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Author
of Holy Scripture |
"In times past, God spoke in partial and various ways to our
ancestors through the prophets; in these last days, he spoke to us
through a son, whom he made heir of all things and through whom he
created the universe" (Heb. 1:1-2)
"Know this first of all, that there is no prophecy of scripture that is a matter of personal interpretation, for no prophecy ever came through human will; but rather human beings moved by the
Holy Spirit spoke under the influence of God."
(St. Peter, 2 Pt. 1:20-21)
"We believe also that the one author of the
New and the Old Testament, of the Law, and of the Prophets and the
Apostles is the omnipotent God and Lord. " (Council of Lyons
II, 1274 A.D.)
"But
though there were four Evangelists, yet what they wrote is not so much
four Gospels, as one true harmony of four books. For as two verses
having the same substance, [but use] different words and different metre, yet contain one and the same matter, so the books of the
Evangelists, though four in number, yet contain one Gospel, teaching one
doctrine of the Catholic faith." (St. Bede the Venerable, Doctor of
the Church)
"Just as the one true God is the Creator of
both temporal and eternal good things, so too is He the Author of
both Testaments, because the New is prefigured in the Old, and the
Old is unveiled in the New." (St. Augustine, Doctor of the
Church, circa 420 A.D.)
"The
authors of the sacred books wrote what God inspired them to do and
they chose the manner of expression, that is the style or form of
expressing the thoughts." (St. Justin)
"It
is not Moses who speaks in it but God. It is not the Patriarchs
and prophets who speak in it but God. It is not the Evangelists
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John who speak; it is God. And it is
evident that God possesses all knowledge and possesses it without
error" (Lapide)
"Though
each seems to have followed an order of narration of his own, yet we do
not find any one of the them writing as if in ignorance of his
predecessor, or that he left out some things which he did not know,
which another was to supply; but as each had inspiration, he gave
accordingly the cooperation of his own not unnecessary labor." (St.
Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and "greatest theologian in
the history of the Church")
"But who was the writer, it is very
superfluous to inquire; since at any rate the Holy Spirit is
confidently believed to have been the Author [of Scripture]. He
then Himself wrote them, Who dictated the things that should be
written. He did Himself write them Who both was present as the
Inspirer in that saint's work, and by the mouth of the writer has
consigned to us His acts as patterns for our imitation."
(Pope St. Gregory I, Doctor of the Church) "If, however, the ancient sacred writers have taken anything from
popular narrations (and this may be conceded), it must never be
forgotten that they did so with the help of divine inspiration, through
which they were rendered immune from any error in selecting and
evaluating those documents." (Pope Pius XII, "Humani Generis",
1950) "Divinely inspired Scripture, as the Divine
Apostle calls it, is the Holy Spirit's writing. Its purpose is
usefulness to men. 'All Scripture,' he says, 'is inspired of God
and useful.'" (St. Gregory of Nyssa, circa 380 A.D.)
"You will not find a page in [St. Jerome's]
writings which does not show clearly that he, in common with the
whole Catholic Church, firmly and consistently held that the
Sacred Books - written as they were under the inspiration of the
Holy Spirit - have God for their Author, and as such were
delivered to the Church. Thus he asserts that the Books of the
Bible were composed at the inspiration, or suggestion, or even at
the dictation of the Holy Spirit; even that they were written and
edited by Him. Yet he never questions but that the individual
authors of these Books worked in full freedom under the Divine
afflatus, each of them in accordance with his individual nature
and character. Thus he is not merely content to affirm as a
general principle - what indeed pertains to all the sacred writers
- that they followed the Spirit of God as they wrote, in such sort
that God is the principal cause of all that Scripture means and
says; but he also accurately describes what pertains to each
