“Bible” Christians

When asked which church they belong to, many non-Catholics will identify themselves as “Bible Christians”.  This would seem to make sense since most Protestant groups adhere to Sola Scriptura (the Bible alone is our final authority).  However, each particular group is dependent on its pastor’s interpretation of the Scriptures.  The fact is that since the New Testament was written, compiled and declared canon by the Catholic Church – Catholics are the original “Bible Christians”.  However, since the Church existed before the New Testament was written, the Bible came from the Church – not the other way around.

St. Augustine once said that the New Testament lies hidden in the Old Testament and the Old Testament is revealed in the New.  This means that since the covenant of the Old Testament is fulfilled in the New Covenant of Christ, the Church is the New Jerusalem – the Bride of Christ.

Every writer of the New Testament was a Catholic, since Christ established only ONE Church – not thousands of splintered sects.  The original Greek manuscripts of Acts of the Apostles show the Church being called “Catholic”.  In Acts 9:31, the term, καθ ολης (kata holos) is used to describe the Church of the Apostles. We first see the Church using the name “Catholic” at the beginning of the 2^nd century in St. Ignatius’ Letter to the Smyrnaeans:

“The sole Eucharist you should consider valid is one that is celebrated by the bishop himself, or by some person authorized by him. Where the bishop is to be seen, there let all his people be; just as, wherever Jesus Christ is present, there is the Catholic Church (Letter to the Smyrneans 8:2 [A.D. 110]).

In 2 Tim. 1:14, St. Paul admonishes Timothy to “Guard this rich trust with the help of the holy Spirit that dwells within us.”  This “rich trust” that St. Paul speaks of is the Scriptures and Tradition handed down by the Apostles. The New Testament is a Catholic compilation – written for Catholics, by Catholics who never considered themselves to be “non-denominational Bible Christians”.  They belonged to the Body of Christ – the Catholic Church, which was established by Jesus himself (Matt. 16:16-19).