Answers to 25 Questions on the History of New Testament which
completely refute the Protestants' "Bible Only" Theory.

ONE

Did Our Lord write any part of the New Testament or command His
Apostles to do so?
Our Lord Himself never wrote a line, nor is there any record that He ordered
His Apostles to write; He did command them to teach and to preach. Also
He to whom all power was given in Heaven and on earth (Matthew 28-18)
promised to give them the Holy Ghost (John 14-26) and to be with them
Himself till the end of the world. (Matthew 28-20).

Comment: If reading the Bible were a necessary means of salvation, Our
Lord would have made that statement and also provided the necessary
means for His followers.

TWO

How many of the Apostles or others actually wrote what is now in the New Testament?
A few of the Apostles wrote part of Our Lords teachings, as they themselves expressly stated; i.e., Peter, Paul, James, John, Jude, Matthew, also Saints
Mark and Luke. None of the others wrote anything, so far as is recorded.

Comment: If the Bible privately interpreted was to be a Divine rule of Faith,
the Apostles would have been derelict in their duty when instead, some of
them adopted preaching only.

THREE

Was it a teaching or a Bible-reading Church that Christ founded?
The Protestant Bible expressly states that Christ founded a teaching Church,
which existed before any of the New Testament books were written.
     Romans 10-17: So then faith cometh by Hearing and hearing by the word
of God.
     Matthew 28-19: Go ye therefore and Teach all nations, baptizing them in
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
     Mark 16-20: And they went forth, and Preached everywhere, the Lord
working with them, and confirming the word with signs following.
     Mark 16-15: And He said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and Preach
the gospel to every creature.

Comment: Thus falls the entire basis of the 'Bible-only theory.

FOUR

Was there any drastic difference between what Our Lord commanded the
Apostles to teach and what the New Testament contains?
Our Lord commanded His Apostles to teach all things whatsoever He had commanded; (Matthew 28-20); His Church must necessarily teach everything;
(John 14-26); however, the Protestant Bible itself teaches that the Bible does
not contain all of Our Lords doctrines:
     John 20-30: And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of His
disciples, which are not written in this book.
     John 21-25: And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the
which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself
could not contain the books that should be written.

Comment: How would it have been possible for second century Christians to
practice Our Lords religion, if private interpretation of an unavailable and only
partial account of Christs teaching were indispensable?

FIVE

Does the New Testament expressly refer to Christs "unwritten word"?
The New Testament itself teaches that it does not contain all that Our Lord
did or, consequently, all that He taught.
     John 20-30: And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of His
disciples, which are not written in this book.
     John 21-25: And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the
which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself
could not contain the books that should be written.

Comment: Since the Bible is incomplete, it needs something else to
supplement it; i.e., the spoken or historically recorded word which we call
Tradition.

SIX

What became of the unwritten truths which Our Lord and the Apostles taught?
The Church had carefully conserved this word of mouth teaching by historical
records called Tradition. Even the Protestant Bible teaches that many Christian
truths were to be handed down by word of mouth.
     2 Thessalonians 2-14: Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the
traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.
     2 Timothy 2-2: And the things that thou hast heard of me among many
witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach
others also.

Comment: Hence not only Scripture but other sources of information must be consulted to get the whole of Christs teaching. Religions founded on the Bible
only are therefore necessarily incomplete.

SEVEN

Between what years were the first and last books of the New Testament
written?
The first book, Saint Matthews Gospel, was not written until about ten years
after Our Lords Ascension. Saint Johns fourth gospel and Apocalypse or
Book of Revelations were not written until about 100 A.D.

Comment: Imagine how the present-day privately interpreted 'Bible-only theory
would have appeared at a time when the books of the New Testament were not
only unavailable, but most of them had not yet been written.

EIGHT

When was the New Testament placed under one cover?
In 397 A.D. by the Council of Carthage, from which it follows that non-Catholics
have derived their New Testament from the Catholic Church; no other source
was available.

Comment: Up to 397 A.D., some of the Christians had access to part of the
New Testament; into this situation, how would the 'Bible-only privately
interpreted theory have fitted?

NINE

Why so much delay in compiling the New Testament?
Prior to 397 A.D., the various books of the New Testament were not under one
cover, but were in the custody of different groups or congregations. The
persecutions against the Church, which had gained new intensity, prevented
these New Testament books from being properly authenticated and placed
under one cover. However, this important work was begun after Constantine
gave peace to Christianity in 313 A.D., allowing it to be practiced in the
Roman Empire.

