says "He who hears you, hears me." (KJV)

"I have much to write to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete." (2 John 1:12, NIV)

"I had many things to write, but I will not with ink and pen write unto thee: But I trust I shall shortly see thee, and we shall speak face to face." (3 John 13-14, KJV)

These last two passages can be especially appreciated if you remember that family members communicate best by talking to each other rather than passing notes back and forth. By the New Covenant we were all made members of God's family (as opposed to belonging to His book-of-the-month club). The bare essentials to receive God's favor are contained in the Bible but this doesn't mean that God, in His loving generosity, has not provided abundantly far more for those who will avail themselves of it. Nor does it mean that all of us can read it to ourselves and understand the words contained in the Bible, as Acts 8:30-31 so clearly enumerates in the story about the Ethiopian eunuch. Remember that 2 Timothy 3:16 says that all scripture is useful; it doesn't say or even imply that it is the exclusive source.

The point is that:

1. The Bible, Word of God that it is, doesn't claim to be the sole source of information but instead documents certain happenings and the establishment of a teaching authority within His Church; and
2. Dependence upon the Bible as the sole authority in essence says that Jesus' word is not to be trusted when Jesus says that He will be with His Church (as it baptizes and teaches) until the end of time (Matthew 28:20).

The Bible is not a catechism or theological treatise where one can go for quick easy answers. It's too bad that it isn't, but wishing it was (or pretending that it is) doesn't make it so. Attempting to use the Bible in this manner is to misuse Holy Scripture. The truth is there, but we must know how to get at it as, in many cases, it is not presented in a straightforward manner readily understandable to the 20th Century Christian. This is because the sacred writers depended heavily upon 1st century (and earlier) Jewish traditions, customs, and beliefs which are not necessarily recorded in the Bible. It is important that we also consult the other historical writings to find, and therefore learn, how the writings (now part of Holy Scripture but only important writings at that time) were understood and taught by those to whom the writings were addressed.

"If it isn't in the Bible, I don't believe it" may seem reasonable to the one saying it, but it is a self-contradicting statement because nowhere in the Bible does it say that the Bible is the exclusive authority. Thus, the person saying this believes something which is not in the Bible. In fact, the Bible says that the Church is the authority: "the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of truth." (1 Timothy 3:15, NAB)

Recommended reading:
Catechism of the Catholic Church, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1994, paragraphs 74-87
Shea, Mark P., By What Authority?, Our Sunday Visitor, Huntington, IN 46750, 1996
Currie, David B., Born Fundamentalist, Born Again Catholic, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA, 1996, pages 51-62
Hardon, John A., S.J., The Catholic Catechism, Doubleday, New York, NY, 1981, pages 41-52
Tradition, Bible, or both?, A Catholic Answers Tract, P.O. Box 17490, San Diego, CA 92177
What's Your Authority for That?, A Catholic Answers Tract, P.O. Box 17490, San Diego, CA 92177
McGuinness, Msgr. Richard M. & Quill, Rev. John A., Who Needs The Church? I Have a Bible, A Defending the Faith Tract, World Apostolate of Fatima, Washington, NJ 07882, 1992
Nunez, Luis S., "St. Paul's Scriptural Arguments for Tradition", The Catholic Answer, Volume 10/Number 3, July/August 1996, pages 32-35
"Not by Scripture Alone", This Rock, The Magazine of Catholic Apologetics and Evangelization, November 1996, pages 36-38

Q. Please explain why when on the cross and nearing death, Jesus said "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46)

Jesus, being God, could not have forsaken himself, nor is it possible for His human and divine natures to be separated with one talking to the other, so this is not a lament. The Jews of Jesus' time, not having bound copies of the Old Testament to carry around with them, studied the Word of God and committed it to memory. The devout Jew would pray the Psalms and other Scriptures from memory as he worked and traveled. The sacred writers of the New Testament knew that if they included a key phrase from a Psalm or other sacred writing, the entire context would be brought to the mind of the listener (reader). If I were to say "I pledge allegiance to the flag," any American hearer would immediately recall the rest of the pledge. "My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me?" are the opening words of Psalm 22 and Jesus, in praying this particular Psalm, was calling to the minds of all who heard Him the context of this Psalm; which foretold, in graphic detail, all that was happening to Him. It was a final reminder that He was the promised Messiah.

Recommended reading:
Psalm 22

Q. A Protestant man once asked me why we did not read the Protestant Bible.
Q. Is the Catholic Bible the only real Bible?

