Catholic Bible vs the Baptist Bible

The Bible is one of the most printed books of all time. While it is not included in any best seller lists because it is mostly given away free, it ranks first in the number of copies printed. It started as a written account of the journey of the Jewish people from Canaan to the promised land of Israel.  This account is included in the Old Testament which is used in both Christianity and Judaism.

The second part of the Bible used by Christians is the New Testament which contains an account of the birth and the teachings of Jesus Christ and his followers, the spread of Christianity throughout the world, and the Apocalypse. The Old and the New Testaments are the basis of the Christian faith and make up Christianity’s Holy Bible.

They are composed of several books written by different authors dating back several hundred years before the birth of Christ. The Hebrew Bible is divided into 24 books while the Old Testament of the Christian Bible is divided into 39 books.  The contents are basically the same with only a few variations. These books were originally written in Hebrew on papyrus parchments.  Many translations of the Bible have been made, the first being Aramaic and Greek, which were then later translated into various languages.

As Christianity became a dominant religion in the Roman Empire, its influence spread to other parts of Europe and, through colonization, went on to become a major influence in the shaping of the modern world.

Between the 7th and 13th centuries, the Christian church became divided, with the Greek Orthodox Church breaking away from the Roman Catholic Church. The 15th century Renaissance resulted in the further breakup of Christianity into several denominations. A number of leaders like Martin Luther, Huldrych Zwingli, and John Calvin questioned some of the Roman Catholic doctrines and practices. These issues ranged from the primacy of the pope to the seven sacraments.

It was during this time, at the Council of Trent, that the Catholic Church included the books called the Apocrypha in the Bible. This constitutes the most significant difference between the Catholic Bible and the Protestant or Baptist Bible, also known as the King James Version.

The King James Version, adopted by the Church of England, initially included the Apocrypha in its books, but excluded it in later translations, deeming it to be lacking in inspiration.  It also uses so-called old English and was translated from Greek texts, while the Catholic Bible was translated from Latin Vulgate by St. Jerome.

While the Roman Catholic Bible and the Baptist Bible differ in the contents of the Old Testament, they both accept the 27 books of the New Testament which include the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, the Epistles, and the Revelation.
Summary:
1. The Catholic Bible includes the Apocrypha while the Baptist Bible does not.
2. The Catholic Bible was translated from Latin Vulgate while the Baptist Bible was translated from Greek texts.
3. The Catholic Bible was penned by St. Jerome while the Baptist Bible was penned by various scholars of the Church of England.
4. The Catholic Bible uses ordinary English while the Baptist Bible uses so-called old English.
5. The Catholic Bible contains a total of 73 books while the Baptist Bible contains 66 books.

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