“Would That All Were Prophets!”
POPE John Paul II addressed the following message to a gathering of Bible-loving Catholics: “I send cordial greetings to those who are participating in the General Assembly of the World Catholic Federation for the Biblical Apostolate and I assure them of my spiritual closeness. I am happy to be informed that this assembly has found inspiration for its theme in the words of Moses, ‘Would that all were prophets’ (Num 11:29), and that it has applied this expression to the tasks that it will undertake.”—L’Osservatore Romano, August 24, 1984.
A Catholic Bible Education Work
The Third General Assembly of the World Catholic Federation for the Biblical Apostolate was held in Bangalore, India, in August 1984. Delegates from 53 countries convened. The Federation was founded in Rome in 1969. That was three years after Pope Paul VI had commissioned a German cardinal in Rome to study the needs of the Catholic Church in matters pertaining to the Bible. Presently, Msgr. Ablondi, bishop of Leghorn, Italy, is president.
Exhorting the Federation to review its goals, Pope John Paul said in his message: “The commitment of the Federation is one of helping Catholics all over the world to have easy access to the Word of God. . . . Indeed all activity and all witness in the Church should flow from the living Word . . . The ‘prophetic office’ of the People of God must be consciously exercised as a true service of the Word. . . . By participation in the work of translation, publication and the diffusion of the Word, one is engaged in satisfying the needs of those who hunger and thirst for the Word of God (cf. Amos 8:11). This applies as well to the work of forming those who will one day dedicate themselves to teaching and preaching Holy Scripture.”
In line with its theme, in its final declaration this Catholic Biblical assembly stated: “The Federation is aware that if all the People of God are to play their prophetic part, they must have access to the Word of God (their personal copy of the Bible in their own language). They have the right to be trained in the knowledge of Scripture . . . This Assembly reaffirms that the Church’s work of evangelization is centered on the Bible.”
An Impossible Situation
Catholics, therefore, are now encouraged not only to read the Bible but to take an active part in an evangelization work centered on the Bible. This is commendable. But it places them in an impossible situation.
For one thing, the Catholic Church teaches that tradition takes precedence over the Bible. How can a Catholic be expected to become a zealous teacher of the Bible and at the same time remain faithful to his church? For instance, he will read in the Bible: “The soul that sins shall die.” (Ezekiel 18:4, 20, Revised Standard Version, Catholic edition; compare Douay Version.) But his church teaches that the soul is immortal and that all souls are in hell, limbo, purgatory, or heaven. What is he to teach—Catholic dogma or the Bible?
Furthermore, the Catholic Church approves the publishing of Bible editions containing notes and comments that can only undermine the reader’s confidence in the Bible as being the inspired Word of God. For example, in its introduction, “How to Read Your Bible,” The New American Bible, containing a prefatory blessing by Pope Paul VI, states: “How does one know whether one deals with history or some form of figurative speech? . . . Most scientists hold that the human species has developed somehow from lower kinds of life. This knowledge helped Christians to rethink the ‘how’ of God’s creative activity and to understand that Genesis 2 and 3 is not a lesson in Anthropology, but an allegory, teaching us the lesson that sin is the root of all evil.”
Thus, before they even reach the first pages of Genesis, readers of this Catholic Bible are told that they will not be reading history but merely an allegory. This is tantamount to saying that Jesus used an allegory as the foundation for Christian monogamy when he used the example of Adam and Eve. (Matthew 19:3-9; Genesis 1:27; 2:24) Also, if mankind did not have one common ancestor, the fundamental Christian doctrine of Christ’s ransom sacrifice falls.—Matthew 20:28; Romans 5:12, 17-19; 1 Corinthians 15:45.
This same Catholic Bible goes so far as to cast doubt on the authenticity of Jesus’ words as recorded in the Bible. Under “How to Read Your Bible,” it says: “We must keep in mind that the Gospel writers did not intend to write history in the scientific sense . . . Was Jesus involved in these conversations? Did He answer exactly as related in the Bible? It is not certain.”
How can sincere Catholics be expected to read the Bible with faith and “dedicate themselves to teaching and preaching Holy Scripture” to others when their church approves the publication of such faith-destroying statements? And similar undermining comments are to be found in The Jerusalem Bible, and in other Catholic Bibles and encyclopedias. In all fairness it must be added that many Protestant Bible commentaries are just as destructive of faith in the Bible.
All True Christians ARE Prophets
The New American Bible correctly states: “Prophet means ‘one who speaks for another,’ especially for God. It does not necessarily mean that he predicts the future!” Pope John Paul II said: “The ‘prophetic office’ of the People of God must be consciously exercised as a true service of the Word.” But as we have seen, it is impossible for a Catholic to be a true prophet, or witness, for God’s Word, the Bible, without betraying the doctrine of the Catholic Church, based mainly on tradition.
In its final declaration, the World Catholic Federation for the Biblical Apostolate expressed the need for Bible education, particularly among the young and the poor, for inexpensive Bibles and Bible education literature, for Bible translations and Bible translators, and for full-time workers. It further stated that all Christians should preach and teach, live by the Bible, and “discern the signs of the times.”
You will be interested to learn that God has on earth a people, all of whom are prophets, or witnesses for God. In fact, they are known throughout the world as Jehovah’s Witnesses. Out of love for God and his Word, they are carrying on a universal Bible educational work among old and young, rich and poor. They have hundreds of thousands of full-time voluntary workers, some of whom translate and print Bibles and Bible educational literature that is distributed inexpensively, or even free of charge. They are assisted by millions of part-time workers. Any of these will be happy to help you “discern the signs of the times” and embrace the wonderful hope contained in God’s Word, the Bible.
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“The Gospel writers did not intend to write history,” claims The New American Bible
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True Christians are prophets in that they teach others God’s Word
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