The Catholic Church and the Bible

Rating:
Summary: Part apologetics, Part theology
Review: Fr. Stravinskas is known for his readability, clarity, and orthodoxy, all of which are present in this volume. The initial material deals primarily with the understanding of the relationships between Scripture, Tradition and the Church. The middle, and primary, material deals with the Mass - it's Scriptural and Judaic use of time, candles, incense, etc. as well as the Biblical basis of the Mass. The segment on the Mass texts which cross-references them to the Catechism of the Catholic Church and Scripture is in itself worth the cost of the book. The final segment deals more specifically with apologetics - a Catholic response to Fundamentalist and sola scriptura beliefs.

Unfortunately, Fr. Stranvinskas has occasionally been sloppy in his thought. In his section against inclusive language, he confuses linguistic gender with biological gender. In his discussion of Tradition, he refers to "Oriental memory" where his point appears rather to reflect the difference between oral and written cultures. In his discussion of the King James translation, he fails to recognize that the 1611 King James translation was of the Septuagint i.e. the Catholic canon.

While I would recommend this book, with reservations, for high school level religious education, I will continue to seek a similar book with greater concern for precision.

Rating:
Summary: Part apologetics, Part theology
Review: Fr. Stravinskas is known for his readability, clarity, and orthodoxy, all of which are present in this volume. The initial material deals primarily with the understanding of the relationships between Scripture, Tradition and the Church. The middle, and primary, material deals with the Mass - it's Scriptural and Judaic use of time, candles, incense, etc. as well as the Biblical basis of the Mass. The segment on the Mass texts which cross-references them to the Catechism of the Catholic Church and Scripture is in itself worth the cost of the book. The final segment deals more specifically with apologetics - a Catholic response to Fundamentalist and sola scriptura beliefs.

Unfortunately, Fr. Stranvinskas has occasionally been sloppy in his thought. In his section against inclusive language, he confuses linguistic gender with biological gender. In his discussion of Tradition, he refers to "Oriental memory" where his point appears rather to reflect the difference between oral and written cultures. In his discussion of the King James translation, he fails to recognize that the 1611 King James translation was of the Septuagint i.e. the Catholic canon.

While I would recommend this book, with reservations, for high school level religious education, I will continue to seek a similar book with greater concern for precision.

Rating:
Summary: Stavinskas hits the nail on the head!
Review: Fr. Stravinskas succeeds splendidly in showing that the Catholic church is not, nor has ever been, allergic to the Holy Scriptures. For those who doubt it, please read the book.
Nicely organized into sections that deal with various issues, the book concludes with a chapter giving a line-by-line analysis of the Biblical content of the mass followed by a chapter of questions and answers--the format in which Fr. Stravinskas shines.

Rating:
Summary: Stavinskas hits the nail on the head!
Review: Fr. Stravinskas succeeds splendidly in showing that the Catholic church is not, nor has ever been, allergic to the Holy Scriptures. For those who doubt it, please read the book.
Nicely organized into sections that deal with various issues, the book concludes with a chapter giving a line-by-line analysis of the Biblical content of the mass followed by a chapter of questions and answers--the format in which Fr. Stravinskas shines.

Rating:
Summary: Add It To Your Library!
Review: When I purchased this book, I thought it would focus solely on the history of the Bible and, more particularly, on the Church's role of forming the canon. To my chagrin, this book is quite light on Bible history.

However, I don't judge a book on my expectations, however misguided, but on its content. I was very pleased with the work. This book provides a short, yet thorough introduction of the place of Holy Scripture within the Church. Having accomplished that goal in a very readable and understandable style, Stravinskas then provides a brief glimpse of salvation history and how the Old Testament is completed by the New Testament and the New Testament is hidden in the Old Testament.

The "meat" of this book is in its explanation of the use of scripture during the Mass. Each line of the Mass is supported by reference to a biblical text. In short, Father Stravinskas utterly refutes any argument that the Mass is not "biblical."

Father Stravinskas concludes this work with a short appendix in which the Fundamentalist approach to scriptures, man's condition etc. is compared to that of the Catholic. It is hardly a thorough treatment of the subject, but it would not appear to me that either a Fundamentalist or Catholic Christian would dissaprove of the treatment of their respective theologies found in the latter portion of this book.

All total, Father Stravinskas' work is a good introduction into the Church's veneration, protection and use of scripture. It is concise, balanced in treatment and would make an excellent resource for Adult or Youth Religious instruction.

Rating:
Summary: Add It To Your Library!
Review: When I purchased this book, I thought it would focus solely on the history of the Bible and, more particularly, on the Church's role of forming the canon. To my chagrin, this book is quite light on Bible history.

However, I don't judge a book on my expectations, however misguided, but on its content. I was very pleased with the work. This book provides a short, yet thorough introduction of the place of Holy Scripture within the Church. Having accomplished that goal in a very readable and understandable style, Stravinskas then provides a brief glimpse of salvation history and how the Old Testament is completed by the New Testament and the New Testament is hidden in the Old Testament.

The "meat" of this book is in its explanation of the use of scripture during the Mass. Each line of the Mass is supported by reference to a biblical text. In short, Father Stravinskas utterly refutes any argument that the Mass is not "biblical."

Father Stravinskas concludes this work with a short appendix in which the Fundamentalist approach to scriptures, man's condition etc. is compared to that of the Catholic. It is hardly a thorough treatment of the subject, but it would not appear to me that either a Fundamentalist or Catholic Christian would dissaprove of the treatment of their respective theologies found in the latter portion of this book.

All total, Father Stravinskas' work is a good introduction into the Church's veneration, protection and use of scripture. It is concise, balanced in treatment and would make an excellent resource for Adult or Youth Religious instruction.