How do Catholics interpret the Bible?

Jimmy Akin answers a caller who asks how she can explain what Catholics believe about Biblical interpretation to her Protestant friends.

Jimmy Akin was born in Texas and grew up nominally Protestant. At age 20 he experienced a profound conversion to Christ. Planning on becoming a Protestant pastor or seminary professor, Jimmy started an intensive study of the Bible, but the more he immersed himself in Scripture, the more he found it to support the Catholic faith. He entered the Church in 1992. His conversion story, “A Triumph and a Tragedy,” is published in the book Surprised By Truth.

Akin is Senior Apologist at Catholic Answers, a member on the Catholic Answers Speakers Bureau, a weekly guest on the global radio program, Catholic Answers LIVE, a contributing editor for Catholic Answers Magazine, and the author of numerous publications, including the books Mass Confusion, The Salvation Controversy, The Fathers Know Best, and Mass Revision.

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As a protestant, I think this answer is a thoughtful one.  And the protestant who the caller was talking to is not representative of all protestants.  The Holy Spirit always counsels believers.  But to understand scripture, Catholics and Protestants should consult with as many sources as possible and use their reason.  That's why God calls us to worship him with our minds.

I've consulted with many Catholic thinkers' ideas in the past. 

[ὁκατέχων]

"Excuse me, did you say the 'B' people?" Lolol.

[SamiandIarerad]

And don't forget 2 Peter 1:20-21! "Above all else, however, remember that none of us can explain by ourselves a prophecy in the Scriptures. For no prophetic message ever came just from the human will, but people were under the control of the Holy Spirit as they spoke the message that came from God." (GNT). We require some kind of prophetic authority. Of course, Protestants would argue that the Holy Spirit comes upon the true believers and gives them authority. The problem with this line of thought is that many Protestants come to many different conclusions about Scripture, not just on trivial matters, but on serious issues, such as abortion, gay marriage, and others. It seems unlikely that the Holy Spirit would guide so many people to hold obviously contradictory conclusions about serious matters. With the division of Protestantism in mind, the solution appears to be that the passage means we need a prophet to tell us how to interpret Scripture. Technically it does not prove that the true prophetic message is found through Catholic papal infallibility, though I cannot imagine who else it would be, especially considering that Peter, the first pope, was the rock on which the Church was built.

[unknownthegreatone]

im a little lost how do we catholics interpret the bible? 

[marlonborromeo]

How do you all brothers and sisters in Christ proclaimed to yourselves" You have faith in Jesus Christ and believed in Jesus Christ and yet stubbornly opposed Jesus Christ words...Think. ?.Think.... And Think again and again Our Lord Jesus, Says so many things...just listen to his word and meditate on it ( please read the Cathechism of the Catholic Church and I pray you will be all enlightened ) To follow Christ, takes humility, submit yourself to the Authority, you'll be fine, if you don't uderstand, ask. Not everyone read the bible has the authority and interpret the same way, I evangelizing people from this rock that He himself established MATHEW 16 if given a chance especially to those who are asking for it and for those who listens.Catholics are not very argumentative when it comes to scriptures, We considered ourselves sinners, but trying to walk into holiness just like the saints did and follow Jesus Christ to the cross...My advice, pls.don't protest and argue, Our Lord Jesus Christ says so many things. ..Listen to him...Mother Mary is already in Heaven ask for her intercessions... Our Father in Heaven is looking at us very happy for we all acknowledge all what He has done for our salvation, from the birth of a Woman our Mother Mary her YES to the Father and sufferings of his only begotten SON and Ressurrections, We can all be claiming it if we follow Jesus word take up our cross daily and follow him closely the best way possible. PRAY UNCEASINGLY JESUS SAID!!!

[fmorant]

that sounds protestant.. not Catholic...

[josephho]

1 John 2:27New International Version (NIV)27 As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him. Yes, the ones with the Holy Spirit will be guided into all truths, the Truth. If the Pope do not have this Holy Spirit he will be interpreting from the Catholic man made position. The Pope is the defacto position on the bible, that's what the Catholic claimed. What the Pope says goes, no argument about that. This is the Catholic position don't let anyone deceive you. The Holy Spirit is a dilemma for the Roman Catholic Church.

