The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1876-01-23
"REVISLNG THE BIBLE"

Such is the heading of a newspaper arti- |
ole describing the work of the American |
Bible Revising COMMITTEES, now In session,
and co operating with British Committee
engaged in the same very lntereetlng ousl
ness. The details of the proceedings show
that the Old Testament section has COM
Melted the Eve books of Moses, and are now
engaged upon the book of Psalms. The New
Testament party are at work upon tne
epistle of james and the first eplstle OF
Peter. The Gospels and the Acts OF the
Apostles have been finished.
We feel little eager To see the new
edition of the Protestant Bible after the
expenditure of SO much pains on lts revision
and correction. We know it needed all the
work bestowed on it badly, and of course
this fact will be our plea for our avidlty.
Yet it is to be feared that the Bible Will
come forth from the hands of the gentlemen
engaged in revising it, shorn of more OF its
worth, or encountered with still greater
| number of it's errors. Oar belief, or our
apprehensions, rather, are based on the e2
perieDce of the past, coupled with the
| religions differences which prevail ID tne
| minds of the Biblical scholars at work on IT,
| Still. if the abilities, intellectual or other
wise. of the two Committees can restore
what their predecessors in Professionalism
took away, or cut off what has been a1ded
| or interpolated, more or less merit Will DC
| awarded to their endeavors. Let us in
stance: Six books of the Old Testament
have been declared apocryphal by Protest.
ants aud two books of the Maccabees, con-
tanning thirty-oDe chapters, nave peen
omitted. Now, if the modern reVisers VIII
only do what is proper, they will, either by
preface or appendix, censure the earlier
| members of their own persuasion who dared
to faint SO much of the Scripture by the
charge of being apocryphal, and who threw
| out of the Sacred Volumn books declared
by the Church to be canopical.
| Lat FOL 70 q In0k af the New IeHG0-
| ment as Protestants possess it. Comparing
| it with the one which the Church that first
gave the Bible to mankind approves OF, we
| fnd that the spurious edition is short again
The Epistle of St. Paul to the Hebrews, the
Epistle of st. James, the second Epistle OF
ST, Peter the second and third of st. John,
and the Epistle of st. Jude are all left out
with anoncbalance that is signally iliustra-
tive of the deep reverence entertained ior
the entire Word of God, as recorded in the
Canon of the Scriptures. OF course the
spirit of accommodation must be charged
with the discrepancies existing between che
| Catholic and Protestant editions of the good
Book-and we are not unwilling that PrOtes-
| tantism should claim all the honor. For II
this spirit of accommodation were wanting
i in the various denominations comprising
| what the world regards as Professionalism,
we think that it would go hard with that
portion of mankind, in SO far as the nemi-
nal adhesion of a quasi religious body 10
concerned.
i What with the innumerable miswordings,
additions, and corruptions, we believe that
enough has been shown to damage the
authenticity of the Protestant book, falsely
called the Bible, and to enlist the interest
oF the community in the work OF the
4 American and British Committees employed
Il in ''revising" that which those who under
took the task before them unknowingly or
wilfully 1--WE will allow the world to guees)
perverted and mutilated. When all the
errors of one kind or another have been
Il corrected by the Biblical scholars assigned
, tn fhe onerous task, we may be disposed to
accept the new edition, for it will then be
y virtually Catholic.
4 It isa sign of the times, however, and
perhaps not a bad one, to learn that the
> idea has taken hold of the Protestant mino
. that the book which they call their Bible