The primary reason that Catholics don't read the Protestant Bible is that the Protestant Bible is incomplete. It has left out seven books of the Old Testament, along with parts of two others. The missing books are Judith, Tobit, 1 & 2 Maccabees, Wisdom, Sirach, and Baruch. Parts of Daniel and Esther have also been omitted. The reasons for the differences in the number of books in the Old Testament go back to around the year A.D. 90, even though there were no Protestants until 1517. Around the year A.D. 90 (some 60 years after Jesus' death and resurrection and 20 years after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem), a group of Pharisees decided that the Hebrew canon of Scripture would not contain the above-mentioned works because they did not meet certain criteria. These criteria seem to have been: (a) Must have originally been written in Hebrew, (b) Must have their original composition dated prior to about 400 B.C., (c) Must be of good moral character. The Scriptures in common use in Palestine from about 200 years before the time of Jesus up until that time were a Greek version (called Septuagint) containing all the books, including those which did not meet this criteria. The Septuagint was used by the Apostles and continued to be used by the Christian Church after the declaration of the Hebrew canon. At the time of the Protestant Reformation, the reformers decided to use the Hebrew canon for a variety of reasons, and the other books were omitted. The Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition (commonly called the Ignatius Bible), is an excellent Protestant translation which has the omitted books restored and is approved for Catholic use.

Recommended reading:
Graham, Right Rev. Henry G., Where We Got The Bible, TAN Books & Publishers, Rockford, IL 61105, 1977
Keating, Karl, Catholicism and Fundamentalism, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA, 1988, pages 121-133

Q. Did Jesus drink wine, or was it grape juice?

Jesus drank wine. That said, let's look at the historical circumstances. Grapes are harvested in the fall, and Passover (the time of the Last Supper) is in the spring. Without refrigeration, grapes (and grape juice) do not keep very well. Within a few days after the harvest, grapes begin to ferment and/or rot. The only methods of preservation available to the 1st century citizen were to extract the juice and let it ferment under somewhat controlled conditions (this is called wine making) or to dry the grapes which resulted in raisins. At the Last Supper Jesus said "I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine" (Matthew 26:29, KJV). In those days they made wine from a number of different fruits but the wine of the grape, the "fruit of the vine," was alone used at Passover. Since this was spring, and the Passover liturgy called for all participants to drink four cups of wine, grape juice preserved by fermentation (wine) was most certainly used or at least one of the Gospel writers would have remarked about the departure from the natural; as they did so often about all His other miracles. The prescriptions for celebrating the Passover called for the cups of wine to be diluted with water. This was necessary because the fermentation process made it rather strong and also because the vessels they kept the wine in were somewhat porous and the wine tended to become thick with age as moisture escaped. This is the historical background behind why the priest adds a drop of water to the chalice during the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Wine not well protected from the air while it was stored became sour wine (vinegar).

Q. Why do we repeat prayers when in the Bible it says not to be repetitive?
Q. Isn't it a sin to repeat the same memorized prayers such as the Hail Mary and the Rosary?

The verse being referred to here is Matthew 6:7:

"But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathens do: for they think they shall be heard for their much speaking." (KJV)

To best understand what is being said here, we must first determine what is meant by "vain." The dictionary says that vain means fruitless, worthless, conceited, or irreverent. The Hail Mary and the Rosary are none of these; we are praying for God's mercy now, since we acknowledge that we are sinners; and at the time of our death, when we will be most in need of God's mercy. How did the heathens pray? Their gods had many different names and the pagans weren't certain to which name their gods were responding on any given day, so they recited a litany of all the names to be sure that they got their god's attention--this is vain repetition. God hears us every time we pray.

To fully understand the context of Matthew 6:7, we must look at Matthew 6:5:

"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men." (NIV)

Jesus was talking about those who pray in a manner designed to draw attention to themselves, not about sincere people who engage in repetitive prayer.

In the parable of the persistent widow (Luke 18:1-8) Jesus told His disciples that they should always pray and not give up. We all repeat our prayers, sometimes a few seconds apart, and sometimes weeks apart. There is nothing in Holy Scripture that says we should change our words or thoughts each time we pray. In the parable, the persistent widow was praised by Jesus for her dogged repetition of her prayer requests. God in heaven is continually praised with the repetition of words, as we see by the following:

"Day and night they never stop saying: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.'" (Revelation 4:8, NIV)

Finally, Jesus Himself repeated the same prayer three times during His agony in the garden (Matthew 26:39, 42, 44) when He asked that the cup pass from Him. There is a big difference between vain repetition and sincere repetition of prayer.

Recommended reading:
Rumble, Rev. Dr. Leslie & Carty, Rev. Charles Mortimer, Radio Replies, First Volume, TAN Books & Publishers, Rockford, IL 61105, 1979, paragraphs 1423-1425

Q. What about nuns? They are nowhere in the Bible.

Neither are airplanes, telephones, or Protestants. Airplanes, telephones and Protestants are recent developments but the concept of consecrated virginity is shown in 1 Corinthians 7:34.

