113. What do we mean when we say that Christ is the unique Word of Scripture? (CCC 102) When we say that Christ is the unique word of Scripture we mean that, through all the words of the Bible, God speaks only one single Word, namely the Word who is Christ.
Hebr 1,2: In these last days, God has spoken to us by His Son.

114. Who guarantees the inspiration and truth of Sacred Scripture? (CCC 105) God guarantees the inspiration and truth of Sacred Scripture.

115. Who is the author of Sacred Scripture? (CCC 105) God is the author of Sacred Scripture.

116. Why does the Church accept the biblical books as sacred and canonical? (CCC 105) The Church accepts the biblical books as sacred and canonical, because they were written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and thus have God as their author.
“Canonical” means belonging to the canon of Scripture, the list of all biblical books.

117. How did God inspire the “human authors” of the sacred books? (CCC 106) God inspired the “human authors” of the sacred books by acting in and through them, all the while they made full use of their own faculties and powers.
The human authors are also referred to as the sacred authors or writers.

118. How does the inspired text of Sacred Scripture teach the truth? (CCC 107) The inspired text of Sacred Scripture teaches the truth firmly, faithfully and without error.

119. Why is the Christian Faith not a “religion of the book”? (CCC 108) The Christian Faith is not a “religion of the book”, because it is not centered around a written and mute word, but around the incarnate and living Word.

120. Who is the true interpreter of Scripture? (CCC 109) The true interpreter of Scripture is the Holy Spirit.

121. To what must the faithful be attentive in order to interpret Scripture correctly? (CCC 109) In order to interpret Scripture correctly, the faithful must be attentive to:
1. what the human authors truly affirm and
2. what God wants to reveal to us by the words of the Bible.

122. How can the reader discover the human authors’ intention? (CCC 110) The reader can discover the human authors’ intention by taking into account:
1. the conditions of their time and culture
2. the literary genres in use at that time
3. the modes of feeling, speaking and narrating then current.
The human authors are also referred to as the sacred authors or writers.

123. In what light must Scripture be read and interpreted? (CCC 111) Scripture must be read and interpreted in the light of the same Spirit by whom it was written.

124. What three guidelines for interpreting the Bible does Vatican II indicate? (CCC 112-114) Vatican II indicates the following three guidelines for interpreting the Bible:
1. attention to the content and unity of the whole Scripture
2. adherence to the Church’s Tradition
3. mindfulness of the analogy of Faith.
The “analogy of Faith” means the harmony or coherence of the truths of Faith relative to one another and within the whole plan of Revelation.

125. How many senses of Scripture are there traditionally? (CCC 115) Traditionally, there are two senses of Scripture, the literal sense and the spiritual sense.

126. How can the spiritual sense of Scripture be subdivided? (CCC 115) The spiritual sense of Scripture can be subdivided into three senses: the allegorical, moral and anagogical.
The allegorical sense refers to dogmatic truths, the moral sense refers to human behaviour, the anagogical sense refers to the world to come (Judgment, Heaven, Hell and Purgatory).

127. What is the literal sense of Scripture? (CCC 116) The literal sense of Scripture is the plain meaning conveyed by the words of the text.

128. How can the spiritual sense of Scripture be discovered? (CCC 117) The spiritual sense of Scripture can be discovered by interpreting the text or the realities and events mentioned therein, as signs that point to a dogmatic, moral or eschatological meaning.
“Eschatological” means referring to the Last Things (Judgment, Heaven, Hell and Purgatory).

129. How can the allegorical sense of Scripture be discovered? (CCC 117) The allegorical sense of Scripture can be discovered by reading the realities or events reported in the Old Testament as signs of Christ and His Church.
Example: The crossing of the Red Sea by the Israelites is seen as a sign of the sacrament of Baptism.

130. How can the moral sense of Scripture be discovered? (CCC 117) The moral sense of Scripture can be discovered by reading the realities and events reported therein as a guide for acting justly.
Example: The crossing of the Red Sea by the Israelites is seen as sign that we have to leave behind us our many sins.