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THE PROTESTANT RESPONSE TO THIS VIDEO:

The more precise question we should all pose is: "How does the Roman Catholic Church interpret the Bible?"

The short answer is quite simple: This institution has misinterpreted and intentionally obfuscated the simple and plain language of The Holy Bible--in order to justify its false doctrines (Primacy of Peter; Apostolic Succession; Seven Sacraments; Virgin Birth; Assumption of the Virgin; Mariology; Prayers to Mary as Co-Mediatrix; prayers to dead "saints"; Purgatory; Indulgences; genuflection to statues; the Rosary [repetitious prayer, condemned by Christ] and other useless "sacramentals." In fact, the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church created the vile institution of the Inquisition, which burned the true saints of God (the genuine followers of Jesus)--just as Nero had done to the Early Christians--for their pious act of translating The Bible to make its Truth available to all people. Even the Renaissance humanist-scholar, Thomas More, participated in the burning of English Protestant clerics.

The Early Church up to the time of the Council of Nicaea held the pure and simple Faith of Christ. With the advent of Emperor Constantine "the Great" the ancient pagan Roman state began to patronize the church, but also introduced Roman Imperial pagan ideas, superstitious practices and solar cultic rituals into the Roman Catholic Church as the Empire now also lavished wealth, gold rings, and palaces on the bishop of Rome. Around A.D. 313, Constantine, still a pagan, erected the Church of San Giovanni in Laterano (the Lateran--the seat of the Bishop of Rome, or Cathedral of Rome) and donated the Roman Imperial Era house of the Laterani family (L. Domus Laterani) to the Bishop of Rome. It is said that Constantine--truly an astute politician but a rather dubious Christian--was finally baptized on his deathbed.

Constantine never abandoned his adoration of the Unconquerable Sun (L. Sol Invictus): accounts of the Council of Nicaea (which Constantine convened to settle the many theological disputes raging in the early 4th century) tell us that Constantine entered the audience hall (L. aula) dressed in the purple robes of the high priest (L. Pontifex Maximus) and wearing a solar diadem-crown of Sol Invictus (formerly Apollo Helios) which featued solar rays radiating around the emperor's head.

In the Early Church, there were five administrative metropolitan bishoprics (referred to as The Pentarchy) in the Late Roman Empire: Jerusalem; Alexandria; Antioch; Constantinople; and Rome--all equal in importance with none claiming any superior authority or spiritual-temporal hegemony. This egalitarian relationship among the principal bishoprics radically changed when Constantine became emperor of Rome and started to support and patronize the Church. Now another church council placed Rome (former capital of the Imperium Romanum) at the head of all the bishoprics in Christendom.

By the time Pope Gregory I had asserted the supremacy of the Bishop of Rome, the Church had become paganized--with clerical offices now being held by the aristocracy. Bribery and "politics" entered the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church. A church hierarchy and College of Cardinals (Curia) was ultimately established--recalling the ancient Roman Senate (which had its seat for most of Rome's history in the Curia in the Roman Forum). The Roman Catholic Church today still has its Curia which oversees the operations of the Catholic Church, elects popes, advises popes, establishes congregations with various functions, and oversees tribunals--among other functions.

During the Early Middle Ages, the popes assumed the pagan title of Pontifex Maximus (which Julius Caesar once held as supreme head of the Roman state-religion). In Latin, "Pontifex" means bridge-builder; this terms was first meant literally as a builder of bridges, and later metaphorically--meaning the pope establishes a bridge between God and man. Another title used by the popes to exalt themselves is "Vicarius Filii Dei" (Vicar of the Son of God). The Latin title "Vicarius" means standing in place of or taking the place of--whence the English adjective "vicarious." Mr. Aiken claims this was not a title ever claimed by The Papacy. Mr. Aiken is WRONG: This title appears prominently on the bejeweled bulbous triple Crown of the Pope (L. triregnum).

