1.12 Did God write the Bible himself?
The Bible was written by a wide range of people from various places and at different times. In the heart of every story we find truth about God.
This is because the authors were all inspired by God’s Holy Spirit. The same Spirit also helps the Church to understand the Bible as God meant it to be understood.
Is Sacred Scripture true?
“The books of Scripture firmly, faithfully, and without error teach truth. … Written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they have God as their author.”
(Second Vatican Council, dV 11)
The Bible did not fall from heaven in its final form, nor did God dictate it to human scribes who copied it down mechanically. Rather “God chose certain men who … made full use of their own faculties and powers so that, though he acted in them and by them, it was as true authors that they consigned to writing whatever he wanted written, and no more” (second Vatican Council, DV 11). One factor in recognizing particular texts as Sacred Scripture was their general acceptance in the Church. In the Christian communities there had to be a consensus: “Yes, through this text God himself speaks to us—this is inspired by the Holy Spirit!” Which of the many original Christian writings are really inspired by the Holy Spirit has been defined since the fourth century in the so-called canon of Sacred Scriptures. [Youcat 14]
Though various ideas are taught in the several books of the Gospels, yet it makes no difference to the faith of believers, since by one sovereign Spirit all things are declared in all of them concerning the Nativity, the Passion, the Resurrection... [The Muratorian Fragment, S. p. 144-146]
The Spirit of God, who spoke through [the authors of the Bible] was unwilling to teach men things of no profit for salvation. [St. Augustine, On Genesis, Bk. 2, Chap. 9 (ML 34, 270)]
