Expert: Edward Bode - 4/1/2005

Question
Hi,

I am not religious: my interest in religions is that of an observer.

The Coran states clearly that it is the word of God. It says that there is an original copy on a guarded table, near God, and that it just has been dicted to Mohamed.

My question is: Does chatolic dogma say that the Bible is, wholly, the word of God? If yes, is it as clear as in the Islam? Do chatolics have a different position than protestants on that?

I have looked on the internet, but all I have read is people trying to convince that the Bible is the word of God (or not...). I don't care about that, I want to know what the establishment says. Particularly, for example, has Paul been illuminated when writing each of his letters? etc.  


I would appreciate any relevant comment. And if you think of any reliable references on the internet, I would appreciate. Please, don't spend too much time on my question: it is just curiosity.

Jonathan Dumas.  

Answer
Catholic belief is that the books of the bible are written by human authors under the inspiration of God in order to reveal to humanity the message that God wanted to convey.
I am not an Islamic scholar so I do not know how Catholic belief would be compared with Islam.
For a summary of Catholic teaching, I recommend:
nccbuscc.org/cathechism/text/index.htm
For an old version of the Catholic Encylopedia you could consult:
newadvent.org/cathen
Best wishes, Jonathan.