Saints LightWhy Do I Need a Church? Can't I Just Read the Bible?
The Bible is God's Word, but it was written and gathered within the Church, and Christ gave that Church Tradition and a teaching office so we can read Scripture rightly together.
What this lesson teaches
- The Church came first: the New Testament was written within it and its canon was recognized by it.
- Scripture itself points to the Church and to Tradition, not to the Bible alone.
- The Magisterium serves the Word of God and protects its right interpretation.
- Catholics are urged to read the Bible, within the living Tradition of the Church.
Catechism paragraphs this lesson cites
- CCC 80-83
- CCC 85-87
- CCC 113
CCC means the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Saints Light teaches it in its own words and never quotes it. Look up any paragraph in a printed copy or at vatican.va. See every lesson by paragraph in the Catechism index.
Scripture read in this lesson: 1 Timothy 3:15; 2 Thessalonians 2:14 (2:15 in most modern Bibles); Acts 8:30-31.
A sample question from this lesson
What came first historically?
- The complete New Testament
- The Church, preaching and celebrating the sacraments
- The Council of Trent
- The printed Bible
Show the answer
The Church, preaching and celebrating the sacraments. The lesson explains that the Church was preaching and baptizing before any Gospel was written, and later recognized the canon.
The lesson in the app has three questions, each with an explanation.
Words to know
- Sacred Tradition
- The living handing on of the faith from the apostles, by preaching, worship and life, alongside Scripture.
- Magisterium
- The teaching office of the Church, exercised by the pope and the bishops in communion with him.
More terms in the Catholic glossary. More passages in the Scripture index.
Read the full lesson in the app
"Why Do I Need a Church? Can't I Just Read the Bible?" is lesson 4 of Answers to Hard Questions. In Saints Light you get the whole teaching, the Scripture quoted in full, all three questions and a step to live it this week.
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Related lessons
- How God Speaks: Scripture, Tradition and the Church (Start Here, free)
- Scripture, Tradition and the Magisterium (The Bible)
- The Four Senses of Scripture (The Bible)