Introduction
All religious books, whether Hindu, Islam, Christian or any other religion, primarily convey the same message: peace, brotherhood, and humanity. It teaches humans specific fundamental moral values. It also guides them toward the path of righteousness. Thus, these holy books are an essential part of human life. The Bible is a history book of the development of the Jewish nation, and it includes insightful historical aspects of the countries surrounding Israel over the centuries, too. Hence, as a historical document, it has multiple insights. The book also claims to give a pre-human account of history in that before the creation of humans, the Heavens and the Earth. But even before then, history continues with the claim that angelic spirit creatures were created, which assisted God in creating the physical universe and all that is in it. The narrative goes that all was peaceful under the rule of a benevolent God, whose eternal past made him different from all his creations and thus fit to be eternally worshipped. Understanding the motive in his creating other sentients in his image (with his same cardinal attributes of love, justice, wisdom, and power) is essential in also understanding the matter of free will. The idea is that without risk of choice, love in a relationship is not valuable. It is the voluntary aspect of loving appreciation that makes the bond between free entities of value but building that potential into a personality also creates the risk of unappreciative rebellion, and this risk God is said to have built into the nature of both Angels and men. There are several versions of the Bible written by different people over the years. Two of the most popular and slightly different versions are The Holy Bible and The Catholic Bible. Whether it is Catholic or Holy Bible, both are different but give the same message.
Holy Bible vs Catholic Bible
The critical difference between the Holy Bible and Catholic Bible is that the former was formed by extracting content from various original scriptures. It has been canonized over time. On the other hand, Catholic Bible was developed from the Old Testament Septuagint, as well as many antithesis stories and scriptures. While The Holy Bible is to be believed as the revelation of God in the version of King James I, the Catholic Bible is the version of the Bible introduced by the Roman Catholic Church. While The Holy Bible, also known as the Christian Bible, contains 1189 chapters and 31,102 verses in total, the Catholic Bible is like the Holy Bible with 1189 chapters; it includes Apocrypha and Deuterocanonical as extra chapters. The Old Testament of the Catholic Bible was published in 1582, and the New Testament was published in 1609. The Holy Bible faced problems in its publishing due to translation issues. It was promulgated by King James I in 1611. The Holy Bible was initially recognized in Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic.
On the other hand, according to popular beliefs, the Catholic Bible follows Hebrew, Aramaic, Latin, and Greek. The Holy Bible was revised in 1952. The revised version was renamed "Revised Standard Version" by NCC. It was modified into modern English translation. The “Revised Standard Version-Catholic Edition” was published in 1966 by NCC.
Difference Between Holy Bible and Catholic Bible in Tabular Form
| Parameters of Comparison | Holy Bible | Catholic Bible |
| Definition | The Holy Bible is the Bible that underwent canonization. This means that a set of books were chosen to form one Bible. | The Catholic Bible was developed from the Septuagint (one of the oldest books about Christianity). It consists of many stories and scriptures which have been kept original. |
| Basic meaning | Holy Bible is the general holy book for all Christians. | Catholic Bible was published based on the Catholic canon law. |
| Language | The Holy Bible was initially recognized in Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic. | According to popular beliefs, the Catholic Bible follows Hebrew, Aramaic, Latin, and Greek. |
| Followers | The Holy Bible is followed by all Christians. | The Catholic Bible is followed only by Catholic Christians. |
| Relationship | The Holy Bible is not a Catholic Bible | The Catholic Bible is a type of Holy Bible. |
| Publishing | The Holy Bible faced problems in its publishing due to translation issues. It was promulgated by King James I in 1611. | The Old Testament of the Catholic Bible was published in 1582, and the New Testament was published in 1609. |
| Verses | The Holy Bible consists of 1189 chapters and 31,102 verses overall. | While the Catholic Bible is like the Holy Bible with 1189 chapters, it contains Apocrypha and Deuterocanonical as extra chapters. |
| Church | According to popular belief, The Holy Bible is the revelation of God in the version of King James I. | Catholic Bible is that version of the Bible that was introduced and practised by the Roman Catholic Church. |
| Revised Version | The Holy Bible was revised in 1952. The revised version was renamed "Revised Standard Version" by NCC. It was modified into modern English translation. | The revised version was "Revised Standard Version-Catholic Edition". It was published in the year 1966 by The National Council of Churches. |
What is The Holy Bible?
The Holy Bible is also known as The Christian Bible. The Holy Bible consists of tales of God. In simple terms, the Holy Bible is nothing but Bible itself, with the noun holiness. It encompasses the stories, prayers, prophecies, sayings, and beliefs about the realization of the existence and power of God. The Holy Bible has been canonized over the years. They follow the Old Testament in Hebrew, as well as The Greek Septuagint tales of prophets. Meanwhile, the New Testament mainly focuses on Jesus.
It is considered to be the product of divine inspiration and motivation. These texts mainly consist of historical accounts, hymns, prayers, didactic letters, proverbs, poetry parabolas, and prophecies. It was derived from several books. These books are referred to as canons. They have developed over time according to changes in the mindset of people believing in Christianity. Therefore, it has seen many changes over the years.
