The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1902-12-06
Why the Bible Exists.

for the thorough study and eXplana
ton of the Bible and of everything
appertaining to it, in order to rescue
it from the impious hands Of the so
called higher criticism" which are
now engaged in tearing it to pieces.
The appointment of such a commission
will serve to remove any impression
still lingering IN the minds of some
that the Catholic church has been or
and, at the same time, to call attention
anew of the world to certain fats con-
nected with her and them.
In the first place, it is not generally
known that the Catholic church could,
absolutely speaking, do without the
scriptures. AS a matter of fact, she
did exist and teach Christianity in all
its fullness and purity Coz years he
fore line of the New Testament was
written. And, when it was written,
it was under her SUPERVISED, by her
own bishops and disciples, some of
whom had heard the Christian truths
from the lips of Christ himself. The
Catholic church is, therefore, anterior
to the Christian scriptures, and had
from the beginning. and still has her
existence, her plenitude of power and
authority, independent of them. She
received her existence, power and au
thority, not from the Bible-for she
possessed them long before its ap
pearance-but from Jesus Christ him
SELF.
The church, then, exists, not because
of the Bible. but the Bible exists be-
cause of the church. The church could,
because she did, exist without the BIZ
BILE, but the Bible could not exist, or,
at least, could not be of any practical
use without the church, as the witness
the only Witnessed it's origin and in
spiration, and the only authority and
power necessary for it's preservation
and Interpretation.
The Catholic church is the only wit
ness living today that lived at the
birth of the Christian Bible. She alone
can truthfully tell US, now, all about
that sacred volume. She alone can
vouch, and has vouched, from the be-
ginning, for it's inspiration. I he in
spiration of the Bible is hidden, III
visible fact. No one ever claimed that
he or she saw or heard the Hoy Ghost
dictate to those men who wrote it. tt
is not, therefore, a fact that can be
attested by human testimony. How,
then. know of its inspiration?
A book no more than man is inspired
because it says so. The only authority
and witness there is for that all i'm
portant fact is the Catholic church
AS each writer finished his gospel, or
epistle, he submitted it to the authority
of the church, which carefully exam
ined and compared it with what it had
heard from the lips of Jesus Christ
himself, and having foun1 that it was
in accord with his teaching, it declared
it to be inspired, and taught that it
should be henceforth received as such
by all Christians. All Christians knew
that this teaching was simply the
teaching of Christ by virtue of his
words to his church: He who heareth
you heareth me- This is how the
Christian world received a rational
proof of the inspiration of the Bible.
The commission to be appointed is
an act of condescension to the weak
ness and blindness of men who have
eyes and see not 1t is not, strictly
speaking, necessary for the church or
Catholics, for the church has already
defined and declared the inspiration of
the Bible as an article of faith, and
all Catholics to be in communion must
accept and believe this decision. The
commission, however will serve to
bring out more fully and clearly the
reason for such a decision, and for
the fa3th that is in us.
The scope of the commission is very
broad and liberal. The great pontiff
gives its members carte blanche to
avail themselves of the modern re-
searches and discoveries of secular sci
ence and to embrace truth, light and
facts wherever they may be found. OF
course, there is one barrier set to their
Investigations, and that is they must
not tamDer with any defined doctrine
of the church, any article of Catholic
faith. These, because already infalli-
bly, declared to be revealed truths, are
forever closed to all discussion and in-
vestigation. The Catholic church is
thoroughly consistent. Whatever she
once officially teaches as truth she al
ways teaches, and all the powers
on earth cannot make her take it back.
She may. as she has during her long
life, call a council for the examina-
ton, discussion and definition of new
questions; but for the revision of her
creed. never.