TO WHAT KIND OF CONCLUSION does this drive us? Obviously, the Bible came to
be what it is, came into existence, only in the context of the living, dynamic
Church of Christ, which had its origin at Pentecost (although its antetype, of
course, was to be found in the Chosen People whose history led to the
incarnation of the Son of God). It was the life of the Church throughout the
first seventy or so years of her existence which, guided by the Holy Spirit,
gave rise to the written texts which in due course were to comprise the New
Testament. And it was the continuing life of the Church for more
than another three hundred years which was required to refine and define
the exact contents of the Scriptures.
Thus, it is pointless and misleading and even dangerous to discuss the
Scriptures apart from the life of the Church. If the Scriptures as we know them
could only come into existence through the action of the Holy Spirit upon and
in the Church over a period hundreds of years, then obviously the rest
of the experience of the Church during those same centuries (and subsequent
ones as well) is of vital importance to their understanding.
And what is this "Church"? It is the same Church which was founded
by Our Lord, governed by the Apostles in the earliest decades, later guided and
shepherded by their successors, the bishops. It is the same Church which
suffered intermittent persecution for three hundred years, which finally
attained freedom under the reign of St. Constantine, which by the guidance of
the Holy Spirit defined the meaning of the Scriptures as it confronted the
perpetrators of the various heresies. It is the same Church which in the holy
Councils wrote the Nicene Creed, summarizing the very essence of the Faith and
the Scriptures, which in these same Councils wrote the Canons which are the
guidelines even to this day for its life.
This is the same Church which teaches us to venerate the saints and their
relics. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, the Church learned how to celebrate the
holy Liturgy, the Lord's Supper, with dignity and splendor long before the time
at which we can identify a final agreement concerning the contents of the
Bible.
And so... we are forced, if we confront the facts with honesty and
integrity, to one inescapable conclusion: it is only through the Church that we
have access to the Bible at all. And it is likewise to the Church that we must
turn for its understanding.
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