individual writer. In each case Jerome shows us how, in
composition, in language, in style and mode of expression, each of
them uses his own gifts and powers; hence he is able to portray
and describe for us their individual character, almost their very
features; this is especially so in his treatment of the Prophets
and of St. Paul. This partnership of God and man in the production
of a work in common Jerome illustrates by the case of a workman
who uses instruments for the production of his work; for he says
that whatsoever the sacred authors say 'Is the word of God, and
not their own; and what the Lord says by their mouths He says, as
it were, by means of an instrument.'" (Pope Benedict XV,
"Spiritus Paraclitus", 1920 A.D.) "Furthermore, this supernatural revelation,
according to the faith of the universal Church, as declared by the
holy synod of Trent, is contained 'in the written books and in the
unwritten traditions which have been received by the apostles from
the mouth of Christ Himself; or, through the inspiration of the
Holy Spirit have been handed down by the apostles themselves, and
have thus come to us'. And, indeed, these books of the Old and New
Testament, whole with all their parts, just as they were
enumerated in the decree of the same Council, are contained in the
older Vulgate Latin edition, and are to be accepted as sacred and
canonical. But the Church holds these books as sacred and
canonical, not because, having been put together by human industry
alone, they were then approved by its authority; nor because they
contain revelation without error; but because, having been written
by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they have God as their
author and, as such, they have been handed down to the Church
itself" (Vatican Council
I, 1870 A.D.) But it is absolutely wrong and forbidden, either
to narrow inspiration to certain parts only of Holy Scripture, or
to admit that the sacred writer has erred. For the system of those
who, in order to rid themselves of these difficulties, do not
hesitate to concede that divine inspiration regards the things of
faith and morals, and nothing beyond, because (as they wrongly
think) in a question of the truth or falsehood of a passage, we
should consider not so much what God has said as the reason and
purpose which He had in mind in saying it - this system cannot be
tolerated. For all the books which the Church receives as sacred
and canonical, are written wholly and entirely, with all their
parts, at the dictation of the Holy Ghost; and so far is it from
being possible that any error can co-exist with inspiration, that
inspiration not only is essentially incompatible with error, but
excludes and rejects it as absolutely and necessarily as it is
impossible that God Himself, the supreme Truth, can utter that
which is not true. This is the ancient and unchanging faith of the
Church, solemnly defined in the Councils of Florence and of Trent,
and finally confirmed and more expressly formulated by the [First]
Council of the Vatican. These are the words of the last: 'The
Books of the Old and New Testament, whole and entire, with all
their parts, as enumerated in the decree of the same Council
(Trent) and in the ancient Latin Vulgate, are to be received as
sacred and canonical. And the Church holds them as sacred and
canonical, not because, having been composed by human industry,
they were afterwards approved by her authority; nor only because
they contain revelation without error; but because, having been
written under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, they have God for
their author.' Hence, because the Holy Ghost employed men as His
instruments, we cannot therefore say that it was these inspired
instruments who, perchance, have fallen into error, and not the
primary author. For, by supernatural power, He so moved and
impelled them to write - He was so present to them - that the things
which He ordered, and those only, they, first, rightly understood,
then willed faithfully to write down, and finally expressed in apt
words and with infallible truth. Otherwise, it could not be said
that He was the Author of the entire Scripture. Such has always
been the persuasion of the Fathers. 'Therefore,' says St.
Augustine, 'since they wrote the things which He showed and
uttered to them, it cannot be pretended that He is not the writer;
for His members executed what their Head dictated.' And St.
