Recently, I read a couple of articles by pro-abortion advocates who were using some Scripture passages to allegedly “prove” that the Bible supports abortion. Immediately, I was reminded of the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness.

Satan quoted Scripture against Jesus to try and derail His mission. Jesus, being God and the Author of Scripture, shut the devil down. Christ, the biblical Author, decides the meaning behind what has been written. Proper interpretation and use of Scripture requires the right authority. Otherwise, Scripture can (and will be) used for all kinds of diabolical purposes.

It’s not uncommon for individuals to pick up a Bible, read it, and get it wrong. This is not always done with malicious intent, but with ignorance. However, when people use the Bible to directly attack the teachings of the Church to which Christ gave His own authority, there is more than ignorance at play. Outright spiritual warfare is underway. It’s demonic and diabolical. When the proper interpretive “key” is thrown away, Scripture is up for grabs. Anyone can make it “say” anything.

Satan still attacks the authority of Christ by attacking Christ’s authoritative Church. The Bible as we know it does not exist apart from the authority of the Catholic Church that compiled it, approved it, and rightly interprets it. The Church is not being “arrogant” in making the claim of authority. The Church is living out the responsibility given directly by Christ who also promised to protect and preserve the Church from error.

Whenever you see someone trying to discredit or undermine an official teaching of the Catholic Church (especially by using the Bible), just picture the temptation of Christ in the wilderness. A similar battle still wages.