Comment: This again shows how utterly impossible was the 'Bible-only
theory, at least up to 400 A.D.

TEN

What other problem confronted those who wished to determine the contents
of the New Testament?
Before the inspired books were recognized as such, many other books had
been written and by many were thought to be inspired; hence the Catholic
Church made a thorough examination of the whole question; biblical scholars
spent years in the Holy Land studying languages of New Testament writings.

Comment: According to the present-day 'Bible-only theory, in the above circumstances, it would also have been necessary for early Christians to read
all the doubtful books and, by interior illumination, judge which were and which
were not divinely inspired.

ELEVEN

Who finally did decide which books were inspired and therefore belonged to
the New Testament?
Shortly before 400 A.D. a General Council of the Catholic Church, using the
infallible authority which Christ had given to His own Divine institution, finally
decided which books really belonged to the New Testament and which did
not.

Either the Church at this General Council was infallible, or it was not.

If the Church was infallible then, why is it not infallible now?
If the Church was not infallible then, in that case the New Testament is not
worth the paper it is written on, because internal evidences of authenticity and inspiration are inconclusive and because the work of this Council cannot now
be rechecked; this is obvious from reply to next question.

Comment: In view of these historical facts, it is difficult to see how
non-Catholics can deny that it was from the (Roman) Catholic Church that
they received the New Testament.

TWELVE

Why is it impossible for modern non-Catholics to check over the work done
by the Church previous to 400 A.D.?
The original writings were on frail material called papyrus, which had but
temporary enduring qualities. While the books judged to be inspired by the
Catholic Church were carefully copied by her monks, those rejected at that
time were allowed to disintegrate, for lack of further interest in them.

Comment: What then is left for non-Catholics, except to trust the Catholic
Church to have acted under divine inspiration; if at that time, why not now?

THIRTEEN

Would the theory of private interpretation of the New Testament have been
possible for the year 400 A.D.?
No, because, as already stated, no New Testament as such was in existence.

Comment: If our non-Catholic brethren today had no Bibles, how could they
even imagine following the 'Bible-only privately interpreted theory but before
400 A.D., New Testaments were altogether unavailable.

FOURTEEN

Would the private interpretation theory have been possible between 400 A.D.,
and 1440 A.D., when printing was invented?
No, the cost of individual Bibles written by hand was prohibitive; moreover,
due to the scarcity of books, and other reasons, the ability to read was
limited to a small minority. The Church used art, drama and other means to
convey Biblical messages.

Comment: To have proposed the 'Bible-only theory during the above period
would obviously have been impracticable and irrational.

FIFTEEN

Who copied and conserved the Bible during the interval between 400 A.D.
and 1440 A.D.?
The Catholic monks; in many cases these monks spent their entire lives to
give the world personally-penned copies of the Scriptures, before printing
was invented.

Comment: In spite of this, the Catholic Church is accused of having tried to
destroy the Bible; had she desired to do this, she had 1500 years within
which to do so.

SIXTEEN

Who gave the Reformers the authority to change over from the one Faith,
one Fold and one Shepherd program, to that of the 'Bible-only Theory?
Saint Paul seems to answer the above when he said: 'But though we, or an
angel from Heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we
have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
Galatians 1-8 (Protestant version).

Comment: If in 300 years, one-third of Christianity was split into at least 300
sects, how many sects would three-thirds of Christianity have produced in
1900 years? (Answer is 5700.)

SEVENTEEN

Since Luther, what consequences have followed from the use of the 'Bible-only
theory and its personal interpretation?
Just what Saint Paul foretold when he said: 'For the time will come when they
will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to
themselves teachers, having itching ears. 2 Timothy 4-3 (Protestant edition). According to the World Almanac for 1953 there are in the United States 20
different organizations of Methodists, 22 kinds of Baptists, 10 branches of Presbyterians, 13 organizations of Mennonites, 18 of Lutherans and hundreds
of other denominations.

Comment: The 'Bible-only theory may indeed cater to the self-exaltation of the individual, but it certainly does not conduce to the acquisition of Divine truth.

EIGHTEEN

In Christs system, what important part has the Bible?
The Bible is one precious source of religious truth; other sources are
historical records (Tradition) and the abiding presence of the Holy Ghost.

Comment: Elimination of any one of the three elements in the equation of
Christs true Church would be fatal to its claims to be such.

