The Differences and Similiarities in Bibles

The Books of the Bible

Father David Jones

Bible

The Catholic bible is divided into two parts. The Old Testament or Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament also called Christian Scriptures. Both are God’s Word. Together they tell the story of the history of our salvation.

As we receive God’s Word in that same history, we hear and recall the story differently, not by God, but by human ears and hearts. Our records differ as Jews, Catholics and Protestants.

The Jewish people share with us the Old Testament. It is very much the story of the Jewish people hearing, loving and coming to know God.

The first Christians and early Christians, share with us the New Testament. It is very much the story of the universe of peoples who hear, love and come to know God through the person of Jesus. They and we are catholic with the lower case “c” which by definition means “universal”.

Through time, history and understanding God differently, that universe of people gets further divided into Catholics and Protestants.

The Catholic bible includes more Old Testament books than the Jewish bible and the Protestant bible. The Catholic bible includes 46 books in the Old Testament, the Protestant bible includes 39, and the Jewish bible includes 24.

In the end, literally and figuratively, it all comes down to us as gift from God. What we accept forms what we know and more importantly what we believe.

The division amongst us is a testimony that God is not through with us yet. The bible, the story of God and His people is clearly a living bible.

Our hope is to see what the end shall be.