Q: Why does it matter that Protestant Bibles contain fewer books? I understand why they contain fewer books due to Martin Luther, but why does that necessarily matter if they have the Gospels and the essentials? A second question is about how God wants us to worship him. Matthew 18:20 says, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” But don’t we Catholics believe that God has instructed us to worship him through the Eucharist? If so, how does one respond to the use of that verse in this context? – Fiona
Answered by Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC
A: All Scripture is inspired, which means God wanted it in the Bible for a reason. To omit books from Scripture is hubristic, to say the least.
True, someone could lead a good life even if his Bible is incomplete. The Gospels are the heart of Scripture (though they are better understood in the light of the full Old Testament).
But there would be gaps in a person’s theology or his denomination’s theology if a Bible lacked what is known as the seven deuterocanonical books.
Among those books is a clear passage in 2 Maccabees 12 about praying for the dead — a sure indication of the existence of purgatory. Those who don’t accept purgatory (that is, many Protestants) have a big gap in their spiritual outlook.
Then there is 2 Maccabees 7:28 – “[L]ook at the heavens and the earth and see all that is in them; then you will know that God did not make them out of existing things. In the same way humankind came into existence.”
A footnote in the New American Bible says, “This statement has often been taken as a basis for ‘creation out of nothing’ (Latin creatio ex nihilo).” The passage is a key contrast to some materialists who think that the universe is eternal or that humans are just apes with apps.
As for the Eucharist and that passage from Matthew 18, it’s like a lot of things in the Church. It’s not “either-or” but “both-and.”
The Eucharist and communal prayer are both important elements of Catholic life. Communal prayer is a big part of Mass, which itself is the highest form of prayer.
Jesus can be present spiritually in a special way among Christians at prayer. But he is sacramentally present – body, blood, soul and divinity – in a unique way in the Eucharist at Mass.
I hope that this short answer helps.