NINETEEN

Now that the New Testament is complete and available, what insolvable
problem remains?
The impossibility of the Bible to explain itself and the consequent multiplicity
of errors which individuals make by their theory of private interpretation. Hence
it is indisputable that the Bible must have an authorized interpreter.
2 Peter 1-20: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any
private interpretation.
2 Peter 3-16: As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things;
in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned
and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own
destruction.
Acts 8-30: And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Isaias,
and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? 31. And he said, How can I,
except some men should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come
up and sit with him.

Comment: Only by going on the supposition that falsehood is as acceptable to
God as is truth, can the 'Bible-only theory be defended.

TWENTY

Who is the official expounder of the Scriptures?
The Holy Ghost, acting through and within the Church which Christ founded
nineteen centuries ago; the Bible teaches through whom in the Church come
the official interpretations of Gods law and Gods word.
   Luke 10-16: He that heareth you heareth Me; and he that despiseth you
despiseth Me; and he that despiseth Me despiseth Him that sent Me.
   Matthew 16-18: And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter and upon this
rock I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
   Malachias 2-7: For the priests lips should keep knowledge, and they should
seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.

Comment: Formerly, at least, it was commonly held that when individuals read
their Bibles carefully and prayerfully, the Holy Ghost would guide each individual
to a knowledge of the truth. This is much more than the Catholic Church claims
for even the Pope himself. Only after extended consultation and study, with
much fervent prayer, does he rarely and solemnly make such a decision.

TWENTY-ONE

What are the effects of the Catholic use of the Bible?
Regardless of what persons may think about the Catholic Church, they must
admit that her system gets results in the way of unity of rule and unity of Faith; otherwise stated, one Faith, one Fold and one Shepherd.

Comment: If many millions of non-Catholics in all nations, by reading  their
Bible carefully and prayerfully, had exactly the same faith, reached the same conclusions, then this theory might deserve the serious consideration of
intelligent, well-disposed persons -- but not otherwise.

TWENTY-TWO

Why are there so many non-Catholic Churches?
Because there is so much different interpretation of the Bible; there is so
much different interpretation of the Bible because there is so much wrong interpretation; there is so much wrong interpretation because the system
of interpreting is radically wrong; you cannot have one Fold and one
Shepherd, one Faith and one Baptism, by allowing every man and every
woman to distort and pervert the Scriptures to suit his or her own pet theories.

Comment: To say that Bible reading is an intensely Christian practice, is to
enunciate a beautiful truth; to say that Bible reading is the sole source of
religious Faith, is to make a sadly erroneous statement.

TWENTY-THREE

Without Divine aid, could the Catholic Church have maintained her one Faith,
one Fold, and one Shepherd?
Not any more than the non-Catholic sects have done; they are a proof of what happens when, without Divine aid, groups strive to do the humanly impossible.

Comment: Catholics love, venerate, use the bible; but they also know that the
Bible alone is not Christs system but only a precious book, a means, an aid
by which the Church carries on her mission to 'preach the Gospel to every
living creature and to keep on preaching it 'to the end of time.

TWENTY-FOUR

Were there any printed Bibles before Luther?
When printing was invented, about 1440, one of the first, if not the earliest
printed book, was an edition of the Catholic Bible printed by Johann
Gutenberg. It is reliably maintained that 626 editions of the Catholic Bible,
or portions thereof, had come from the press through the agency of the
Church, in countries where her influence prevailed, before Luthers German
version appeared in 1534. Of these, many were in various European
languages. Hence Luthers 'discovery of the supposedly unknown Bible at
Erfurt in 1503 is one of those strange, wild calumnies with which anti-Catholic literature abounds.

Comment: Today parts of the Bible are read in the vernacular from every
Catholic altar every Sunday. The Church grants a spiritual premium or
indulgence to those who read the Bible; every Catholic family has, or is
supposed to have, a Bible in the home. Millions of Catholic Bibles are sold
annually.

TWENTY-FIVE

During the Middle Ages, did the Catholic Church manifest hostility to the
Bible as her adversaries claim?
Under stress of special circumstances, various regulations were made by
the Church to protect the people from being spiritually poisoned by the
corrupted and distorted translations of the Bible; hence opposition to the Waldensians, Albigensians, Wycliffe and Tyndale.

Comment: Individual churchmen may at times have gone too far in their
zeal, not to belittle the Bible, but to protect it. There is no human agency
in which authority is always exercised blamelessly.

Taken from The Catholic Church Proved by the Protestant Bible

 
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH PROVED BY PROTESTANT BIBLE
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