131. How can the anagogical sense of Scripture be discovered? (CCC 117) The anagogical sense of Scripture can be discovered by reading the realities and events reported therein in terms of their eternal significance.
Example: The crossing of the Red Sea by the Israelites and their walking trough the desert is seen as a sign of the faithful departed who have to go through death and judgment in order to enter heaven.

132. How can the four senses of Scripture be summarized? (CCC 118) The four senses of Scripture can be summarized according to the words of a medieval couplet:
1. the letter teaches the deeds
2. the allegory what you should believe
3. the moral [sense] what you should do
4. the anagogy where you tend ultimately.
In Latin: Líttera gésta dócet, quid crédas allegoría/ morális quid ágas, quo téndas anagogía (Augustine of Dacia).

133. Who may assist the Church in interpreting Scripture? (CCC 119) Exegetes may assist the Church in interpreting Scripture but all interpretations are ultimately subject to the judgment of the divinely-conferred authority of the Church.
Exegesis is the exposition of Scripture.

134. How does St Augustine explain his Faith in the Gospel? (CCC 119) St Augustine († 430) explains his Faith in the Gospel thus: “But I would not believe in the Gospel, had not the authority of the Catholic Church already moved me.”

135. What is the canon of Scripture? (CCC 120) The canon of Scripture is the complete list of all the sacred books contained in the Bible.

136. Who established the canon of Scripture? (CCC 120) The Church established the canon of Scripture.

137. How did the Church discern which writings constituted the sacred books? (CCC 120) It was by Apostolic Tradition that the Church discerned which writings constituted the sacred books.

138. How many are the books of the Old and New Testament? (CCC 120) The books of the Old Testament are 46, the books of the New Testament are 27.

139. What is the function of the Old Testament in the economy of salvation? (CCC 122) The function of the Old Testament in the economy of salvation is to prepare and declare the coming of Christ.
The economy of salvation is the works by which God reveals Himself to the outside.

140. What is Marcionism? (CCC 123) Marcionism is an early heresy rejecting the Old Testament under the pretext that the New Testament has rendered the Old Testament void.
Marcionism is called after the first advocate of this heresy, Marcion.

141. What is the most important part of all the Holy Scriptures? (CCC 125) The most important part of all the Holy Scriptures are the Gospels.

142. What are the three stages in the formation of the Gospels? (CCC 126) The three stages in the formation of the Gospels are:
1. the life and teaching of Christ
2. oral tradition
3. the written accounts.

143. What is the discipline called that illuminates the unity of the two Testaments? (CCC 128) The discipline that illuminates the unity of the two Testaments is called typology.
Typology is the discernment of prefigurations in the Old Testament anticipating the things to come in the New Testament e.g.: the manna of the Exodus is a prefiguration of the Holy Eucharist.

144. How does St Augustine explain the relationship between the OT and NT? (CCC 129) St Augustine († 430) explains the relationship between the Old Testament and New Testament by saying that “the New Testament lies hidden in the Old and the Old Testament is unveiled in the New.”
“Novum in Vetere latet et in Novo Vetus patet” (S. Agustín, Hept. 2,73)

145. What is the role of Sacred Scripture in the life of the Church? (CCC 131) The role of Sacred Scripture in the life of the Church is:
1. to support and invigorate the Church
2. to strengthen and nourish the Faith, soul and spiritual life of Christians.

146. What is the very soul of theology according to Dei Verbum 24? (CCC 132) According to Dei Verbum 24 the study of the sacred Scriptures is the very soul of theology.
Dei Verbum is a Vatican II document, the dogmatic Constitution on divine Revelation.

147. What was the study of the Bible called in the past? (CCC 132) In the past, the study of the Bible was called “study of the sacred page”.

148. What does St Jerome say about ignorance of the Scriptures? (CCC 133) St Jerome († 420) says about ignorance of the Scriptures that it is ignorance of Christ.