How Did We Get the Bible We Have Today?
If you grew up in a Christian home like I did, you probably learned pretty early on that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. You memorized verses, listened to sermons, and were encouraged to spend time reading Scripture for yourself.
But how often did anyone explain where the Bible actually came from?
For most of my life, I never thought to ask that question. I knew the Bible was important, and I believed what I had been taught about it. I just assumed the books we have today had always been collected together exactly as they were.
It wasn't until I started studying early Church history that I realized there was an entire part of Christianity I knew almost nothing about.
And one of the questions that really opened my eyes was surprisingly simple: Why does the Catholic Bible have 73 books while Protestant Bibles have only 66?
The Bible Has a History Worth Understanding
One of the things we sometimes forget is that the earliest Christians didn't have a complete Bible sitting on their nightstands. They couldn't open an app to read the New Testament or flip to the book of Revelation during their morning prayer time.
The writings that would eventually make up the New Testament were circulated among Christian communities, read during worship, and passed down through generations of believers.
But there were also other writings circulating throughout the ancient world, and the Church had to discern which books were truly inspired by the Holy Spirit.
This collection of inspired books is what we call the canon of Scripture.
And understanding how that canon was recognized requires us to look at the Christians who came before us.
The same early Church that preached the Gospel, celebrated the sacraments, and preserved the teachings of the apostles also played an essential role in discerning which writings belonged in Scripture.
That's something I never really considered growing up.
Why Are There 73 Books in the Catholic Bible?
The Catholic Bible contains 46 books in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament, for a total of 73 books.
Most Protestant Bibles contain the same 27 New Testament books but only 39 books in the Old Testament, bringing their total to 66.
The difference comes from seven Old Testament books known as the deuterocanonical books: Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch, and 1 and 2 Maccabees. Catholic Bibles also include additional passages in Esther and Daniel.
These writings were part of the broader Greek scriptural tradition known as the Septuagint, which was widely used among early Christians.
As the Church continued to grow, its leaders examined the Scriptures that had been received, read, and handed down within Christian communities. Regional councils such as Hippo and Carthage affirmed lists of biblical books that included the deuterocanonical writings.
Centuries later, during the Protestant Reformation, reformers questioned the status of those Old Testament books. They were eventually excluded from the standard Protestant canon, although some early Protestant Bibles continued to print them in a separate section.
This is why Catholic and Protestant Bibles have different numbers of books today.
And for me, learning this history raised an even bigger question about the authority of the Church.
What Did Jesus Leave His Church?
In Matthew 16:18, Jesus tells Peter:
"And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it."
I've read that passage so many times, but studying Catholic teaching and the writings of the early Christians helped me appreciate it in a completely different way.
Jesus established His Church and entrusted His apostles with the responsibility of teaching and guiding His people.
Those apostles passed on what they had received from Christ, and the early Christian communities continued to preserve their teachings long after the apostles had died.
This is why the Catholic understanding of apostolic succession matters so much. The Church believes that the authority Christ entrusted to His apostles continues through their successors, the bishops.
And when we begin looking at the history of Scripture through that lens, the role of the Church becomes much more significant.
The Catholic understanding is that the Church did not invent Scripture or make certain writings inspired. Rather, guided by the Holy Spirit, the Church discerned and recognized the writings God had inspired.
That distinction helped me understand why Catholics place such importance on both Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition.
Why the Early Church Fathers Matter
Something else I wish I had learned earlier is just how much we can discover by reading the writings of the early Church Fathers.
These were Christians who lived much closer to the time of Jesus and the apostles than we do today. Some had direct connections to the apostles or were taught by those who knew them.
Their writings give us an incredible window into what the earliest Christians believed, how they worshiped, and which Scriptures they recognized.
For example, early Christian writers such as Justin Martyr and Irenaeus provide important evidence of the four Gospels being recognized and used within Christian communities.
When we study their writings, we can begin to see how the faith was received and passed down.
And I think that's such an important part of growing in our understanding of Christianity.
We wouldn't study an important historical event without wanting to read accounts from people who actually lived through it. So why wouldn't we approach the history of our faith with that same curiosity?
There is so much wisdom to be found in the writings of Christians who came before us, especially when we're trying to understand how the early Church interpreted Scripture and lived out the teachings of Jesus.
Learning to Ask Better Questions About Our Faith
One of the biggest lessons I've learned through studying Church history is that we should never be afraid to ask questions about what we believe.
Sometimes we inherit certain understandings of Christianity simply because they're what we've always heard. We trust the pastors who taught us, the churches we grew up attending, and the traditions that have always felt familiar.
And while there's something beautiful about receiving faith from the people who raised us, I also believe there's tremendous value in taking the time to understand that faith more deeply.
For me, studying the canon of Scripture led to questions I had never considered before.
Who recognized the books of the Bible? How did the earliest Christians understand the authority of the Church? What did believers in the first few centuries actually teach about Scripture?
Those questions eventually led me into a much deeper study of Catholicism and the history of Christianity.
And the more I learned, the more I began to appreciate just how much had been preserved and handed down through the centuries.
There's Still So Much for Us to Learn
I think one of the most beautiful things about studying Church history is realizing that we're part of something so much bigger than our own experience of Christianity.
Generations of believers have prayed, worshiped, studied Scripture, and sought to follow Jesus long before we were here.
Their faithfulness matters, and their writings have so much to teach us.
If you've never spent much time learning about the early Church, I really want to encourage you to start. Read about the Church Fathers. Explore the history of Scripture. Ask the questions you've always wondered about, even if you're not sure where they'll lead.
And if you've ever wondered why Catholic Bibles contain 73 books while Protestant Bibles contain 66, I recently devoted an entire episode of Lighten Up to that question.
We look at the history of the canon, the role of the early Church, and why the differences between Catholic and Protestant Bibles matter.
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