[quote:cnqp8to4]Perhaps you will allow me to see what you wrote to J McCarthy?[/quote:cnqp8to4]
I would have it on the site if I had it typed up, but it’s all handwritten. I never got around to putting it in a digital format. Maybe that will be my next big project. ” title=”Smile” />

Have you read the book yourself?

[quote:cnqp8to4]As for the Bible – that was authored by God, it is His Word to us, not
the Catholic Church’s word to us. It also tells us not to add to it….so why
does your Church feel the need for a Catechism, the Mormons use their Book, the Jw’s have their’s as well? Maybe you can tell me that as well?[/quote:cnqp8to4]
We do not put the Catechism on the same level as the Bible. It is not a holy book. It explains Catholic doctrine in a systematic and condensed form. It was written primarily for Catholic bishops to be able to help explain the faith.

You are correct, the Bible is God’s word to us not the Catholic Church’s word to us. However, it was Catholic bishops in 394 A.D. and 403 A.D. under the guidance of the Holy Spirit that finalized what books comprised the Bible (called the [i:cnqp8to4]canon[/i:cnqp8to4]). Later, during the Reformation, Martin Luther [b:cnqp8to4]removed[/b:cnqp8to4] books that Christians had accepted as holy for nearly 14 centuries prior. Any non-Catholic Bible is actually missing parts and is therefore incomplete.

As for your reference to Rev. 22:18-19 there is something to keep in mind. Revelation was written before 200 A.D. – a couple hundred years before the Bible was compiled. The author, John, most likely originally intended for that to apply to his book Revelation and not some compilation that was to be made in a few hundred years. Regardless, I agree that nothing should be added to God’s Word.