"An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord's affairs; Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world--how she can please her husband." (NIV)

Actually, the consecrated life has been part of the true religion since before the time of Christ. In the Old Testament there was an entire order of men and women, known as "Nazarites" (consecrated ones), who were essentially monks and nuns. They took vows of self-denial and had a distinctive appearance.

St. Paul set up an order of widows living the consecrated life after the deaths of their husbands.

"Give proper recognition to those widows who are really in need. But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God. The widow who is really in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day to pray and to ask God for help. But the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives. Give the people these instructions, too, so that no one may be open to blame. If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. No widow may be put on the list of widows unless she is over sixty, has been faithful to her husband, and is well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of the saints, helping those in trouble and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds. As for younger widows, do not put them on such a list for when their sensual desires overcome their dedication to Christ, they want to marry. Thus they bring judgement on themselves, because they have broken their first pledge." (1 Timothy 5:3-12 NIV)

Recommended reading:
Catechism of the Catholic Church, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1994, paragraphs 1618-1620
"Monks and nuns", This Rock, The Magazine of Catholic Apologetics and Evangelization, March 1996, pages 43-45
Rumble, Rev. Dr. Leslie & Carty, Rev. Charles Mortimer, Radio Replies, First Volume, TAN Books & Publishers, Rockford, IL 61105, 1979, paragraphs 1216-1258

Q. Evolution or creation: Which is right and why?
Q. Where did Cain and Abel go to meet other people, and where did these other people come from?
Q. How literally should the Bible be interpreted?

God is the divine author of Sacred Scripture. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit human authors composed the sacred books; making full use of their own faculties and powers to convey whatever God wanted written, and no more. The books of the Bible firmly, faithfully, and without error teach that truth which God, for the sake of our salvation, wished to see written down.

The Bible can be very difficult to understand if we read it like a novel. It is not a continuous narrative, a science book, nor is it a comprehensive history of the world. The Bible does not tell us how God did what He did, but it does tell us why He did it. The creation accounts in Genesis are a good example. There is not enough information contained in these first two chapters to determine how God made the world and populated it, or even when He started and how long it took. Did God create everything just as it looks today or did changes take place after they were first created? We don't know because that was not the reason these chapters were written. These chapters were written to show that God was the origin of everything and that without God, nothing could or would exist. In 1950 Pope Pius XII allowed that evolution was a serious theory and could be studied and promoted without Catholic opposition; provided it was not presented as a certainty and that it was given in terms compatible with the faith.

In 1996, Pope John Paul II stated that evolution should be recognized as "more than a hypothesis." This doesn't mean that evolution is a fact, just that it is a theory which has some scientific evidence to support it and as such it is to be studied seriously. As Catholics, we are free to believe either that God created it as we see it, or that things evolved; neither belief is a matter of faith. However, we are required to believe that God was the origin of it all because of His infinite love, that we have all descended from the one pair of first parents, and that the soul is just as God breathed it into mankind; the soul did not evolve.

The story of Cain and Abel is not about how the human race was propagated; it is about the effect of original sin and the fact that this effect was carried on to subsequent generations.

To interpret the Bible correctly we must be aware of what the human authors wanted to affirm and what God wanted to tell us in their words. To do this we must be aware, among other things, of the conditions of the author's time and culture as well as the literary styles and methods of speaking which were then current. Because it is inspired writing, we must read and interpret the Bible in the light of the same Holy Spirit who inspired it. Finally, because Jesus entrusted His people to His Church and not to a library of books, we must interpret the Bible within the living Tradition of that Church; if an interpretation is not in accordance with the teaching of the Catholic Church, the interpretation is in error and must be discarded.

All this may sound discouraging, but rest assured that reading the Bible can be refreshing and enjoyable. Many insights can be gained into what God wants from us and how He works in us. There are many good books available to help us understand the Bible better and there are Catholic Bible studies available. All it takes is a commitment of time.

Recommended reading:
Catechism of the Catholic Church, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1994, paragraphs 101-119, 337-349
Kreeft, Peter, You Can Understand The Old Testament; A Book-by-Book Guide for Catholics, Servant Publications, Ann Arbor, MI, 1990
Kreeft, Peter, Reading And Praying The New Testament; A Book-by-Book Guide for Catholics, Servant Publications, Ann Arbor, MI, 1992
Most, Fr. William G., Free From All Error, Prow Books/Franciscian Marytown Press, Libertyville, IL, 1985
Laux, Fr. John, Introduction To The Bible, TAN Books & Publishers, Rockford, IL 61105, 1990
Fuentes, Antonio, A Guide To The Bible, Four Courts Press, Dublin/Lumen Christi Press, Houston, TX, 1987

Q. Please explain the doctrine of predestination.

The doctrine of predestination is: "God, by His eternal resolve of will, has predestined certain men to eternal blessedness." This doctrine is based on Romans 8:29-30.

