The Art Of Catholic With Matthew Leonard

It's not just because we want to look cool or think bigger is better. Catholic Bibles are simply bigger than Protestant Bibles. (And I don't mean they're printed in a larger font. I mean ours have more books than theirs.) The question is "Why?" It's a huge issue...one of, dare I say, biblical proportions. One of the fundamental principles of Protestantism is the doctrine of sola scriptura - the Bible alone. In other words, it teaches that the only sure authority upon which we can base our lives is the Bible because it alone is the inspired, inerrant Word of God. Of course, this belief raises obvious questions. For example, if the Bible is the only authority, then who has the right to interpret it? You? Your pastor? Your mechanic? It's a problem. In fact, the issue of authority was the original impetus behind my eventual move to Catholicism some eighteen years ago. But the problem of authority doesn't just come into play with regard to interpreting Scripture. It has a colossal impact on the book itself. In oth