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Sacred Scripture in order that their
research may help the Church to form a firmer judgement.
For, of course, all that has been said about the manner of
interpreting Scripture is ultimately subject to the
judgement of the Church which exercises the divinely
conferred commission and ministry of watching over and
interpreting the Word of God.88
113 But I would not believe in the Gospel, had not the
authority of the Catholic Church already moved me.8~
IV. The Canon of Scripture
which writings are to be included in the
list of the sacred books.9° This complete list is
called the canon of Scripture. It includes 46 books for the
Old Testament ~ if we count Jeremiah and Lamentations as
one) and 27 for the New.9 The
Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers,
Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth,
and 2 Samuel, I and 2 Kings, and 2 Chronicles, Ezra and
Nehemiah, To bit, Judith, Esther, i
and 2 IvIaccabees, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecciesiastes, the
Song of Songs, the Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach
(Ecclesiasticus), Isaiah, Jeremiah,
Lamentations, Baruch, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea,Joel, Amos,
Obadiah,Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk,
Zephaniah, Haggai, Zachariah and Malachi. The New Testament: the Gospels according to Matthew,
Mark, Luke and John, the Acts of the
Apostles, the Letters of St Paul to the Romans, i and 2
Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians,
Philippians, Colossians, i and 2 Thessalonians, and 2
Timothy, Titus, Philemon, the Letter to the Hebrews,
the Letters ofJames, i and 2 Peter, I,
2 and 3 John, and Jude, and Revelation (the Apocalypse). The Old Testament 121 The Old Testament is an indispensable part of
Sacred Scrip-
value,92 for the Old Covenant has never been
revoked. 122 Indeed, the economy
of the Old Testament was deliberately
tain matters imperfect and
provisional,94 the books of the Old
708 Testament bear witness to the whole divine pedagogy of
Gods saving love: these writings are a
storehouse of sublime teaching on God
and of sound wisdom on human life, as well as a wonderful
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