Why Are There More Books in the Catholic Bible? (Father Simon Says)

On Father Simon Says, a listener named Pat from Wisconsin asks a great question you might have wondered: “Why does the Catholic Bible have more books than the Protestant one?” Fr. Simon gives a clear and memorable answer. Early Christians used the Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Jewish scriptures, which included all the books found in today’s Catholic Old Testament. Centuries later, during the 1500s, Martin Luther noticed the Jewish canon had fewer books. Believing the Christian Bible contained “extras,” he placed them in a separate category – and eventually, Protestant Bibles left them out completely. As Fr. Simon puts it: “It’s not that Catholics added books – it’s that others took them out.” The best way to listen to the Best of the Week is on our #1 Free Catholic App. It’s free and always will be! To get and share the Relevant Radio app, check it out here.