¿IS KNOWLEDGE OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES IMPORTANT FOR OUR SALVATION?

 

The intention of this blog has always been, despite our miseries, to instill or teach, the SOUND DOCTRINE AND THE ONLY TRUTH, whether in articles by the holy doctors of the Church such as Saint Thomas Aquinas, Saint Bonaventure and Saint Bernard. among others, without forgetting the holy Fathers of the Church. But we have involuntarily omitted to talk about the Holy Scriptures where the deposit of our FAITH is found. ¿A good Catholic must know, first and foremost, his faith, ¿but how does he know it if he does not drink from this source of limpid waters of the Holy Scriptures? How will he be able to nourish his spiritual life if he does not go to them? And, how will he defend his FAITH, Jesus Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mary and, finally, the Holy Mother Church if he ignores the Holy Scriptures? ¿Can it be said or proclaimed with certainty that this good Christian is a true Catholic? The true Catholic being is not achieved only with baptism but, first and foremost, with the application and true knowledge of the true Catholic doctrine, so scarce in our times that are, in reality, as apocalyptic as ever due to the great CONFUSION that prevails in the Church founded by Our Lord Jesus Christ. ¿Do we know what the Supreme Pontiffs thought about the Holy Scriptures? Here is a small summary of his important contributions on this topic:

The Supreme Pontiffs, since Leo XIII, have not tired of recommending the reading of the Bible to the Christian people.

Saint Pius Benedict that Our Lord has created for the Christian universe, through his prophets, apostles and doctors.” The encyclical Divino Aflante Spiritu of Pius XII is the crowning of the pontifical efforts that tend to make the Bible the daily reading of the faithful. "Favor," says the Pope to the Prelates, "and lend your assistance to all those pious associations whose purpose is to publish and disseminate among the faithful, printed copies of the Holy Scriptures, mainly the Gospels, and endeavor with all efforts that “In Christian families there is an orderly and holy daily reading of them.” '

From all this it is seen that the Supreme Pontiffs want the Bible to reach the people, and not only to the priests and lay people of Quito. From this follows the immense responsibility of the commentators, upon whom lies the divine mission of explaining to the people the word that has the power to save souls (James, 1, 21; cf. Rom., 1, 16). We do not deny the need for textual criticism, nor the value of philological, historical, geographical, archaeological notes, and thank God we have that scientific apparatus in many editions; But let us not forget that in the biblical publications that are addressed to the people, the patristic method must not be missing, which, above all, seeks in Scripture the doctrinal truths and practical teachings to lead an increasingly Christian life.

Having said the above, leave aside diabolical and anti-Christian laziness and ask for the light of the Holy Spirit to read my articles that I will begin from now on where I will make a general and short summary of each book of the Holy Scriptures. God bless you and help you in this great work that begins with the aim of achieving eternal life. (the editor)

THE PENTATEUCH

The Pentateuch, or, as the Jews call it, the Book of the Law (Torah), heads the 73 books of the Bible, and constitutes the magnificent door to divine Revelation. The names of the five books of the Pentateuch are: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy and their general purpose is: to expose how God chose the people of Israel for himself and formed them for the coming of Jesus Christ; so that in reality it is Jesus Christ who appears through the mysterious destinies of the chosen people.

Genesis means ''generation'' or origin. The name tells us that this first book of Revelation contains the mysteries of prehistory and the beginnings of the Kingdom of God on earth. It describes, in particular, the Creation of the universe and of man, the fall of the first parents, general corruption, the story of Noah and the flood. Then the sacred author narrates the confusion of languages ​​at the tower of Babel, the separation of Abraham from his people and the history of this patriarch and his descendants: Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, to end with Jacob's blessing, his death. and that of his son José. Interspersed in this succession of historical events are the great messianic promises with which God awakened the hope of the patriarchs, depositaries of the primitive Revelation.

Exodus, that is to say 'exit', is called the second book, because it tells the story of the liberation of the Israelite people and their departure from Egypt: Several centuries intervene between Genesis and the Exodus, that is, the time during which the sons of Jacob were in the country of the Pharaohs. The sacred author describes in this book the oppression of the Israelites; He then goes on to narrate the story of Moses' birth, his rescue from the waters of the Nile, his flight into the desert, and God's appearance in the bush. He then relates, in the second part, the liberation itself, Moses' interviews with Pharaoh, the punishment of the ten plagues, the crossing of the Red Sea, the promulgation of the Law of God on Sinai, the construction of the Tabernacle; the institution of the priesthood of the Old Law and other precepts related to worship and priesthood.  

