5 Difference between Catholic Bible and Protestant Bible (With Table)

Religion is divided into various groups. The major ones are Christians and Muslims. Christians are further divided into various groups that resulted in the birth of different Bibles.

Roman Catholic Church has their own bible according to their beliefs and opinions same to protestant but they are more similar.

So, what is the main difference between Catholic Bible and Protestant Bible? Catholic bible came into existence and practice with the teachings of Jesus Christ who lived in the 1st century while the protestant bible came into existence after reformation where Martin Luther protested against Catholics which eventually sowed seeds for reformation.

For more information about the difference between the catholic bible and the protestant bible in tabular form, continue reading the article. You will also get to learn of the similarities between the two.

You May Also Like: Difference between Catapult and Trebuchet

Comparison Table (Catholic Bible vs. Protestant Bible)

Basic Terms Catholic Bible Protestant Bible
Origin It came into existence and practice with the teachings of Jesus Christ who lived in the 1st century. It came into existence after the reformation.
Number of books It has 73 books in the old testament and 27 books in the new testament. It has 66 books in the old testament and 27 books in the new testament.
Head of church Pope is the head of the church and also heads the Vatican city. They believe that Jesus is the head of the church.
Eucharist They emphasize that the bread and drink used during the mass become the body and blood of Christ himself. It is called Lord’s supper and it commemorates the death of Christ and the bread and wine represent the body and blood of Christ.
Prayer They pray to holy men who passed away in addition to the worship of Christ. They emphasize the freedom and possibility of humans having direct access and connection with God.

What is a Catholic Bible?

The Catholic Bible came into existence and practiced with the teachings of Jesus Christ who lived in the 1st century.

It contains the teachings, literature, wisdom, and story of Jesus Christ who lived in the province of Judea in the Roma Empire.

It contains 73 books in the Old Testament. The Old Testament includes ‘Apocrypha’ the Greek version. The New Testament contains 27 books.

During the time of Jesus Christ, both the Hebrews and the Septuagint were used in the scriptures and this makes the Catholic Bible contain both scriptures.

It is published in accordance with the catholic canon law. It is officially referred to as ‘The Vulgate’. The vulgate is now officially in Latin language and used all over the world.

The catholic bible remained unchanged even after the reformation. The catholic bible contains books such as Baruch, Judith, Sirach, stories of Susanna, Tobit, Stories of Bel and Dragon which are not found in the bible used by protestants.

What is a Protestant Bible?

The Protestant bible came into existence after the reformation which was led by Martin Luther King in 1517. Martin Luther was a German monk who protested against the Catholic Church which led to reformation and his followers were referred to as Protestants.

It strictly accepts the Hebrew Scriptures. It contains 66 books in Old Testament and 27 books in New Testament.

It is a modified version that was produced by Protestants. It excludes the canonical books. Some Protestant Bibles contain Apocrypha books.

Many English-speaking Protestants came to an agreement to include the Apocrypha books in the bible but to put them in a separate section of the Old Testament.

Main Difference between Catholic and Protestant Bible

  1. The Catholic bible came into existence and was practiced with the teachings of Jesus Christ who lived in the 1st century while the Protestant bible came into existence after reformation led by Martin Luther King.
  2. Catholic bible contains 73 books in the Old Testament while the Protestant Bible contains 66 books in the Old Testament.
  3. The Catholic bible considers the pope as the head of the church while the Protestant bible considers Jesus as the head of the church.
  4. Catholic bible emphasis praying to holy men who passed away in addition to the worship of Christ while the Protestant bible emphasis on freedom and the possibility of humans having direct access and connection with God.

Similarities between Catholic and Protestant Bible

  1. They both have 27 books in the New Testament.
  2. Both emphasize on body and blood of Jesus Christ.
  3. Both contain Hebrew Scriptures.

Conclusion

Catholic bible and Protestant bible have the same roots of origin. They are both written in Hebrew and some of the books are similar in both bibles.

However, the two are different. The main difference between the Catholic bible and Protestant bible is that the Catholic bible contains 73 books in the Old Testament including the cannon books while the Protestant Bible contains 66 books in the Old Testament.

 More Sources and references:

Leave a Comment