As to the false Catholic Doctrines of Petrine Supremacy and Apostolic Succession:

During the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther and John Calvin correctly affirmed that apostolic succession had been lost in the Roman Catholic Church by its progressively harmful doctrinal and moral corruption--and that the true church was found only where the Gospel was rightly preached "sola Scriptura." Luther also correctly identified the office of the pope as Anti-Christ.

During the Renaissance and Barqoue periods, the Catholic Church used talented artists--architects, painters, and sculptors of genius (Bramante; Raphael; Michelangelo; Bernini) to create the facade of spirituality and sanctity, while the institution itself continued to plunge into ever greater depths of corruption. Pope Alexander VI Borgia, a Renaissance pope (born in Spain) regularly practiced simony (absolving sins in exchange for payment of money) as well as fornication with his own daughter, Lucrezia Borgia, in the papal bed!

These various titles the popes have used for centuries constitute a blasphemous attempt of The Papacy to exalt itself above Christ (just as Satan attempted to exalt himself above God--as The Bible clearly tells us). Another blasphemy of Roman Catholicism is Mariology--especially the honorific epithets of "Queen of Heaven" (L. Regina Coeli) and the false and anti-Biblical assertion that Mary is Co-Redemptrix with her Son, Jesus--according to which spurious doctrine (which the popes proclaimed in their encyclicals) Roman Catholics pray directly to Mary, in the hopes that Mary will soften the heart of Christ, thereby averting divine Wrath, and appeasing God so that any Catholics prayer would have to always be answered in the affirmative.

The above points are all quite relevant to the question "How does the Roman Catholic Church interpret the Bible?" The history of the Catholic Church is well documented by objective historians of European civilization.

How can a church which has utterly perverted the plain and simple meaning of The Bible--of course to further its own ambitions and to enrich its treasury (e.g. indulgences; Masses for the dead; simony) possible ever be able to interpret God's Word properly or truthfully?

The Roman Catholic Church has manipulated The Bible so systematically--through sophistry and semantic distortions--that this cannot be co-incidence or oversight. When this infamous institution has condoned--for centuries--Catholics genuflecting before statues of Mary and "saints" its hierarchy was always aware that it was encouraging the violation of God's Commandment against bending the knee (that's what genuflect literally means in Latin) before graven (i.e. sculpted) religious images.

For popes to proclaim Mary (the simple and humble Hebrew girl of the New Testament) as Queen of Heaven (a pagan title given to many goddesses of the ancient Mediterranean world) and to pontificate the absurd dogma that Mary is Co-Redemptrix with Christ, belittles Christ, insults the Divinity of God, and manifests how wrongly this institution has INTENTIONALLY misinterpreted the Bible. The Roman Catholic Church breaks God's Law and violates His commandments continually--behind the noble facade of a superficial form of Christianity--false sanctity--observing a form of Godliness, but denying the power thereof.

The Gospel of Luke tells us that when Mary sang her famous hymn of praise to God (The Magnificat or Canticle of Mary) she clearly acknowledged the need of a Savior; hence Mary was not conceived without sin but was born with original sin (L. peccatum originale).

"Magnificat anima mea Dominum, et exsultavit spiritus meus in Deo salutari meo!"

My soul doth magnify the Lord : and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour!"

As to the Roman Catholic Church's false and blasphemous assertion that Mary is Co-Mediatrix with Christ in the redemption of mankind, The Bible tells us the real Truth--in plain language that anyone can understand:

"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." [1 Timothy 2:5].

I could go on and on--but I think that, at this juncture, my readers get the main point I have illustrated--that the Roman Catholic Church is an apostate church--the false church and persecuting power which St. John of Patmos vividly describes in God's Book of Revelation, as "Babylon the Great--the Mother of Prostitutes and Abominations of the Earth" [Greek New Testament: Book of Revelation: Βαβυλὼν ἡ μεγάλη, ἡ μήτηρ τῶν πορνῶν καὶ τῶν βδελυγμάτων τῆς γῆς].

But that is a topic for another video commentary.