Leviticus is the name of the third book of the Pentateuch. The word Leviticus is derived from Levi, father of the priestly tribe. It deals first with sacrifices; He then relates the provisions regarding the High Priest and the priests, the cult and the sacred objects. Chapter 11 begins with the precepts relating to purifications, to which are added instructions on the Day of Atonement, others on sacrifices, some prohibitions, marriage impediments, punishments for certain sins and provisions on festivals. In the last chapter the sacred author speaks of vows and tithes.

The fourth book is called Numbers, because in its first chapter it refers to the census carried out after the Sinaitic legislation was concluded and before the departure from the mountain of God. Next, some laws are proclaimed, especially regarding the Nazarites, and regulations regarding the formation of the camp and the order of marches. Almost all the events referred to in the Numbers occurred in the last year of the trip, while almost all the events of the preceding thirty-eight years are ignored. Some stand out for their extraordinary character; for example, Balaam's predictions. At the end, the catalog of the seasons during the march through the desert is added, and several precepts are made known about the occupation of the land of promise;

Deuteronomy is, as its name expresses, "the second Law", a recapitulation, explanation and expansion of the Law of Moses. The great prophet, before meeting with his parents, develops in the countryside of Moab in several speeches the history of the chosen people by instilling in them the divine commandments. In the first (1-4, 43), he takes a retrospective look at the events in the desert, adding some practical exhortations and the most magnificent teachings. In the second discourse (4, 44-11, 32) and in the legislative part (chaps. 12-26), the legislator of the people of God reviews the previous laws, making the necessary exhortations for their fulfillment, and adding numerous complementary precepts. The last two speeches (chap. 27-30) are intended to renew the Covenant with God, which, according to the provisions of Moses, must be carried out after the people enter the country of Canaan. Chapters 31-34 contain the appointment of Joshua as Moses' successor, the song prophetic of this, his blessing, and a brief news about his death. Deuteronomy is, according to St. Jerome, the prefiguration of the Evangelical Law” (Letter to Paulinus).

The author of the Pentateuch is Moses, prophet and organizer of the people of Israel, who lived in the 15th or 13th century before Jesus Christ. Not only Jewish but also Christian tradition has always supported the Mosaic origin of the Pentateuch. Jesus himself speaks of the "Book of Moses" (Mark, 12, 26), of the "Law of Moses (Luke, 24, 44), attributes to Moses the precepts of the Pentateuch (cf. Matt., 8, 4 ; Mark, 1, 44; 1, 10; 10, 5; Luke, 5, 14; 20, 28; John, 7, 19), and it says in John, 5, 45: "Your accuser is Moses, in who you have placed your hope in. If you believed Moses, you would also believe Me, since he wrote about Me.

Based on these arguments, the Pontifical Biblical Commission on June 27, 1906 has determined, with all its authority, the integrity and genuineness of the Books of Moses; admitting, however, the possibility that Moses made use of existing sources, and the other, that the Pentateuch in the course of the Centuries has experienced certain variations such as, for example: accidental additions after the death of Moses, sometimes made by an inspired author, sometimes introduced into the text as glosses and comments, replacement of words and archaic forms; variants due to copyists, etc.

The same Pontifical Biblical Commission has instilled, on December 30. June 1909, the historical character of the first three chapters of Genesis, establishing that the systems invented to exclude the literal meaning from them do not rest on solid foundations.

All the attacks of modern criticism against, the. authenticity and historical character of the books of Moses have failed, especially the attempts to attribute the Pentateuch to three or four different authors (Elohist, Jqhvist, Priestly Code, Deuteronomy) and the theories of the evolutionary school of Wellhausen, which in the Pentateuch He sees nothing more than a reflection of Babylonian ideas and mythologies; Egyptians, etc. An exact comparison of the biblical stories with the extra-biblical ones, demonstrates, on the contrary, the absolute superiority of the former over the latter, which, in general, are nothing more than poor and disfigured remains of the primitive Revelation.