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Chapter 3. Proclaim the Gospel to Every Creature • 29
Biblical Literalism
In the United States a certain number of Christians of many denomina-
tions—often called
Fundamentalists
—have adopted the supremacy of
Scripture as their sole foundation. They also approach Scripture from
a viewpoint of private interpretation. This they do in the strictest literal
sense without appreciation of the various literary forms that the biblical
1. Why must Revelation be transmitted?
God “[wills everyone] to be saved and to come to the
knowledge of the truth”: that is, of Christ Jesus. Christ
must be proclaimed to all nations and individuals, so that
this revelation may reach to the ends of the earth. (CCC,
no. 74, citing 1 Tm 2:4; cf. Jn 14:6)
2. How is Apostolic Tradition linked to Apostolic Succession?
Christ the Lord . . . commanded the apostles to preach
the Gospel. (CCC, no. 75, citing DV, no. 7; cf. Mt 28:19-20;
Mk 16:15)
In order that the full and living Gospel might always be
preserved in the Church the apostles left bishops as their
successors. They gave them “their own positions of teach-
ing authority.” (CCC, no. 77, citing DV, no. 7; St. Irenaeus,
Adv. Haeres
)
3. Why does the Church venerate Scripture?
The Church has always venerated the Scriptures as she
venerates the Lord’s Body. She never ceases to present
to the faithful the bread of life, taken from the one table
of God’s Word and Christ’s Body. In Sacred Scripture,
the Church constantly finds her nourishment and her
strength. (CCC, nos. 103-104; cf. DV, no. 21)
FROM THE CATECHISM