Jewish Scripture

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“Ask a Priest: Did the Church Teach That the Earth is 6,000 Years Old?”

Q: One of my college professors was talking about geologic time. She mentioned James Ussher, the man accredited with the 6,000-year time span for the age of the earth. She said that he was a Catholic bishop and that his writings were decreed by the Catholic Church, and that this presented a problem for scientists in that time because to suggest anything otherwise would be going against the Catholic Church which she said would have led to excommunication or death. Is this true? Every source I’ve looked at online says that James Ussher was an Anglican archbishop. Wouldn’t this mean that he was Protestant and not Catholic? Also, was this teaching or his teaching decreed by the Catholic Church? Thank you so much! – G.

Answered by Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC

A: As best I can tell, James Ussher was with the Church of Ireland, so he would have been part of the Anglican Communion, and hence a Protestant in the wide sense, but certainly outside the visible bounds of the Catholic Church.

The Catholic Church has never officially taught that the world is 6,000 years old. That 6,000-year figure comes from a literalist reading of Scripture. This is not a good way to read the Bible. The creation accounts in the Book of Genesis are theological and not meant to be read as a science textbook.

There are no excommunications connected to people who believe the world to be millions or even billions of years old.

Your comment about there being “a problem for scientists in that time” points to the deeper issue involving the relation between faith and reason. It might come as a surprise to some people today, but the Catholic Church sees no contradiction between faith and science (or “faith and reason”). Both were created by God, and truth cannot contradict truth.

There is no reason why a person of strong faith couldn’t be a great scientist, and vice versa. You could find a list of examples HERE. The “problem” between faith and science is when scientists make statements that go beyond the bounds of science or when people of faith make scientific claims that are clearly contradicted by evidence.

The Catechism in No. 2293 says, “Basic scientific research, as well as applied research, is a significant expression of man’s dominion over creation. Science and technology are precious resources when placed at the service of man and promote his integral development for the benefit of all.”

For more reading on the relation between faith and reason, see Pope St. John Paul II’s encyclical Fides et Ratio. I hope some of this helps.

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Regnum Christi Spirituality Center Ask a Priest

“Ask a Priest: What Do Christians Think of the Torah?”

Q: Can you please provide me with an authentic doctrinal answer to the following: 1) What is the official Christian view regarding the Jewish Torah? 2) What is the difference between the Jewish God and the Christian God — I mean, is it the same Person? 3) Are the stories in the Torah acceptable to Christians as true and actually happened, and can we draw morals and laws from them? 4) Did Jesus believe that the Torah is true? 5) What is the definition of “idolatry” and polytheistic religions, and how different is this from the Trinitarian doctrine? Thanks a lot for sharing your time. -A.S.

Answered by Fr. Edward McIlmail, LC

A: Thanks for your questions. Let me try to answer each one briefly.

1. The Torah, or Pentateuch, comprising the first five books of the Bible, is part of God’s revelation, and Christians accept these five books as part of Scripture. That is why we include them in the Old Testament. (For related reading, see the Vatican document “The Jewish People and Their Sacred Scriptures in the Christian Bible“.

2. The God of the Jews is also the God of the Christians. The difference, if we can use that word, is that God revealed himself more fully with the coming of Christ. Through Jesus we learned that God is a Trinity of three divine Persons. This was unknown to the Israelites.

3. The writers of Scripture used different literary genres, or styles, to transmit their message. Sometimes they used allegories; other times they reinterpreted something from the past and tweaked it in order to a make a point with a contemporary audience. For instance, the writer of Genesis has Abel offering animal sacrifice to the Lord; animal sacrifices came later in history, so the story is something of a projection based on the past. As for the laws of the Torah, the Ten Commandments still have value for Christians, though the dietary laws are not binding. As one Gospel passage says of Jesus, “Thus he declared all foods clean” (Mark 7:19).

4. Jesus believed the Torah. Jesus is God, after all, and “God is the author of Sacred Scripture” (Catechism, No. 105). Jesus quoted from the Jewish Scriptures, which meant that he accepted them. The interesting thing, though, is not only that Jesus believed in the Torah. Rather, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill” (Matthew 5:17). The Torah represented a stage of God’s revelation. Jesus himself was the fullness of that revelation.

5. Idolatry is worshipping something or someone other than God. Polytheistic religions, by definition, believe in many (“poly-“) gods. Jews and Christians and Muslims believe in one God. Christians believe that this God is Triune; that is, he is one God, one nature, but three Persons (or subsistent relations). It is the core mystery of Christianity, and our minds really cannot grasp it fully. Polytheism is pagan; it cannot be reconciled with our notion of one God. I hope this helps.

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Alex Kucera

Atlanta

Alex Kucera has lived in Atlanta, GA, for the last 46 years. He is one of 9 children, married to his wife Karmen, and has 3 girls, one grandson, and a granddaughter on the way. Alex joined Regnum Christi in 2007. Out of the gate, he joined the Helping Hands Medical Missions apostolate and is still participating today with the Ghana Friendship Mission.

In 2009, Alex was asked to be the Atlanta RC Renewal Coordinator for the Atlanta Locality to help the RC members with the RC renewal process. Alex became a Group Leader in 2012 for four of the Atlanta Men’s Section Teams and continues today. Running in parallel, in 2013, Alex became a Team Leader and shepherded a large team of good men.

Alex was honored to be the Atlanta Mission Coordinator between 2010 to 2022 (12 years), coordinating 5-8 Holy Week Mission teams across Georgia. He also created and coordinated missions at a parish in Athens, GA, for 9 years. Alex continues to coordinate Holy Week Missions, Advent Missions, and Monthly missions at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Cumming, GA.

From 2016 to 2022, Alex also served as the Men’s Section Assistant in Atlanta. He loved working with the Men’s Section Director, the Legionaries, Consecrated, and Women’s Section leadership teams.

Alex is exceptionally grateful to the Legionaries, Consecrated, and many RC members who he’s journeyed shoulder to shoulder, growing his relationship with Christ and others along the way. He knows that there is only one way, that’s Christ’s Way, with others!