The usage of the Holy Bible or the Christian Bible differs according to various Christian groups as their beliefs and core values differ. It is a compilation of multiple stories and songs of God that span over a number of generations. It came into the spotlight in 1611. It is widely read by Christians, Jews, Samaritans, Rastafari, and other religions. The Holy Bible underwent canonization, which means a set of books was chosen to form one single Bible. Popular belief is that when the first Christian Bible was created, the Christians had adopted another holy book- the Septuagint as their Old Testament.
The Septuagint is a Greek translation of all the original, ancient Jewish Scriptures. The Old Testament was developed over time. The New Testament was also evolved over time as no defined set of Scriptures was left by the apostles. The development of the New Testament is a result of a compilation process. This compilation process was stimulated by doubts and disputes within as well as outside the Church. The Christian Church maintained and followed all the books that were included in the Septuagint. However, they did not follow the revisions which were being made by the Jewish believers in their Scriptures. After removing a set of Jewish books that were 15 in number, they formed their own Hebrew version of the Bible.
For Christians, the Bible dictates faith and belief. They follow what the Bible says. They believe that anything that is not mentioned in the Christian Bible is not considered worthy of devotion. It is only based on The Holy Scriptures and believed in the "Word of God" that was written. The Holy Bible is all that is required by a Christian to understand holiness and salvation if followed.
What is Catholic Bible?
The Old Testament written in The Catholic Bible is based on the holy book Septuagint. The Old Testament contains more books on which the Scriptures are based. It is inclusive of books like Baruch, Judith, Sirach, stories of Susanna, Tobit, narratives of Bel and the Dragon, etc. The Catholic Bible was not one single book in its earlier years. In the late fourth century, various books and scriptures were compiled together to form one single book. The Catholics did not remove scriptures and books from the original Septuagint, though they were considered inappropriate by many groups and believers.
The Catholic Christians not only follow the teachings of the Bible, but they also follow as well as believe in some particular Catholic beliefs such as purgatory and Roman Magisterium. Magisterium consists of the Pope and bishops, and all the other sacred scriptures are accessible only to them. They believe more in the preaching of the Church rather than the preaching of the Bible alone. Nonetheless, the Catholic Bible is often considered a deuterocanonical book. It is a compilation of books that are approved and practised by the Catholic Church. The Old Testament contains over twelve books. It has five introductory books. They are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, and Numbers. The remaining part of the Old Testament is mainly about the accounts of the conservations between prophets and God.
On the other hand, the New Testament consists of the establishment of Churches and the outgrowth and development of Christianity over the centuries. The Old Testament was in the Hebrew version, and the New Testament was in the Greek version. Together, they formed the Catholic Bible. This was done by the instruction of authorities of the Catholic Church. Catholic Bibles consist of the words spoken by both humans and God, unlike other Bibles. Catholics also follow the teachings of the succession of Popes according to God's interest in humankind.
Main Differences Between Holy Bible and Catholic Bible In Points
- Holy Bible was created by extracting content from various holy, original scriptures, by canonizing them over the years. On the other hand, Catholic Bible was developed from the Old Testament Septuagint, and many antithesis stories and scriptures.
- Holy Bible is the general holy book for all Christians, while the Catholic Bible was published based on the Catholic canon law and it is followed only by catholic Christians.
- The Holy Bible was initially recognized in Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic. On the other hand, according to popular beliefs, the Catholic Bible follows Latin in addition to the languages that recognized the Holy Bible.
- The Holy Bible is followed by all Christians, while The Catholic Bible is followed only by Catholic Christians.
- The Catholic Bible is a type of Holy Bible.
- The Holy Bible faced problems in its publishing due to various translation issues and it was backed by King James I only in 1611. In contrast, The Old Testament of the Catholic Bible was published in 1582, almost three decades before the Holy Bible was published and the New Testament was published in 1609.
- The Holy Bible consists of 1189 chapters and 31,102 verses, while the Catholic Bible includes Apocrypha and Deuterocanonical as extra chapters, that are not there is the Holy Bible.
- The Holy Bible is believed to be the revelation of God according to the version of King James I Bible, while the Catholic Bible is that version of the Bible that was introduced by the Roman Catholic Church.
- The Holy Bible was revised in 1952 and was renamed to "Revised Standard Version" by NCC. The “Revised Standard Version-Catholic Edition” which was the revised version of the Catholic Bible was published in 1966 by NCC.
Conclusion
All religious books (Hindu, Islam or Christianity) mainly have the same message of peace, brotherhood and humanity. They teach humans specific fundamental moral values and guide them to the path of rightousness. Thus, all these holy books are an essential part of human life. In Christianity, whether it is Catholic Bible or Holy Bible, both are a little different but give the same message. The Holy Bible has been recognized all over the world among all Christians. It has a sales turnover of five billion copies. The Bible follows the religious text of Christians in three main languages that were later translated into modern English. The Holy Bible and Catholic Bible are revised by NCC into Modern English Language. Catholic Bible was highly followed by catholic people, which contains holy bible sections, Apocrypha and Deuterocanonical. Bible is common to all Christians, but Catholic Bible is followed only by Catholic Christians. This article has attempted to explain the critical differences between Holy Bible and Catholic Bible both in a tabular form and in points. It has also demonstrated the concepts of the Holy Bible and Catholic Bible in detail and has described a brief account of their histories.