Gregory the Great thus pronounces: 'Most superfluous it is to
inquire who wrote these things - we loyally believe the Holy Ghost
to be the Author of the book. He wrote it Who dictated it for
writing; He wrote it Who inspired its execution. (Pope Leo XIII,
Providentissimus Deus)
"This
supernatural revelation, according to the belief of the universal
Church, is contained both in unwritten Tradition, and in written Books,
which are therefore called sacred and canonical because, 'being written
under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, they have God for their author
and as such have been delivered to the Church.' This belief has been
perpetually held and professed by the Church in regard to the Books of
both Testaments; and there are well-known documents of the gravest kind,
coming down to us from the earliest times, which proclaim that God, Who
spoke first by the Prophets, then by His own mouth, and lastly by the
Apostles, composed also the Canonical Scriptures, and that these are His
own oracles and words - a Letter, written by our heavenly Father, and
transmitted by the sacred writers to the human race in its pilgrimage so
far from its heavenly country. If, then, such and so great is the
excellence and the dignity of the Scriptures, that God Himself has
composed them, and that they treat of God's marvelous mysteries,
counsels and works, it follows that the branch of sacred Theology which
is concerned with the defense and elucidation of these divine Books must
be excellent and useful in the highest degree." (Pope Leo XIII,
"Providentissimus Deus", 1893)
"Seeing that the same God is the author
both of the sacred books and of the doctrine committed to the
Church, it is clearly impossible that any teaching can, by
legitimate means, be extracted from the former which shall in any
respect be at variance with the latter. Hence it follows that all
interpretation is foolish or false which either makes the sacred
writers disagree with one another, or is opposed to the doctrine
of the Church." (Pope Leo XIII) "The sacred and holy ecumenical and general
Synod of Trent, lawfully assembled in the Holy Spirit, with the
same three Legates of the Apostolic See presiding over it, keeping
this constantly in view, that with the abolishing of errors, the
purity itself of the Gospel is preserved in the Church, which
promised before through the Prophets in the Holy Scriptures our
Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God first promulgated with His own
mouth, and then commanded 'to be preached' by His apostles 'to
every creature' as the source of every saving truth and of
instruction in morals [Matt. 28:19 ff., Mark 16:15], and [the
Synod] clearly perceiving that this truth and instruction are
contained in the written books and in the unwritten traditions,
which have been received by the apostles from the mouth of Christ
Himself, or from the apostles themselves, at the dictation of the
Holy Spirit, have come down even to us, transmitted as it were
from hand to hand, [the Synod] following the examples of the
orthodox Fathers, receives and holds in veneration with an equal
affection of piety and reverence all the books both of the Old and
of the New Testament, since one God is the author or both, and
also the traditions themselves, those that appertain both to faith
and to morals, as having been dictated either by Christ's own word
of mouth, or by the Holy Spirit, and preserved in the Catholic
Church by a continuous succession. (Council of Trent, 1546 A.D.) "Inasmuch as in the Law and in the Gospel
the first and greatest commandment is to love the Lord God
whole-heartedly, and then there is another like it, to love one's
neighbor as oneself, it is shown that the Law and the Gospel have
one and the same Author. The precepts of the perfect life, since
they are the same in both Testaments, point out the same God, who
certainly has prescribed particular precepts adapted to each,
while for the more prominent and greatest commandments, without
which it is not possible to be saved, He recommends the same in
both." (St. Irenaeus, 2nd century A.D.) "Those
divinely revealed realities which are contained and presented in Sacred
Scripture have been committed to writing under the inspiration of the
Holy Spirit. For holy mother Church, relying on the belief of the
Apostles (see John 20:31; 2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Peter 1:19-20, 3:15-16), holds
that the books of both the Old and New Testaments in their entirety,
with all their parts, are sacred and canonical because written under the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they have God as their author and have
been handed on as such to the Church herself. In composing the sacred
books, God chose men and while employed by Him they made use of their
powers and abilities, so that with Him acting in them and through them,
they, as true authors, consigned to writing everything and only those
things which He wanted." (Second Vatican Council)
"It
had indeed been enough that one Evangelist should have written all; but
whereas four speak all things as with one mouth, and that neither from
the same place nor at the same time, nor having met and discoursed
together, these things are the greatest test of truth. It is also a mark
of truth, that in some small matters they seem to disagree. For had
their agreement been complete throughout, adversaries might have
supposed that it was by a human collusion that this was brought about.
Indeed in essentials which pertain to direction of life, and preaching
the faith, they do not differ in the least thing. And if in their
accounts of miracles, one tells it in one way, another in another, let
not this disturb you; but think that if one had told all, the other
three would have been a needless superfluity; had they all written
different things, there would have been no room for proof of their
harmony. And if their account different in times or modes, this does not
hinder the truth of the facts themselves which they relate, as shall be
shown" (St. John Chrysostom, Doctor of the Church)
Also
See: Canon
of Scripture | The
Gospels Contain Only a Taste of Jesus' Teaching |
History
/ Holy Scripture | Holy
Scripture is Truthful / Free From Error | Importance
of Scripture | Misinterpretation
of Scripture | Modernists
/ Scripture | Praise
/ Benefits of Scripture | Private
Interpretation / Twisting Scripture | Proper
Interpretation of Scripture | Those
Who Reject Scripture | Written
/ Oral Tradition
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