"For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called, those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified." (NIV)

This doesn't mean that those so favored cannot cast aside their salvation if they so will, and those not so favored cannot still be saved. God desires the salvation of all mankind. This is shown in the beginning of Genesis where the man and the woman are in the garden, able to speak to God face-to-face. This is the destiny which God wants for us all. Like our first parents, we also have a free will to choose to obey Him or not. God doesn't interfere with that choice. This is why St. Paul tells us in Philippians 2:12: "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." (KJV) God has given each of us a free will, and He will do nothing to interfere with it.

The Catholic teaching on predestination is in direct contrast to the teaching of Protestant reformer John Calvin which is described in his Institutes of the Christian Religion (1536):

"God's eternal decree, by which he compacted with himself what he wills to become of each man. Eternal life is foreordained for some, eternal damnation for others. Therefore, as any man has been created to one or the other of these ends, we speak of him as predestined to life or to death."

In a nutshell, the Catholic teaching is that we all have a free will and it is our use of this will that determines our salvation or damnation. Since God knows everything, he knows how we will turn out since He can read the last page in our book of life. God does not predestine certain individuals; the individuals, by their choices in life, make the determination.

Recommended reading:
Meagher, Paul K. OP, O'Brien, Thomas C. & Aherne, Sister Consuelo M. SSJ, Encyclopedic Dictionary Of Religion, Corpus Publications, Washington, D.C., 1979, pages 2862-2865

Q. Does God lead us into temptation (Matthew 6:13)?

The Lord's Prayer has been recited with this phrasing by Catholics since the 16th century. The translation we still use today was made by Henry VIII of England and imposed on all the churches in England by him. Even after Henry died and the troubles of the Reformation eased, Catholics have continued using his translation.

St. Matthew no doubt agrees with James:

"When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.' For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone." (James 1:13, NIV)

and with Paul that God can give an escape from temptation.

"God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." (1 Corinthians 10:13, NIV)

God does not "lead" us into temptation. Henry did an accurate literal translation of the Greek and Latin forms but it is difficult to translate from one language to another and retain the entire sense of what is being said. The Greek verb which was translated as "lead" can also be translated so that the passage reads "do not allow us to enter into temptation" or "do not let us yield to temptation." We have a free will and are faced with choices. We are asking for guidance in making the correct decisions.

Recommended reading:
Catechism of the Catholic Church, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1994, paragraphs 2846-2849, 2863

Q. Is Mary the woman in the Book of Revelation?

It is assumed that you are referring to Revelation 12:1-5. Let's look at the passage in question:

"And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne." (Revelation 12:1-5, KJV)

Since the earliest times of the Church, commentators have identified the woman with the ancient people of Israel, or the Church of Jesus the Christ, or with the Blessed Virgin Mary. The text supports all three interpretations and none is a perfect fit. The woman can represent the people of Israel because it is from that people that the Messiah comes. Isaiah 26:17 compares Israel to "a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, and is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs" (KJV). Using this same verse, the woman can represent the Church of Jesus the Christ because it is this people who are the people of God, the true Israel of the Old and New Testaments; primitive Christian writings made no clear distinction between Israel and the Church. Finally, the woman can represent the Blessed Virgin Mary because it is she who truly and historically gave birth to Jesus.

If I had to pick only one of the three interpretations, I would pick Mary for the following reasons: All commentators agree that Satan is represented by the dragon and the child which is born is Jesus the Messiah. If each of these two figures represent a single entity, why would the third figure, the woman, represent a people rather than a single being as well? The woman's crown represents the people of God; the 12 tribes of Israel, the 12 patriarchs, and the 12 Apostles. She is crowned because she is the queen of heaven. The fact that the woman has a head and feet while in heaven points to a bodily assumption. The woman is clothed in the sun because it is the splendor of God's glory and the moon is at her feet because the brightness of the moon is changeable and is overshadowed by the glory.

Recommended reading:
The Navarre Bible, Revelation, Four Courts Press, Dublin, Ireland, 1992, pages 96-99
Brown, R. E., Fitzmyer, J. A., & Murphy, R. E., The Jerome Biblical Commentary, Volume II, Prentice-Hall Inc., Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1968, pages 482-483