Sacred Scripture

Book excerpt: (©2013) The Subcommittee on the Catechism, United States Catholic Bishops, has found that this catechetical high school text is in conformity with the Catechism of the Catholic Church and fulfills the requirements of Elective Course A of the Doctrinal Elements of a Curriculum Framework for the Development of the Catechetical Materials for Young People of High School Age.Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of God's Word presents the Bible to students as a living source of God's Revelation to us. It gathers the two covenants of Scripture and the seventy-two books of the Bible under the umbrella of Church teaching, which holds that in Sacred Scripture, "God speaks only one single Word, his one Utterance in whom he expresses himself completely" (CCC, 102).This introduction to the biblical texts is both a companion for prayerful study and a survey of the context, message, and authorship of each book. It also provides students with a plan for reading and studying the Bible in concert with the Holy Spirit and Church teaching.The text provides historical context for biblical literature and its analysis is mindful that Scripture must be read within the living Tradition of the Church; in so doing, the text examines the relationship between Scripture and the doctrines of the Catholic faith. While modern historical-critical scholarship is not ignored, the text is balanced by emphasis on the multiple senses of Scripture: literal, spiritual, allegorical, moral, and anagogical.